Refugees and asylum seekers: a problem for governments? a challenge for the translation profession?

1. Refugees and asylum seekers:a problem for governments? a challenge for the translation profession? Trina Fitzalan-Howard Project Manager, Nottingham City Council

2. Asylum seekers given 'smart' ID cards Dignity and despair in Sunderland Man charged with asylum seeker murder Protest against asylum centre

3. Gort, Klaatu Barada Nikto

4. Qualitative and Quantitive Data Issues • Few official statistical sources • Limited ways to verify quality of data • No information on illegal residents • Central government offices contradict each other • Other agencies producing data may have political, professional or personal bias

5. Data Collections and Languages • 2001 Census • Information available September 2002 • Reports on indigenous languages only • Annual School Census • Common data set • Language category limited to Yes/No whether English is an additional language • Semantics of EAL, Mother Tongue, Bilingual, Home Language et al

6. The Legal Landscape • 1951 UN Convention relating to the status of Refugees (“Geneva Convention”) • 2000 Human Rights & 2002 Proposed Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill • 1998 & 1984 Data Protection Acts • 2000 Race Relations (Amendment) Act

7. 2000 Race Relations (Amendment) Act • Eliminate unlawful discrimination • Promote equality of opportunity • Promote good relations between people of different racial groups • “Ensure public access to information and services” • “recognise language difficulties” • Services in “own language” and “arrange for interpreters”

8. E-government • Most government agencies local and central are trying to utilize e-communications to improve contact with its citizens and communities. • Relatively cost-effective way of accessing different language documents on a needs basis • Central government web sites are maintained mostly in English and Welsh!

9. Defining Languages in the Local Community • Community language • Spoken by identifiable communities which are an established feature of the British ethnic and social makeup. 2nd and 3rd generation likely to be bilingual. • Asylum Seeker language • Reflect recent political and economic upheavals. 1st generation, not assumed to read or write English • Ad hoc language • Result of contracted work or pursuit of education. Very small numbers.

10. Language Services from within the Community • Established communities have always used bilingual members as outreach service providers • Child immigrants assimilate English through compulsory Education until age of 16 • Ad hoc translation and interpretation undertaken is unmeasured and unquantifiable.

11. Quality Assurance Issues • Police have ‘Met Test’ • Degree level + 400 hours of public service • Institute of Linguists • Specialisms are too restrictive for most day-to-day needs • Open College Network (‘OCN’) is door to other learning experiences – not a stand-alone qualification in itself.

12. How many translations and interpretations are needed? • How many? • Home Office – 1999 there were 52,495 asylum seekers • BBC – 1999 there were about 65,000 asylum seekers • Most arrive in the south-east of England (80%) • Between 25-35% who apply will be given leave to stay • Dispersal applies to those who have not yet been given leave to stay • Dispersal is supposed to take into account language clusters • Local services should provide information in these languages • Asylum Seeker languages are quickly becoming community languages

13. Refugees, Asylum Seekers and English Lessons • Google web search found 1,320,000 web sites offering English Lessons. • Refugee support associates say there are insufficient English lesson services • Refugee and asylum seekers recognise the need to learn English as gateway to services, employment and integration. • Many already hold substantial qualifications

14. New Languages Arriving in the United Kingdom • No one can predict the future • Language service providers must adopt a flexible and reactive approach – not a business to rely on past goodwill and experience. • Few (if any) languages are not represented within the United Kingdom • Political map as indicator • Iraq? • African continent (Congo, Nigeria etc)? • Far East (East Timor, Taiwan, China)? • South America?

15. Sourcing Language Support • Networking with other regions and associations • Police ‘Register of Interpreters’ • Web sites • 1,570,000 identified through Google • Is gist-level translation all that is necessary? • Relevant embassy • 39 countries have embassies in the UK • Go to country of origin

16. And finally… • Blindingly obvious omission of reliable language statistics in Census • Government (local and central) does the best it can with the resources given but must uphold legal obligations and requirements first • Services, data and experiences from 1951, 1970s or even the 1980s onwards are not relevant • Asylum and refugee issues should be less political and more objective to the needs of people • Local and central government service providers will need you in the future

17. Gort, Klaatu Barada Nikto • Any clues? Any questions? A 27-page paper accompanying this presentation is available from the Association of Translation Companies