★ Our Mission ★

The Refugee Translation Project provides free professional translation support to refugees seeking asylum in the New York metro area. Our clients have fled war and persecution in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Egypt, Tunisia, Cameroon, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Many of them are in need of medical attention, including small children. All of them deserve to live in peace and safety. 

Unfortunately, most of these people have lost almost everything they own and cannot afford to pay for the speedy translation of important documents such as medical records, identity papers, personal statements, and other documents supporting their cases for asylum and relocation. 

Our project relieves this financial burden by providing free, professional translation services so that refugees can focus their limited resources on making a new home.

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”I am a human rights lawyer who had to flee from my home country. When I came to the US, I had to prepare a legal file for my status here, but because of the tragic trauma that I was going through, and have tried to cope with, it was so hard to explain what I had experienced. Moreover, to describe them in English made it a real challenge for me. When I learned how to get help from the Refugee Translation Project, I felt stronger, and that I could make my voice heard. The project didn’t just help me with my first steps in the USA, but also helped me with my goal of using my qualifications to contribute to this country. A few months ago project volunteers supported me while I was doing my LLM law school applications. They quickly responded to my request again and helped me express my goals and projects in an American context. What is more, they didn’t ask any money and did it free of charge. It was a great stroke of luck to have found this project, especially considering the economic circumstances I am in. I greatly appreciate this project. Thank you to all supporters and volunteers.”

– Client, NJ

Client Testimonial

“I came to the US with only a backpack, as I was intending to stay for just a week. I had left my country to accompany my roommate to New York. She wanted to apply for asylum after the publishing house she founded was vandalized by a government-incited mob. While we were in New York, the political situation in our country deteriorated and the police raided our home. My colleagues at the human rights NGO where I worked warned me that it was not safe for me to return, as the police would be waiting for me at the airport with an arrest warrant. Arrest in my country, in the context of the current political problems, meant being detained indefinitely in terrible conditions and subjected to torture. I had no choice but to apply for asylum in the US. Having limited resources, I was glad to have found the Refugee Translation Project. They translated all my documents free of charge. The judge heard my case, and I was granted asylum.”

Client, NY

CLIENT TESTIMONIAL