Year: 2023

2023 Year in Review!

This year has been another busy year for us, our first as an independent nonprofit! In 2023, the Refugee Translation Project: 

  • Translated documents for 144 immigration cases, which involved approximately 361 individuals.
  • Covered the entire cost of 61 of these cases, most of which were asylum cases.
  • Helped 37 individuals relocate to safety, 7 individuals resettle to safety, and 33 individuals gain legal benefits this year from the work we did with IRAP in 2022. 
  • Added 10 new languages: Burmese, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Hmong, Khmer, Lao, Punjabi, Somali, Swahili, and Tigrinya.
  • Updated 2 guides for displaced Palestinians in Arabic.
  • Worked with IRAP to translate an updated Family Reunification Guide to Germany into Dari, Pashto, and Spanish to help refugees reunite with their loved ones.
  • Translated guides to the Central American Minors (CAM) program into Spanish for IRAP.
  • Translated IRAP’s guides to the Lautenberg resettlement program into Ukrainian, Russian, and Persian.
  • Translated and updated Special Immigrant Visa guides for IRAP to help Afghan refugees navigate the visa process.
  • Translated and updated over 300 pages of other guides, surveys, and orientation materials for IRAP. 
  • Translated ESL materials for BAMSA (Black and Arab Migrant Solidarity Alliance), a Brooklyn-based mutual aid group aiding asylum seekers.
  • Reviewed hate act reporting form and transit safety survey in Hindi, Hmong, Khmer, Lao, and Punjabi for Stop AAPI Hate.
  • Translated community garden keyholder agreements into Arabic, French, and Spanish for Bushwick City Farm, so that asylum seekers in Brooklyn can become members, grow food, and find community.
  • Translated job training materials into Haitian Creole and Chinese for CAMBA.
  • Participated in the New York Immigration Coalition’s NYS Community Toolkit translation project.
  • Translated interface text for WeAreOkay, a new communication app that allows refugees and migrants to contact their loved ones during emergency sea rescues, into 7 languages: Dari, Pashto, Punjabi, Sorani Kurdish, Swahili, Turkish, and Urdu.
  • Translated USCIS immigration forms into Spanish for IRAP and into Arabic for African Services.
  • Translated 7 scripts for New York Immigration Coalition’s Fair Elections videos to expand access to democracy for all New Yorkers.  
  • Translated resources forthe Spanish version of InReach’s online resource catalog for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers and immigrants.
  • Hosted 2 CUNY Career Launch internships.
  • Formed new partnerships with 15 organizations: Ali Law Firm, BAMSA, CAMBA, Catholic Migration Services, CUNY, DLA Piper, HIAS, Immigrant Justice Corps, Kusala Institute, Las Americas, Libertas, Lutheran Social Services of New York, Stop AAPI Hate, Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS), and WeAreOkay.

It was with the support of our generous donors that we were able to help so many and do so much! THANK YOU! 

It’s not too late to make your year-end tax-deductible donation! 

Asylum Success! Social Activists Become New New Yorkers

Our client Francisco and his partner Eduard found peace and safety after a terrifying ordeal in their home country. The free translation services we were able to provide thanks to the generous support of our donors contributed to their successful plea for asylum, which was granted this month. 

Francisco and Eduard were living in a small town in Colombia where they advocated for healthcare for their community. One morning they awoke to find a pamphlet on the door of their house, which they were remodeling. The pamphlet was authored by a paramilitary group. It demanded the couple leave their neighborhood because the group did not accept gay people in the area. The pamphlet warned that if Francisco and Eduard did not stop their health advocacy and leave, the group would carry out a “social cleansing.” Francisco and Eduard ignored the threat, but a few weeks later, a group of men in military fatigues accosted them on the main street of their town and pointed rifles at them. They ordered Francisco and Eduard to stop the construction work on their house and leave, and told them that if they did not comply, they would make the couple “disappear,” a euphemism for kidnapping them and torturing them to death. 

Fearing for their lives, Francisco and Eduard moved a few hundred miles away to a bigger city. They left the renovations in the hands of a relative. Several months passed without incident. Then one afternoon, another group of men approached them near their house in the city. They hurled homophobic slurs at them and told them to stop the construction on their house in the small town. Fortunately, a passerby prompted the would-be attackers to leave. However, the threats soon resumed. A week later, two men dressed in black attacked them outside their front door late at night as they were returning home. Francisco suffered bruises on his body and Eduard lost several teeth. Again the attackers referred to their sexual orientation. After this attack, Francisco and Eduard were overwhelmed with fear and anxiety and felt they were constantly being followed.

They appealed to the country’s federal law enforcement for protection, but to no avail. They quickly realized that their only option was to leave Colombia. Francisco and Eduard arrived in New York City and needed help translating their documents. A caseworker from the Libertas Center for Human Rights referred them to the Refugee Translation Project this past summer. We translated over 30 pages of legal and medical documents, which were instrumental in proving their asylum claim. 

Our supporters contributed to this success story! Donations you make to the Refugee Translation Project provide free translation support to people fleeing violence and persecution. Please help us continue bringing people to safety by making a donation to our End of Year Fundraising Campaign!

Save the Date: Ice Cream Social at the Social!

You’re invited to our Ice Cream Social at the Social! Enjoy an ice cream as we celebrate our first year as an official independent nonprofit and raise funds to provide free language services to asylum seekers. 

🗓️ Wednesday, November 29
🕕 6:00 PM
📍The Social, 816 Washington Ave, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, NY USA

RSVP here! Your donation of $30 or more comes with a coupon redeemable for an ice cream or drink! Our fundraiser is free and open to the public with opportunities to donate through a community-supported raffle! 

Check out the raffle prizes here!