SUPPORT INTERPRETATION TRAINING FOR AFRICAN ASYLUM SEEKERS!

We are excited to announce a joint project between Afrikana and the Refugee Translation Project that will provide paid, on-the-job interpreter training to multilingual asylum seekers from the African continent. The project aims to empower asylum seekers by providing them with employment opportunities as stipend-based  interpreters while simultaneously providing niche language support to asylum seekers in need of services. We aim to pilot this program as soon as possible, as the need is urgent.

The Problem:

New African asylum seekers in New York City face many unique challenges and obstacles, two of which are lack of employment opportunities and lack of access to social services due to language barriers. They constitute a new group of asylum seekers to New York, and there is not enough service organizations capable of assisting them. They therefore end up being excluded from resources meant to help new immigrants. The huge influx of asylum seekers from Senegal, Mauritania, Sudan, Guinea, the Congo and  other African countries are escaping slavery, religious persecution, and war. They are in need of health, legal, and other services. Many  speak languages or dialects of languages that are not recognized by the city’s existing language policy. Afrikana, an organization that has become a vital lifeline for new African migrants navigating the complex processes of immigration, resource access, and housing, are in desperate need of interpretation services for the 300 clients they serve daily! Although currently, there exists the AfriLingual coop supported by MOIA, this service is not enough to interpret on behalf of over 40,000 new African asylum seekers. 

Our Solution:

This program addresses both of these problems by training and paying multilingual asylum seekers to be interpreters in order to help other asylum seekers access social services. Displaced people with niche language acquisition and lived experience are uniquely qualified for this work, yet they often lack access to professional pathways to develop their careers, either as interpreters or in related fields. This program provides workforce development for immigrant social services, professional interpretation training, employment experience in the United States, work references, letters of recommendation, and capacity building to help multilingual asylum seekers build their careers while receiving income. The work is flexible and scalable, allowing participants to gain experience and earn income while they build their careers, attend school, or open businesses. This is critical as African asylum seekers have difficulties participating in workforce development programs as they are not offered in the languages in most demand from the community. 

The program enables participants to provide interpretation to help other asylum seekers to navigate the system in languages not covered by New York’s existing language access policy, such as Wolof and Pulaar. The participants will help asylum seekers fill out I-589 asylum application form, and apply for housing, SNAP food benefits, health insurance, and work authorization.

Background:

Afrikana stands as a beacon of hope and support for new arrivals to NYC seeking refuge and a chance at a new life. Founded in response to the increasing influx of asylum seekers at Port Authority, the organization operates out of two adjacent storefronts in Harlem, serving as a much-needed advocate and resource for all migrants, including newcomers from the continent of Africa, addressing language barriers, disparities in shelter placements, and limited free immigration legal services.

The Refugee Translation Project is a non-profit dedicated to helping refugees transition to a life of safety and security by providing free translation services to people seeking asylum and other immigration relief, increasing access to vital resources, and offering training and employment opportunities to asylum seekers.

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!