donate – Refugee Translation Project

Our two CUNY Career Launch interns, Izzy Taveras and Alesia Martinez, began their Social Services Access Team positions the week of July 14 at Cafewal, a space run by our partners EV Loves NYC and East Village Neighbors Who Care. Izzy and Alesia have each worked over 75 hours helping community members navigate immigration issues, apply for work authorization, resumes, find employment, and obtain social services and benefits.

Izzy and Alesia use their Spanish language skills to make the space more inclusive to Spanish-speaking community members while working with volunteer interpreters to assist French, Pulaar, and Wolof speaking community members who make up the majority of Cafewal’s community base.

Izzy Taveras majors in Criminal Justice at John Jay where she is working towards her certificate in legal translation and interpretation and volunteers as a researcher for language access policies in the United States. Izzy plans to apply for the BS/MA program at John Jay to earn her JD and PhD and possibly go into immigration law.

Alesia Martinez is a rising senior at Kingsborough Community College where she expects to graduate with an Associated in Science degree in Mental Health and Human Services, ultimately earning her master’s degree to become a licensed social worker. Growing up as a daughter of immigrants, she has translated documents and helped family members navigate different application processes.

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!