“Word after word”: The role of translators in the fight against Ebola

This is an interview I conducted late 2014 with Rebecca Petras, Translators without Borders’ Program Director, in the wake of the Ebola outbreak in multiple African countries between 2013 and 2016. It was originally published on the blog of The Alexandria Library for Translators – Anne Diamantidis.

Interview with Rebecca Petras, Translators without Borders’ Program Director, on Translators without Borders’ (TWB) activities and role with regards to the Ebola crisis in West Africa. Further reading and examples of prevention and information materials in local languages are available at the end of the interview.

About Translators without Borders

Anne: Hi Rebecca! Thank you very much for your time. Tell us about Translators without Borders.

Rebecca: Translators without Borders and our dedicated volunteers have translated millions of words to give millions of people around word better access to knowledge. What do these words represent? They help affected populations in crises in the Central African Republic and Mali, they educate new mothers in India and South Africa, they tell aid workers where to rescue children in the Philippines, and they educate children in their native languages. Translators without Borders translates for humanity. We just celebrated 20 million words translated by our volunteers. What do these words represent? More knowledge accessible to more people around the world.

Anne: Can you give some recent examples of how humanitarian aid in the right language made a difference?

Rebecca: Here are some of the things we have done—just a sampling! Because of our work, people can get the information and knowledge they need to deal with difficult situations or lift themselves out of poverty. A snapshot:

• 1.1 million Syrian refugees are now getting critical information in Arabic about the camps, food and survival from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
• Children rescued in Philippines via military lift because of translation by our team of family appeals.
• The UNHCR’s Shelter Cluster team can communicate with people in the middle of conflicts in Central African Republic, Mali, and Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Community health workers in Kenya are better educated in basic healthcare and are better able to treat non-English speaking villagers throughout the country.
• Doctors in Haiti are better trained in neonatal care for treating mothers and babies.
• Care workers in 8,000 orphanages in Indonesia finally have training materials they can read and use to take better care of the children.
• Unrest and violence after the Kenyan elections was minimized in part due to the translation of thousands of messages from non-English speaking Kenyans during the vote.
• Mothers in India are getting basic post-natal and breastfeeding information in Hindi directly on their mobile phones.
• Haitian micro-entrepreneurs are able to reach out to investors around the world to finance their businesses and work toward a more stable livelihood.
• Millions of people around the world have, for the first time, healthcare information on the most common health issues available freely to them in their own language.

The Ebola crisis

Anne: From the point of view of TWB, what is the major issue in West Africa with regards to the Ebola virus outbreak?

Rebecca: I am passionate about this topic. In all the crises I have worked (Philippines, India, Balkans, and many more), I have never seen such an acute sense of the language gap. We are doing everything we can to bridge that gap. Here are some details of the problem, from our perspective: people have no idea how infectious diseases work. They see people go into the hospital sick and come out dead – or never come out at all… They think if they can avoid the hospital they can survive,’ (Dr. Terry O’Sullivan, director of the Center for Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy Research, an American agency that has been aiding in the battle against Ebola)

Over and over again, aid workers report that people do not have the knowledge they need to contain this deadly disease. In a major survey in Sierra Leone (late September) UNICEF found:

• Thirty percent believed Ebola was transmitted via mosquitos
• Thirty percent believed it was an airborne disease
• Twenty percent believed treatment by spiritual healers is effective
• Forty-two percent believed hot salt water baths are an effective cure.

Aid workers know kissing deceased loved ones is a major cause of the epidemic (the virus is most potent right before and right after death). And yet the ritual continues. They also know epidemics can be reduced if the practice of eating bats (a delicacy in West Africa) is reduced or eliminated. Yet this knowledge is not effectively passed on to those who need it. Why? Because of Language.

No other recent crisis highlights more poignantly the gap between the languages of aid and the languages of the affected population. The translation industry must help aid workers be more effective. That is our job. That is our role. Translation Matters, especially with the Ebola epidemic.

We are working on it in three countries: Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. We also have done work for Nigeria and Kenya. We may add Mali.

The problem is acute in Sierra Leone. English is the official language of Sierra Leone. But it is really only spoken in Freetown, a city relatively unaffected by the virus. The epidemic is centered in districts far from Freetown: most deaths are reported from Kailahun and Kenema (majority Krio speaking) districts, but Bombali (predominantly Krio and Mende speaking) and Port Loko (dominated by Temne speakers) districts have recorded significant increases in rate of transmission during September. In these parts of the country, 90 percent communicate using Krio. And then there is this: only 13% of women in Sierra Leone speak English even as a second language.

The Ebola epidemic is first and foremost a crisis of information, a crisis of communications, a crisis of language.

Anne: What types of Ebola prevention and information materials and supports is TWB helping with? Which languages were involved?

Rebecca: Mostly short texts and audio. Public service announcements for radio, posters for posting, fact sheets. Partner are International SOS, Centers for Disease Control, MSF, UNHCR and others. Languages now are Krio, Fula, Mende and Pidgen English (audio only). But we have done others as well. We are currently greatly increasing the content we are translating.

Anne: Tell us about the Fulani, Krio and Mandike translators who helped — who are they?

Rebecca: For this initial work we did, we used professionals (university professionals and teachers) as well as a few professional translators. They were very enthusiastic. They wanted to help. They know the problem.

Anne: How do you manage to find and recruit translators for these very local languages?

Rebecca: We recruit many, many ways. Associations, universities, social media, blogs, etc. In all our languages, the volunteers range from as little as 2 (with checks against each other) to about 8.

Anne: How do they work?

Rebecca: Most of the work went through our Workspace where the translators volunteer and use their own processes. We are doing mostly side-by-side translations for West Africa to make them easy for our target aid workers (who interact with the affected populations). We also have a project manager who is running our current work — we received a grant to help with that part of it (management of the project).

Anne: Do you have figures or facts on the impact TWB’s work has had so far in Ebola-affected regions?

Rebecca: We are working on this. We know what International SOS has said — quote included. We also know UNHCR, MSF and IFRC are using our content. We know others are too. We get lots of requests. We are trying to post in as many places as possible. There is an enormous effort to reach people in West Africa. Our work is included in many of the communications happening with aid workers, communications that are led by DfID (UK effort), ECHO (European effort) and USAID (US effort).

Anne: What can we, translators and the translation community, further do to help?

Rebecca: Let people know. Be ambassadors for translating for humanity. Tell the world translation matters. Support us financially — this is a really tough part for us. Even $10 helps.

For more information on Translators without Borders, visit their website.
Image credits: license purchased on iStock by Getty Images