Photo: Vigdis Eriksen at the United Nations
Easels displaying photographs line the curved hallway at the United Nations. An Iraqi interpreter dressed in fatigues pulls on a face mask. In Afghanistan, a journalist and his interpreter engage in deep conversation inside a cramped market stall. Linguists wearing headsets focus on the demanding task of listening and rendering a message into a microphone simultaneously. Poignant images depicting translators and interpreters facilitating communication around the world.
To celebrate the opening of this compelling exhibition, the Permanent Representation of Belarus to the UN had arranged for a lineup of speakers that included the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, the United Nation’s Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management, and the current and former presidents of the International Federation of Translators. The last to take the podium was our very own Founder & CEO Vigdis Eriksen, addressing the crowd in her capacity as chair of the board of Red T, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of translators and interpreters in high-risk settings.
Vigdis spoke powerful words to acknowledge some hard truths. “The profession of translator or interpreter can lead to the loss of life, limb, or liberty. Such is the case during or post armed conflict, in detention camps and prisons, and in countries where the translation of sensitive literature brings incarceration or death.” Representing a coalition consisting of Red T and five major international language associations, Vigdis called on the UN “to adopt an international instrument for the protection of civilian translators and interpreters similar to the Resolutions that protect journalists.”
