Interpreting at Freedom from Torture

The ITI’s London Regional Group made its annual Christmas charity donation to Freedom from Torture this year. I visited the London Centre with a group of interpreters in September 2015. This NGO can offer best practice advice on interpreting in a challenging field.

Origin

Freedom from Torture evolved from Amnesty International 30 years ago. There was a recognised need for ongoing medical and psychological support for torture survivors that Amnesty International could not meet.

Freedom from Torture has 3 main aims:

• Rehabilitation – using psychological therapy
• Accountability – campaigning to make States accountable for their citizens' torture
• Protection – to liaise with the UK’s Home Office on behalf of torture survivors.

Terminology

Strong emphasis is placed on the term “torture survivor”. “Torture victim” is never used. There may be no end to the suffering. Freedom from Torture helps its clients to come to terms with this.

Interpreting best practice

The NGO prefers to recruit its own interpreters. At the time of our September visit, there were 37 interpreters on the register covering 46 languages. 80-90% of clients are seen with interpreters. Many of the therapists are bilingual and will work in the client’s language if possible.

Freedom from Torture places great importance on paying its interpreters. Clients require the long-term commitment of familiar faces they can trust.

The charity has established best practice procedures. They appreciate that interpreters are not machines. Interpreters pick up all the same emotions for which a therapist has been professionally trained. Freedom from Torture has worked out a system of briefing and debriefing for interpreters to help them deal with any difficulties. Many of ITI’s members commented that they would welcome the same approach from the Home Office too.

The right atmosphere

Great care is taken to create the right atmosphere. The London building was specifically designed for Freedom from Torture. Corridors are curved to avoid any institutional feel. The therapists personalise their rooms to make them feel warm and welcoming. Comforting and reassuring aromas scent the family therapy floor. A colourful artwork of children’s handprints adorned the wall of one large family therapy room. The garden offers another peaceful haven.

Regional centres and recognition

Freedom from Torture has regional centres in Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle and Birmingham. These are important as refugees are housed throughout the UK. Recent Syrian refugees arrived in Birmingham for example. 

A cross-party group of MPs congratulated Freedom from Torture on its clinical and advocacy work with torture survivors in December. They recognised that there is a growing requirement for this vital work.

Language requirements

The main languages in demand are Tamil and Sinhalese (for Sri Lanka), Arabic, Pashtu, French (for various African countries), Lingala (DRC), Turkish and Kurdish. A rise in demand for Arabic is anticipated to help Syrian torture survivors.

Volunteering and donations

60-70% of Freedom from Torture’s funding comes from individual donors. No funds are accepted from governments to avoid any conflicts of interest. The organisation needs to maintain its independence and integrity in the best interests of torture survivors. 

If you would like to volunteer or make a donation, please refer to Freedom from Torture’s website. 

COP21: World's Last Chance

"We are counting on you!" so said the children in a video clip shown at the Élysée Palace. France staged its COP21 launch in Paris today. The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference will take place in Paris from 30 November to 11 December. The COP21 conference is the world's last chance to save the planet.

There was no mincing of words in Paris this morning. No more disputing whether climate change is happening. No more quibbling over how many degrees are necessary to stabilise the planet.

The world must act.

180 nations must commit and act cooperatively together. No more "we'll start next year". "Later" will be too late. Failure cannot be on the COP21 agenda.

COP21 is not about saving pretty little butterflies. It is not about saving cute animals. It is about saving mankind.

Our children will hate us for failure. Our descendants would hate us for all eternity... except if COP21 fails they won't be around to hate us.

The key to success at COP21 is telling the truth about climate change. The refugee crisis has given us a mere taster of the human agony of mass migration.

Climate change will hit the weakest nations the hardest... those with the weakest voice at the negotiating table. It calls on the more powerful nations to be magnanimous. The key word of COP21 must be "solidarity".

Short-term, blinkered, self-interested deals will ultimately rebound. They will condemn us all to share the same dire fate.

All eyes will be on Paris for two weeks in this massive conference at Le Bourget. The French are keen to set the world an example. The conference itself is to be a massive exercise in sustainability. All participants will be invited to use public transport to keep the conference's carbon footprint as low as possible. French gastronomy will be on offer with a keen eye on reducing food waste.

Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris, will host 1,000 world mayors. They will seek not only to share local ideas but ways to act together. Their plans and actions should help us to understand what this global conference will mean for us on a more local level.

The most striking comment quoted at the launch came from a Moroccan woman: 

"You are going to decide who will live or die..."

 

If world leaders take short-cuts for short-term popularity at COP21, the consequences will be enormous. They should bear in mind that they will effectively be signing a greater number of death warrants. Every now and again, they should check their consciences by looking at the young conference helpers around them.

There are tough choices ahead - choices many ordinary citizens couldn't bear to contemplate. We have to place our trust in our leaders to become the statesmen demanded by our planet's crisis.

We'll be watching and counting on them.

On Thinking in 3D

In a momentous and heart-wrenching European news week, it was back to the usual school routine in our household. As explained in an earlier blog, school has never been my younger son's favourite place. I was delighted to see his smiley, confident return on Friday afternoon. What a difference a change in perspective can make.


James returned from school with a small drawing. A familiar scene in many homes no doubt. He showed me the drawing with pride. After explaining, he pinned it with a magnet to our fridge as so many times before in his primary school days.

The new Physics teacher had asked the class to draw a picture of a house. Then he awarded points for different characteristics in the drawings. James got high marks. Why? Because he drew a house in 3D, while many classmates drew conventional, 2-dimensional houses.

He regretted missing out on a few marks, because he didn't put the door off-centre. Good point. Doors, opportunities and solutions in life aren't generally to be found dead in the centre. Project plan and project experience often run slightly off course.

The house drawing also boasts lots of windows to look out of or to let in lots of light, depending on your perspective.

There is even a skylight to look up at the sky and stars.

Smokes rises from the chimney. This is a warm house with a fireside to huddle around in the cold depths of winter.

There is a large garden with a low fence. (Well, honestly, what would you expect from the son of a keen gardener?) The grass is depicted with meticulous strokes of green. Details matter.

That little drawing can stay on our fridge all year. I am very proud of my son. I am grateful to the inspirational Physics teacher who asked for something a little different. He showed James that his different perspective has value.

Our little family tale seems particularly relevant this week. We have seen ordinary people show warm, out-of-the box thinking towards refugees, in contrast to rigid, flat 2-dimensional thinking from wealthy, highly educated politicians.

People aren't numbers or quotas. Every individual has value.