The Refugee Translation Project Summer Fundraising Campaign

The Refugee Translation Project provides free, professional translation services for refugees seeking asylum in the New York metro area. We offer English translations of asylum statements and other supporting documents originally written in Turkish and in Arabic. We can also offer emergency interpretors at airports. As the project picks up momentum, we will add more languages to our services.

We serve refugees who have fled their countries under threat of imprisonment, torture, and even death. Those who make it to the New York area and wish to stay here must apply for asylum, which involves convincing the court that they are being persecuted in their home country and cannot be sent back for fear of further persecution. One of the most important factors for asylum seekers is that they can fully convey their stories to their lawyers and to the courts. These stories, written as statements, and the material evidence to back them up, are crucial to the refugees' success. Both the statements and the evidence, which could be anything from threatening letters, tax penalty notices, court documents, to bank statements and newspaper articles, need to be translated. Unfortunately, many of these people have lost almost everything they own and cannot afford to pay for the speedy translation of these important documents. To ease the burden, the Refugee Translation Project offers these professional translation services for free so that refugees can focus their limited resources on making a home here. 

The fundraising goal is to expand the fund to pay for the translation of asylum statements and supporting documents. The project already produces translations for Turkish-speaking refugees. We have raised an initial fund of $4500 and are already providing free translation services. With the $10010 summer fundraising goal, we plan to continue our work and through the end of the year, making connections and forging new relationships with people and groups working with refugees in NYC. During this phase we will evaluate the areas of need and expand the languages and organizations we work with. 

The costs of translations depend of on the word count and original language. Asylum statements typically range from 2200 – 4000 words, costing $220 to $440 to translate. Naturally some are longer and some are shorter. The hourly rate for live interpretation is approximately $50 per hour.

An amount of less than $200 will go towards our upcoming website, which will help connect us to both potential donors and clients in need of our services.

Refugees who have arrived in the New York area seeking asylum are oftentimes in extreme financial straits. As newly arrived immigrants, their community networks and access to resources are limited. The costs of translating the statements and documents necessary to apply for asylum can be a huge financial burden. The Refugee Translation Project relieves this particular burden so that these people can concentrate their resources on planting roots in their new home.