The Refugee Translation Project’s Road to Safety Campaign aims to raise funds to provide translation services to people directly affected by war and violence, in particular but not limited to people fleeing Afghanistan and Ukraine. The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and the Russian invasion of Ukraine has created over 4.5 million refugees. Translation plays a crucial role in an immigration application because it is the only mechanism by which a displaced person can convey their experiences accurately to a court or immigration officer. Without access to translation, a person’s application cannot be processed, or their case may be rejected – oftentimes with life-or-death consequences. In addition to translating documents for immigration cases, we also translate critical information to help people access resources.  

The Refugee Translation Project is a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that provides free professional translation support to refugees seeking asylum and other immigration relief in the New York metro area and beyond. We create equitable access to the immigration process by mitigating the high cost of translation, so that refugees have the best possible chance of winning their cases. Alleviating the financial burden of translation costs allows refugees to focus their limited resources on establishing themselves in their new country and communities. We also provide dignified employment to our translators, many of whom are refugees themselves. 

The Refugee Translation Project began as an urgent response to a critical translation need in the wake of the crackdown on journalists, teachers, academics and civil servants in Turkey in 2016. Since then, we have expanded the scope of our work to provide professional translation support to people fleeing violence and persecution all over the world, including Afghanistan, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Guatemala, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Pakistan, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, and Ukraine.