Providing free translation support to people seeking asylum and other immigration relief.
Leader
Damian Harris-Hernandez
Location
Statue of Liberty New York, NY 12754
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.
The funds raised during our Road to Safety Campaign will pay for the translations of crucial documents to support people seeking asylum and other immigration relief, and will support our efforts to sustain and expand the scope of our impact.
We have expanded our language capacity to include Ukrainian in response to the crisis in Ukraine.
We will continue providing translations and add more languages in order to accommodate needs as they arise.
We will apply to foundations for large grants to secure sustainable funding.
We will continue to each out to refugee support organizations and immigration service providers to expand our network and extend the reach of our impact.
We are raising these funds to meet an urgent and ongoing demand for accurate translated documents, without which refugees and asylum seekers cannot tell their stories to the court that will decide whether they can stay in the country.
Between the Taliban's ascension to power in Afganistan and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, 2.5 million people have been forced to leave their home. This is in addition to the people who have had to flee Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Cameroon, and other places due to conflict and persecution. Our Road to Safety Campaign aims to raise funds to provide critical translation services so that these people can have more equitable access to the immigration process and have a greater chance at winning their cases.
We are actively growing our capacity to meet this critical need and we invite you to join us in the process.