New Year Portuguese Team updates
March 2025
Did you know that in Brazil we consider that the year is only starting after carnival?
So Happy New Year!
Before we start with our RCT news…
We want to share a picture of the giant star of our Carnival—literally! After I’m Still Here won Best International Feature at the Oscars, Brazil turned the celebration into a party. A giant doll of the protagonist joined the parades, and people across the country dressed up as her at street festivals.
VITORIES
WE ARE PROUD!
Since July 2024 we’ve helped 2593 asylum cases, serving 4668 asylum seekers and more than half of all this work done was completely free of charge! Thanks to you, our community of linguists, and to our partners!
#cases total
4357
#asylum cases total
2593
#paid cases
959
#people served
asylum cases
4668
#cases for individuals
895
#info/resource cases total
1764
#pro bono cases
2149
#people served info/resource cases
162400
OUR NUMBERS
The Portuguese Team played an important role in tackling 74 cases, with a total of 58567 words translated and 28 hours interpreted! That's massive for one single language.
#cases
74
#pages translated
146
#hours interpreted
28
#words translated
58567
New Project Manager on our Team
Hi! My name is Rae and I’m a new PM on the Portuguese Team. I joined Respond as a PM for the Spanish Team in November and was asked to join the Portuguese team soon after. It’s been so great working with two such lovely teams and I feel so lucky to have found this wonderful community!
I’m a recent BA graduate from the University of Cambridge, where I specialised in Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan. I was lucky enough to study abroad in Rio de Janeiro and also have a stint at the human rights charity Open Arms (which is based in Barcelona) during my degree. I’m hoping to go to law school in the near future so that I can work in legal aid connected to immigration and human rights.
Something to know about me is that I’m currently based in Tokyo, Japan which is why some of you might have had some emails from me at funny times of the day and night! I’ll be back in the UK this year so I’ve been working on some ways to partner with some charities in my hometown of London. I would love to hear from you if you know of any organisations that might be interested. You can always send me an email at rae@respondcrisistranslation.org!
WE ARE ONE
Breaking Barriers:
Interpreting in Trauma and Justice
The Portuguese Team Lead Dafnes Aly shares a powerful account of interpreting for an asylum seeker facing injustice and prolonged detention. This story highlights the vital role of trauma-informed interpreters in restoring dignity and hope. Read more here .
If you'd like to share any stories or knowledge with the team, please get in touch. It's good for us to be proud of the work we do and also to make people realise how important it can be to fund initiatives like ours.
Please do not forget to follow us on our social media!
We thank to all our translators and interpreters. This work would not be possible without them.
With gratitude,
Vanessa, Rae, Dafnes & the Respond Crisis Translation team
I’M STILL HERE
Despite all the repercussions of the film, no one was ever punished for the disappearance and death of Rubens Paiva. In 1979, during the final years of the military dictatorship, Brazil passed the Amnesty Law, which has prevented the prosecution of state agents suspected of having participated in politically motivated crimes during the period of exception.
Despite this, the issue is due to be discussed again by the Federal Supreme Court (STF), partly driven by the success of the film.
