The Respond Hausa interpreter whose work helped asylum seekers win their cases: Meet Musa Abubabkar

Respond Crisis Translation’s client, Mr. B, was recently featured in an article in The Advocate after he was granted asylum in the United States following a traumatizing experience that forced him to leave his home country.

The Advocate wrote:

It was 2019 when Mr. B first left Ghana.

As a gay man living in a country where homosexuality is criminalized, there wasn’t a single person among family or friends that Mr. B told about his sexuality. Despite his caution, and his seemingly quiet life as a truck driver, Mr. B was brutally assaulted by a gang that year.

The attack would spur his decision to seek refuge in the United States. Unfortunately, the worst of Mr. B’s journey was not yet behind him.

Mr. B, who asked to use a pseudonym, passed through over ten countries on his way to the U.S., encountering a different danger with every new step. Once he reached the Americas, this included crossing the Darién Gap, which is known as the most dangerous land route in the world for migrants.

Musa Abubakar

Musa Abubakar, the Hausa interpreter and member of Respond’s Indigenous, Marginalized, and Less Frequently Requested Languages Team, helped Mr. B prepare to tell his story in immigration court.

Alongside his native Hausa, Musa speaks English and Nigerian Pidgin English, can understand, read, and write in Arabic, and has basic proficiency in Swahili. (He’s also currently trying to learn Spanish.) Musa, who is from Nigeria but currently lives in Kenya, started his journey as a language practitioner in 2018, when he began reviewing automated translations on Facebook in his free time.

“It started just as a love for the language and just being passionate about assisting, when I realized when there are a lot of wrong translations in my language, especially on social media,” Musa said.

From there, he began to freelance as a Hausa linguist, now his main occupation. In February 2021, he started volunteer interpreting with Respond through a referral by another Respond volunteer. Since joining, he’s worked on more than a dozen cases.

“I’ve done a lot, but I can’t really quantify the impact or the success because it wasn’t shared,” Musa said. With each case, “We’re kind of left in the dark of whether it’s successful or not,” which is part of the difficulty of the job.

In the case of Mr. B, Musa said he met no less than five times with him and his lawyers.

“There was one week where we did four consecutive sessions for four days straight for about two hours each,” Musa said. “He was to appear in court for the asylum application so all the sessions were preparations for him regarding that to have consistency with his story, and for possible questions that could arise in the court, and also to mentally prepare him to make him relive the traumatic experiences past on his way to the U.S.”

Musa volunteers with Respond because he recognizes the immense significance of being accurately understood in one’s own language.

“I realize the importance of language – a small meaning or translation or interpretation can change everything when not done properly. So I decided to chip in my contribution to assist to try to eliminate the language barrier,” Musa said. “I am happy that I can clearly see a positive result my contribution and assistance has in getting the asylum.”

We at Respond are so grateful for Musa’s skills, commitment, professionalism, and empathy.