Respond’s Marginalized Languages Team helped over 100,000 people access asylum information in 2023

The Less Frequent & Marginalized Languages (LFM) Team made huge strides in 2023 to uphold Respond Crisis Translation’s values in our fight against language injustices around the world, particularly for speakers of marginalized and Indigenous languages! The LFM Team is a truly global collective of language activists, with members across 86 countries representing over 100 languages!

This team is collaborating with more than 300 non profit partners, fostering economic justice by compensating systemically-impacted translators and interpreters, and offering trauma-informed services to immigrants and refugees, which aligns with our community care approach. We have stood by the right of freedom of mobility, as we insist that the right to mobility and the right to asylum should not be impeded by language barriers. 

All people deserve access to excellent interpreters and translators as they move through dangerous and challenging journeys, and navigate the complicated process of applying for asylum and (re)building their lives.

LFM Team’s 2023 work and impact

Language is key to accessing information. It is widely known that language is weaponized to hinder people from being well-informed about crucial issues that concern them related to health, education, the asylum process, etc.

In total, Respond’s Less Frequently Requested Languages team completed 809 projects in 2023! We worked on 67 cases for individual clients (mostly asylum seekers and families), and we worked on 456 projects that involved translating information / resources related to resettlement, medical, or psychological support for speakers of multiple languages. Because of the skills and commitment of our talented interpreters, almost all native speakers who are directly impacted by the same crises we respond to, we were able to make resources and information available to many people.

We estimate that a total of 116,080 people now have access to content information about asylum, health, human rights, etc. due to our efforts.

We worked mostly with asylum cases (18.8%), followed by immigration cases (16.5%). We also covered projects that fall broadly in the category of “legal support.” This means that countless asylum seekers and refugees now have access to crucial information in their primary language. 

We provided 397 hours of interpretation in 2023!

New languages on the team

This year, the LFM Team welcomed dozens of translators and interpreters working in many languages! However the following languages are languages we did not have on the team before 2023: Bissa, Tibetan, Shona, Borana, Garre, Mina, Zaghawa and Zoque. These talented translators are now accessing dignified wages and income opportunities and making an important impact through the work on our team.