Walking together: Healing and hope for Colombian refugees

w a l k i n g
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USING INTERPRETERS
Most churches will initially need to use an interpreter to communicate with their sponsored Colombian
refugee family. This is a normal part of forming cross-cultural relationships. Finding a good interpreter can
be a challenge, especially outside of larger urban centres.
There are a number of factors to take into account when choosing an appropriate interpreter. A good
interpreter builds trust and is an important part of helping the family to feel comfortable in their relationship
with the church. A poor choice of interpreter can, on the contrary, damage the relationship and create
distrust and poor communication. If your church has Spanish speakers in the congregation, there is
nothing wrong with involving them in the accompaniment of the refugee family, in fact, doing so is likely
something that would be greatly appreciated by the refugee family. Nonetheless, there are important
considerations to be made before deciding if that person is an appropriate interpreter or not.
The Colombians interviewed for this guide gave examples of both positive and negative experiences that
they had had with the interpreters in Canada. The following two examples illustrate important factors to
consider when choosing an interpreter to use with your Colombian refugee family.
Because of the complexity of the armed conflict in Colombia, some Colombians may not feel comfortable
with an interpreter from Colombia. Colombians who do not have a prior relationship often have difficulty
trusting one another, especially if they were victims of different armed groups. Colombian refugees may
not feel free to speak honestly about their past or present situation to a Colombian interpreter. The
following quote illustrates that it is often preferable to find an interpreter from another Spanish - speaking
country. It also illustrates the negative impact that an interpreter who does not follow the guidelines of
interpretation can have:
“I think that it is very important that the interpreters not be from the same country as oneself.
Our interpreter sometimes tells us that ‘we need to be grateful because the church has given
that to you - I never had that.’ I feel judged. I think that an interpreter should build more trust.
Other Colombians feel the same way. For example, I have a Mexican friend and we sit and
talk...Someone like her would be a good interpreter. The key moment is when one arrives...
you need a person (interpreter) you can trust.” - Nilsa
Nonetheless, nationality is not the only consideration. Another refugee family reported a situation in
which a church chose a interpreter from within the congregation who appeared to intentionally attempt
to damage the family’s reputation, perhaps because of personal issues:
“We had a communication problem because of the interpreter who seemed to want to
manipulate information....Because the interpreter had more credibility in the church, having
been there longer than we had, the church believed the interpreter rather than us. (Because
of things the interpreter said about us) we saw a change in the way the people in the church
treated us....The situation was sad and uncomfortable for us. It was difficult to know that