Found in Translation

Traduttore, Tradito
Why are interpreters so much more likely than soldiers to die in times of war?
The answer can be summed up as follows: traduttore, traditore. The old Italian
expression, meaning “translator, traitor,” exists for a reason. When someone
navigates between two worlds, they’re often viewed with suspicion by one side
or the other—or worse yet, by both sides.
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One of the core tenets of interpreting is to maintain neutrality. But how can
you remain neutral when some of the people you’re interpreting for are trying
to kill you, while others are trying to save your life? Obviously, your loyalties
will lie with the people who are good to you. But what defines good? What if
the group that is paying you to interpret bombed a village where your
grandmother lived, killing her in the process? On the other hand, the rebels
they are fighting captured, tortured, and killed your sister. Where does your
allegiance ultimately lie? In many cases, it lies with the ability to earn a living
and feed your immediate family. For people living in combat zones,
interpreting offers a source of income that is worth the risk—that is, at least
temporarily and as long as they have the protection of the troops they are
interpreting for. But that fades away when the troops withdraw and the
interpreters are left behind.
While the soldiers return to safety and the company of their loved ones, the
interpreters rise to the top of the target list for assassination in their home
country. They must deal with death threats and often do anything they can to
find safety or flee the country. Many cannot even return to their families for
fear that their loved ones will be targeted too. Indeed, many of their families
are murdered along with the interpreters because they are viewed in the same
light, as traitors. It’s a heartbreaking reality of the devastation and destruction
left behind by armed conflict.
If you’re tempted to think that this scenario doesn’t happen all that often,
we’re sorry to bear even more bad news. During the Iraq War, thousands of

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Iraqis worked as interpreters for the U.S. military. The Department of Defense
stated that in a single quarter alone in 2007, there were 5,490 Iraqis working
as interpreters for the Multi-National Force—Iraq.
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And what about
Afghanistan? Once again, thousands of interpreters assisted U.S. troops in that
war as well. No one knows exactly how many interpreters worked in both wars.
Accurate numbers of interpreters who died in battle are also difficult to obtain,
but most sources agree that at least three to four hundred interpreters were
killed in Iraq, and at least a hundred in Afghanistan.
Is anyone protecting all the Iraqi and Afghani interpreters who have
protected American troops and whose lives are still being threatened? In 2007,
President Obama acknowledged that “the Iraqis who stood with America—the
interpreters, embassy workers, and subcontractors—are being targeted for
assassination.”
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He also said that the United States had a “moral obligation” to
protect them. Shortly after that pronouncement, in 2008, the U.S. government
created an immigrant visa program for Iraqi and Afghan nationals who served
American forces as interpreters.
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Under the program, a certain number of
visas were permitted each year. A total of five hundred such visas were
available in 2008. However, in 2009, the number dropped drastically to just
fifty visas per year.
By comparison, in 2009, tiny Denmark granted asylum to 120 Iraqi
interpreters who worked for Danish troops in Iraq, as well as their families.
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In 2011, the Canadian government announced that it would issue 550 visas for
Afghan interpreters who had served Canadian troops.
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As of 2011, Australia
had resettled 557 Iraqis who had supported its military operations.
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What will be the fate of those thousands upon thousands of interpreters who
risked their lives for American troops and continue to live in fear of
assassination? They are likely uttering a phrase with a slightly different spin on
the old Italian adage: traduttore, tradito (translator, betrayed).