Internews and Translators without Borders are collaborating on a very important project in Greece and the Balkans. NewsthatMoves is a humanitarian information service that provides refugees along the migrant routes in Europe with fast, accurate, and useful daily information to their mobile phones, online,and through social media.
In addition, NewsthatMoves is the Mediterranean Rumor Tracker, which tracks and collects the rumors among refugee communities passing through Europe. By identifying misinformation and hearsay and responding to it with relevant, factual information, NewsThatMoves aims to keep the refugee population well informed and safe. The service is available on mobile phones and it is linked to www.refugeeinfo.eu, which is managed by the International Rescue Committee. The site is shared via volunteer networks throughout the Balkans and Greece and its impact has been growing steadily over the past months. Rumors also has an offline component whereby communication in print and audio format is produced for people arriving in Lesvos. This includes information about registration, essential services, and options about what they can do next.
As part of its Words of Relief* project that responds to the European Refugee Crisis, Translators without Borders provides daily rapid response translation of news reports for NewsthatMoves into Arabic, Farsi, and Greek. It is critical that the information is provided in the languages of the people who need it. From updates on border closures, to ferry strike notifications and changing immigration procedures, Internews and Translators without Borders are keeping refugees along the migration route informed and empowered to help themselves.
*Words of Relief is a Translators without Borders (TWB) project designed to provide local language translation services to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), UN agencies, and other actors during times of crisis and humanitarian response.