Tag: bangladesh

Meet Nan and Futu: sharing climate solutions in more languages

In May 2021, the World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development gathered the world’s education and sustainable development communities to grow awareness on sustainable development challenges. ‘Education for Sustainable Development for 2030’ is the global framework for “the development of the knowledge, skills, understanding, values, and actions required to create a sustainable world, which ensures environmental protection and conservation, promotes social equity and encourages economic sustainability.” To be effective, the conversation about sustainable development must include people from all over the globe, whatever language they speak.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres recently remarked that “We must act decisively to protect our planet from both the coronavirus and the existential threat of climate disruption.” So we are celebrating the efforts of translators who are informing their communities about the effects of climate change, and bringing more voices into the conversation. 

People by a train in the countryside, Myanmar.

We interviewed two translators whose work is raising awareness of climate change. Nan and Futu are improving lives in their communities in Myanmar, Bangladesh, and beyond.

Over one million Rohingya people have fled violence in Myanmar in recent decades, arriving in refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh. Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world and its coastline is one of the most disaster-prone regions. Myanmar also is at severe threat of natural disasters and suffers from protracted humanitarian emergencies. The unmistakable threat of climate change pervades everyday life. These countries are some of the world’s most hard hit by the effects of the climate disaster. They are especially vulnerable to increased temperatures, cyclones, flooding, and landslides which further risk lives. When there’s little information available in your language, it becomes even harder to protect yourself from climate change and act to prevent it. These translators have worked on projects to help inform the Myanmar- and Bangla-speaking communities.

Nan, Myanmar translator:

  • Fascinated by documentaries 
  • Interested in connecting with and learning from interesting people 
  • Loves stories, and collects classic books, and listens to literature talks 
  • Nan shares a photo of her book collection.

When she’s not reading or cooking a new recipe from Youtube, Nan works from her home in the northern Shan State of Myanmar. She volunteers for TWB projects on weekends and after work. 

“I love how Myanmar has various ethnic groups and is rich with interesting cultures and traditions. The food is amazing, the nature is refreshing and our people have generous hearts. Even though I belong to one of the ethnic minority groups in Myanmar, Burmese is like my mother language. I love to learn about how the Burmese language developed and its very rich historical background.” 

Nan, Myanmar translator. 

Futu, Bangla translator

  • Stays up-to-date with global trends, human rights, and technological innovations
  • Likes to read and explore the daydreams of writers 
  • Keeps busy with an energetic toddler at home

Futu enjoys working from his home office, situated near the enchanting lake of the Chittagong hills. 

A lake in Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Do you see the effects of climate change?

“Yes, I’ve recently read about the drought in Pyin Oo Lwin on the news. It’s a serious issue because people in that neighborhood said they have never witnessed a drought before. Also in my hometown, even though spring has just arrived, some households have to buy water due to drought. And we couldn’t see sunlight for the past four or five days due to open agricultural burning and the sky is covered with haze.”

Nan, Myanmar translator.
Nan shares a photo of her office desk, from which she translates projects for TWB.

“I’m very concerned about the climate change in Myanmar. I wish we could build community-based initiatives to educate people about the effects of using plastic and burning waste and plastic in the neighborhood.”

Nan, Myanmar translator.

Translators play an important role in sharing information about climate change to help people understand the effect and what actions they can take. Key information in the right language can also help people prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural disasters. Nan explains that in her hometown, there are many ethnic groups who can’t speak or understand Burmese. She says it would help if the authorities could connect with local civil societies and try to translate key information into as many languages as possible. 

Due to the geographic location, low elevation, floodplains, and population density, Bangladesh is similarly one of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. It creates food insecurity, water shortages, and concerns over shelter. Environmental impacts create very real health and safety issues for local communities. This is why it’s vital to make facts available to people in the languages they can speak and understand. It’s important to enable two-way conversations and make local people’s voices heard. Futu believes that:

“The only way global society can truly benefit is from sharing climate change research and implementing solutions.”

Futu, Rohingya translator, Bangladesh.

Nature Now

Nan and Futu worked on the Nature Now project in late 2019. It’s a video featuring climate activist Greta Thunberg and writer and climate activist George Monbiot. They explain that there is a natural solution to the climate breakdown: protecting forests. And they urge us to take simple actions which can have a great impact on our planet. The key message is to: 

:shield: PROTECT: where nature is doing something vital, we must protect it.

:dizzy: RESTORE: help our environment where nature is trying to recover itself.

:heavy_dollar_sign: FUND: start funding initiatives that help our planet and stop funding entities that destroy our planet.

In this incredibly exciting project for the TWB community, we translated and revised the video into 33 languages. You can watch them here.

Nan says she is thrilled to have been a part of the movement by helping the climate solution message reach her community.

“It’s rare to see something like the Nature Now climate solutions film in the Rohingya language. It makes me feel as if I am campaigning to save the world from disasters when I work on these projects. It will be very good for the Rohingya community to benefit from more projects such as this in the future.”

Futu, Rohingya translator, Bangladesh.

Do you have a passion for supporting communities around the globe? By sharing your language skills, you can involve more people in vital conversations about climate change and more. Invite your friends and networks to join the TWB community. Share this link to sign up: http://translatorswithoutborders.org/volunteer/translators

Written by Danielle Moore, Communications and Engagement Officer for TWB. With interview responses by Nan, Myanmar translator for TWB, and Futu, Bangla translator for TWB. To protect their identities, we have used pseudonyms in this piece.

সাইনবোর্ডের ভাষা: ক‍্যাম্পের ভেতরে রোহিঙ্গা শরণার্থীদের…রাস্তা খুঁজে পেতে সাহায‍্য করার জন‍্য

This blog is also in English: 'Signage language: helping Rohingya refugees find their way.'

Signage in Rohingya Refugee camps feature photo

বাংলাদেশের রোহিঙ্গা শরণার্থীদের আমরা যে প্রশ্নটি করেছিলাম সেটি হলো:

“ওনে কি কেমফোর মদোতোর ঘরোর সাইনবুধগইন বুজোন্নে? ”  

এই প্রশ্নটির অর্থ কি তা বুঝতে সমস‍্যা হচ্ছে?  

আসলে, শুধু আপনারই সমস‍্যা হচ্ছে এমন নয়। এই প্রশ্নটি করেছি, তার মধ‍্যে ৮০% এরও বেশি লোকের এ প্রশ্নটির উত্তর দিতে সমস‍্যা হয়েছে, কিন্তু সেটি অন‍্য একটি কারণে। 

একটু পরে আমরা আবার এই প্রশ্নটি দেখব। তার আগে রোহিঙ্গা শরণার্থীদের মধ‍্যে সাক্ষরতার হার কত তা জানা দরকার। রোহিঙ্গা একটি মৌখিক ভাষা, এবং যে কোনো বর্ণমালা ব‍্যবহার করেই লিখিত রূপে এ ভাষার ব‍্যবহার অত‍্যন্ত সীমিত; অংশত এ কারণে সাক্ষরতার হার এত কম। সম্প্রদায়টির মধ‍্যে সবচেয়ে জনপ্রিয় ভাষা হচ্ছে ইংরেজি, এমনকি ইংরেজির ক্ষেত্রেও আমরা সম্প্রতি যাদের সাথে কথা বলেছি তাদের মাত্র ৩১% এ ভাষাটি পড়তে পারে। আর তাদের ইংরেজি জ্ঞানও প্রাথমিক পর্যায়ের, কারণ যারা পড়তে জানেন তাদের প্রায় অর্ধেকই কেবলমাত্র সংখ‍্যা বা বর্ণ চেনেন। এই কারণে সাইনবোর্ড ব‍্যবহার করে তাদের কোনো তথ‍্য জানানো খুবই কঠিন।  যে সব মানুষের তথ‍্য জানা প্রয়োজন, তাদের এমন ফরম‍্যাটে তথ‍্য দিতে হবে যা তারা বুঝতে পারে। কিন্তু লিখিত ভাষা পড়তে না পারার এই অবস্থা যদি পশ্চিমা ধরনের গ্রাফিক্স বা ছবির ক্ষেত্রেও প্রযোজ‍্য হয়? অর্থাৎ রোহিঙ্গাদের কাছে যদি তীর চিহ্ন, ইমোজি বা পিক্টোগ্রামগুলো ফরাসি বা জাপানি ভাষার মতোই কঠিন মনে হয়? তাহলে চিত্র ব‍্যবহারের মানদণ্ড এবং শব্দ কোনোটিই ব‍্যবহার না করে আমরা কিভাবে মানুষকে নির্দেশনা দেওয়ার জন‍্য  ছবিভিত্তিক সংকেত ও চিহ্ন ব‍্যবহার করবো?

এখন দেখা যাক আমাদের প্রশ্নটি কী ছিল?

শুরুতে আপনাদের সামনে যে প্রশ্নটি তুলে ধরা হয়েছিলো – “ওনে কি কেমফোর মদোতোর ঘরোর সাইনবুধগইন বুজোন্নে?’ – যার অর্থ হলো: ‘আপনার ক‍্যাম্পে বিভিন্ন সেবার জন‍্য যে সাইনবোর্ডগুলো রয়েছে আপনি কি তা বুঝতে পারেন?”, জরিপকৃতদের মধ‍্যে ৬৫% (৪০৪ জনের ২৬১ জন) এর উত্তরে জোরালোভাবে বলেছেন “না!”

ক‍্যাম্পের মধ‍্যে আপনি… পথ খুঁজে পাবেন (না কি পাবেন না)

বাংলাদেশের কক্সবাজারে ছড়িয়ে ছিটিয়ে থাকা শরণার্থী ক‍্যাম্পগুলোতে এই সমস‍্যাটির প্রকৃতি অনুসন্ধান করার দায়িত্ব ছিল ট্রান্সলেটর্স উইদাউট বর্ডারসের (টিডব্লিউবি)। ২০১৭ সাল থেকে এই ক‍্যাম্পগুলোতে ৮,৫০,০০০ জনেরও বেশি রোহিঙ্গা শরণার্থী বসবাস করছে। এছাড়াও রোহিঙ্গা জনগোষ্ঠীকে সহায়তা প্রদানকারী ১৩০টিরও বেশি জাতীয় ও আন্তর্জাতিক সংস্থা ও এজেন্সি এখানে কর্মরত। প্রায় দশ লাখ মানুষ অর্থাৎ পুরো একটা শহরের সমান জনসংখ‍্যার চাহিদা মেটানো সহজ নয়। যেকোন শহরের মত এই ক্যাম্পগুলোর বাসিন্দাদেরও প্রতিদিন বিভিন্ন ধরনের সেবার প্রয়োজন হয়। কিন্তু এসব সেবার সরবরাহ-কেন্দ্র খুঁজে পাওয়াটা অনেক সময় কঠিন হতে পারে। এখানে স্মার্টফোনে গুগল ম‍্যাপ বা রাস্তার মানিচত্র দেখার কোনো সুযোগ নেই। এখানের বাসিন্দাদের  ইন্টারনেট ব্যবহারের অনুমতি নেই, নেই ক্যাম্প বা রাস্তার বিশদ কোনো মানচিত্র বা ডিরেক্টরি। তাহলে, হয়তো তারা সাইনবোর্ডগুলো দেখলেই পারে। কিন্তু আপনি যদি সেটা বুঝতে না পারেন তাহলে কিভাবে ব‍্যবহার করবেন?

স্বাস্থ্যকেন্দ্র বা ক্লিনিক, খাদ্য বিতরণ-কেন্দ্র, তথ্যকেন্দ্র ইত্যাদির মত সেবা ব্যবস্থাগুলো হাজার হাজার ঘরবাড়ির মধ্যে ছড়িয়ে ছিটিয়ে রয়েছে। এগুলোতে পৌঁছতে হলে সাপের মত আঁকাবাঁকা সহস্র রাস্তা আর অলিগলির গোলকধাঁধা পার হতে হয়। এক জায়গা থেকে আরেক জায়গায় সবসময় সরলরেখায় যাওয়া যায় না, গুরুতর অবস্থায় বা জীবন-মরণের প্রশ্নে হাসপাতালে পৌঁছোবার সময়ও নয়। ক্যাম্পগুলো সাইনবোর্ড আর চিহ্নে ভরা থাকলেও সাইনবোর্ডগুলোতে রয়েছে নানা ফরম‍্যাট, ধরন, রঙ এবং বিভিন্ন ভাষার ব‍্যবহার, এগুলোর জন‍্য অনেক ক্ষেত্রেই বিভ্রান্তি সৃষ্টি হয়। একটি সমস্যা ক্যাম্পগুলোতে কর্মরত ক্যাম্প ব্যবস্থাপনা কর্মীদের চোখে পড়েছে: ক্যাম্পের অনেক বাসিন্দাই চলাফেরা করতে গিয়ে পথ হারিয়ে ফেলেন। তাঁদের মনে হয়েছে যে, গন্তব্যে পৌঁছাবার জন্য সেখানে স্পষ্ট পথ-নির্দেশক চিহ্নের প্রয়োজন। ক্যাম্পের বাসিন্দাদেরও এ বিষয়ে একই মত।

আমরা কী করেছি?

২০১৯ সালের জানুয়ারিতে, আমরা বের করি যে ক্যাম্পের সাইনবোর্ড বা নির্দেশক চিহ্নগুলোর ক্ষেত্রে সমস্যাগুলো কী। আমাদের লক্ষ্য ছিল স্থানীয় সম্প্রদায়ের সাথে মিলে এমন কিছু নির্দেশক চিহ্ন তৈরি করা যা সেখানকার বাসিন্দারা বুঝতে পারে। এক্ষেত্রে নিম্নলিখিত সেবাব্যবস্থা ও কেন্দ্রের দিকে বিশেষভাবে লক্ষ রাখা হয়েছিল: 

  • স্বাস্থ্যসেবা কেন্দ্র/হাসপাতাল/ক্লিনিক
  • তথ্যকেন্দ্র
  • মহিলাদের জন‍্য নিরাপদ জায়গা (সেফ স্পেস)
  • শিশুবান্ধব স্থান 
  • পুষ্টিকেন্দ্র
  • খাদ্য বিতরণকেন্দ্র

স্থানীয় সম্প্রদায়ের জানানো চাহিদা ও সুবিধার উপর ভিত্তি করে সাইট ব্যবস্থাপনা এজেন্সিগুলো যেন নির্দেশক চিহ্নের ডিজাইন তৈরির ক্ষেত্রে সমন্বিতভাবে কাজ করতে পারে তা-ই ছিল এই গবেষণার লক্ষ্য। পর্যবেক্ষণের জন্য মাঠ পর্যায়ের পরিদর্শন, ডিজাইন-পূর্ব ও ডিজাইন-পরবর্তী ফোকাস দল আলোচনা (এফজিডি), এবং সাইট ব্যবস্থাপনা সেক্টরের ওয়ার্কিং গ্রুপ ও ক্যাম্পের সব ম্যানেজারদের নিয়ে তৈরি একটি আলোচনা-দল এই গবেষণার অন্তর্ভুক্ত ছিল। আমরা নির্দেশক চিহ্নের প্রোটোটাইপের বোধগম্যতা পরীক্ষা করি, এবং একটি প্রি-পাইলট বেসলাইন স্টাডি পরিচালনা করি। 

রঙ, বিষয়বস্তু ও ভাষার ক্ষেত্রে সম্প্রদায়টির পছন্দ এবং নানা রকমের আকৃতি ও লোগো সম্পর্কে তাদের জ্ঞান নিয়ে এফজিডিগুলোতে আলোচনা করা হয়। সময় ও দূরত্ব তারা কীভাবে বোঝে তা এবং বিভিন্ন প্রকার ছবির ক্ষেত্রে তাদের সংশ্লিষ্ট সাংস্কৃতিক সংবেদনশীলতা নিয়েও কথা বলে হয়। গবেষণার এই পুরো সময় জুড়ে গ্রাফিক ডিজাইনারদের সাথে নিয়ে আমরা উন্নত মানের এমন কিছু নির্দেশক চিহ্ন তৈরির চেষ্টা করেছি যা সম্প্রদায়ের সদস্যরা দেখে বুঝতে পারবে। 

আরও ভাল নির্দেশক চিহ্ন কতটা দরকার তার পক্ষে-বিপক্ষে মানুষের সংখ্যা কেমন?

গবেষণার বিভিন্ন পর্যায়ে রোহিঙ্গা সম্প্রদায় থেকে জানানো হয়েছে যে, আরও উন্নত মানের নির্দেশক চিহ্ন তাদের প্রয়োজন। ২০২০ সালের জানুয়ারিতে আমরা ক্যাম্পের ৪০৪ জন বাসিন্দাকে প্রশ্ন করি যে তাঁরা ক্যাম্পের সেবা ব্যবস্থাগুলো খুঁজে বের করার সময় বর্তমানে যে সাইনবোর্ড ও নির্দেশক চিহ্নগুলো রয়েছে তা কতটা ব্যবহার করে থাকেন। আমরা দেখি যে –

  • ৪৫% উত্তর দিয়েছেন “কখনোই না” 
  • ১২% উত্তর দিয়েছেন “খুব কম” 
  • ১৫% উত্তর দিয়েছেন “কম”
  • ৬% উত্তর দিয়েছেন “মাঝে মাঝে”
  • ৬% উত্তর দিয়েছেন “প্রায়ই”
  • ১৬% উত্তর দিয়েছেন “সবসময়”।

সেবা ব্যবস্থার সাইনবোর্ড বা নির্দেশক চিহ্নগুলো পড়তে/অনুসরণ করতে কোনো সমস্যা হয় কি না তাও অংশগ্রহণকারীদের জিজ্ঞাসা করা হয়। এতে দেখা যায় –

  • ৬০% উত্তর দিয়েছেন “হ্যাঁ”
  • ৫% তাঁদের পরিচিতদের এমন সমস্যায় পড়তে হয়েছে বলে উল্লেখ করেছেন 
  • ৮৯% জানিয়েছেন যে, ক্যাম্পে আরও ভাল নির্দেশক চিহ্ন থাকলে সেবা ব্যবস্থাগুলো খুঁজে পেতে তাঁদের সুবিধা হবে 
  • ৯১% বলেছেন যে, আরও ভাল নির্দেশক থাকলে তাঁদের সেবাব্যবস্থা ব্যবহারের সম্ভাবনা বাড়বে। 

২০১৯ সালের অক্টোবরে সম্প্রদায়ের ১৭৯ জন সদস্যকে নিয়ে পরিচালিত বোধগম্যতা পরীক্ষায় একই প্রশ্নের জবাবে ৯৭% অংশগ্রহণকারী একই জবাব দিয়েছেন। জরিপটির সময় ৯৯%-এরও বেশি (১৭৯ জনের মধ্যে ১৭৮ জন) জানিয়েছেন যে, আরও ভাল নির্দেশক থাকলে বিভিন্ন সেবা পাওয়াটা তাঁদের জন্য আরও বেশি সহজ বা সুবিধাজনক হবে।

সময়নির্দেশক চিহ্ন বা সাইনবোর্ড

নির্বাচিত ছয় প্রকার সেবাব্যবস্থার জন্য ক্যাম্পে ব্যবহৃত বিভিন্ন ফরম্যাট ও ধাঁচের নির্দেশকের নমুনা আমাদের দল থেকে পর্যবেক্ষণ করা হয় এবং সেগুলোর ছবি তোলা হয়। সেগুলোতে বেশিরভাগ ক্ষেত্রেই তথ্য শুধু লেখা হিসাবে দেওয়া ছিল, আর তাও অধিকাংশ ইংরেজিতে আর মাঝে মাঝে সাথে বাংলা এবং/বা বর্মি ভাষায় অনুবাদ। তাৎক্ষণিকভাবেই কয়েকটি প্রবণতা আমাদের দলের চোখে পড়ে:

  • সবচেয়ে জনপ্রিয় ভাষা হচ্ছে ইংরেজি
  • সাইনবোর্ডগুলোতে একটা বড় অংশ জুড়ে সংস্থাগুলোর লোগো থাকে (বাড়াবাড়ি রকমের বেশি – কোনো কোনো ক্ষেত্রে ৬টি বড় বড় লোগো রয়েছে এমনও দেখা গিয়েছে)
  • তীরচিহ্ন দিয়ে দিক নির্দেশ করা হয়
  • নির্দেশক বা সাইনবোর্ডগুলোর আনুমানিক ৮০% ইংরেজিতে লেখা এবং সেগুলোতে কোনো ছবি বা আইকন নেই (সংস্থার লোগো ছাড়া), অথচ পড়তে পারে শরণার্থীদের মাত্র ৩০% 
  • একটি দিক নির্দেশনা অনুসরণ করে কিছুদূর যাওয়ার পর দেখা যায় সামনের গুরুত্বপূর্ণ মোড়গুলোতে আর কোনো সাইনবোর্ড নেই, যার ফলে এই দিক নির্দেশনাগুলো খুব একটা কাজে আসে না
  • নির্দিষ্ট করে কোনো সেবাব্যবস্থা বোঝাতে কোনো রকম ছবি বা আইকন ব্যবহার করা হয় না
  • নির্দেশক চিহ্নগুলোর মধ্যে মিলের খুবই অভাব, এমনকি দিক নির্দেশনা আর নির্দেশিত সেবা ব্যবস্থাগুলোর চিহ্নের মধ্যেও অসামঞ্জস্য দেখা যায়। 

চারটি ক্যাম্পে পর্যবেক্ষণের ফলে আমরা নিশ্চিত হই যে, বেশিরভাগ সাইনবোর্ড বা নির্দেশক চিহ্নের নকশা যেভাবে করা হয়েছে তা রোহিঙ্গাদেরকে—বিশেষ করে, যারা খুব বেশি পড়তে পারে না বা একদমই পারে না তাদেরকে—তথ্য জানাবার জন্য উপযোগী নয়।

গবেষণাটি থেকে আমরা কী জানতে পেরেছি?

সাইট ব্যবস্থাপনা কর্মী, রোহিঙ্গা সম্প্রদায়ের সদস্য এবং গ্রাফিক ডিজাইনারদের সাথে একসাথে মিলে টিডব্লিউবি-র গবেষকরা চিহ্নগুলোর প্রোটোটাইপ তৈরি করে। এসব নির্দেশক কেমন হওয়া উচিত তা সম্পর্কে সম্প্রদায়ের বেশ কিছু পছন্দ আমরা ফোকাস দলের আলোচনা এবং অন্যান্য পরামর্শদাতার সহায়তার মাধ্যমে শনাক্ত করি।

রঙ

  • নির্দিষ্ট রঙ প্রায়ই নির্দিষ্ট সংস্থাকে বুঝিয়ে থাকে (যেমন- নীল রঙ জাতিসংঘকে, গোলাপি রঙ ব্র্যাককে বোঝায়)। 
  • যারা পড়তে পারে না তাদের জন্য নির্দেশক বা সাইনবোর্ডের অর্থ বোঝার সবচেয়ে ভাল বা একমাত্র উপায় হচ্ছে রঙ দেখে চেনা, বিশেষ করে লেখার সাথে যখন কোনো ছবি থাকে না। তাই অন্তত কিছু রঙের ব‍্যবহার এখানে কাম‍্য। 
  • সম্প্রদায় থেকে কালার কন্ট্রাস্ট বা রঙের তীব্রতার পার্থক্যযুক্ত ডিজাইনের প্রতি পছন্দের কথা জানানো হয়েছে — গাঢ় রঙের পটভূমির উপর-হালকা রঙের লেখা/ছবি দেখা/পড়া সহজ হয়। 
  • চূড়ান্ত প্রোটোটাইপের পরীক্ষার সময় ১০০% অংশগ্রহণকারীই (১৭৯ জন) মূল ছবির চারদিকে রঙিন সীমানা আঁকা থাকলে ভাল হয় বলে জানিয়েছেন।

কোথায় এবং কখন

  • ফোকাস দলে অংশগ্রহণকারীদের মধ্যে তীরচিহ্নের প্রতি সন্তুষ্টি দেখা যায় নি। 
  • তাঁরা জানিয়েছেন যে, আঙুল দিয়ে দিক নির্দেশ করা হলে তা তাঁরা বেশি পছন্দ করবেন। 
    • চিহ্নগুলোর প্রোটোটাইপের চূড়ান্ত পরীক্ষার সময় অংশগ্রহণকারীদের ৯৩% আঙুলের ছবি দিয়ে নির্দেশিত দিক সঠিকভাবে সনাক্ত করতে পেরেছেন। 
    • ৭৬% অংশগ্রহণকারী জানিয়েছেন যে, গন্তব্যে পৌঁছে গেছেন বোঝাতে পাশাপাশি খোলা দুই হাতের ছবির পরিবর্তে নিম্নমুখী আঙুলের ছবি বেশি ভালো।
  • গন্তব্যে পৌঁছতে কত মিনিট লাগবে তা বোঝানো বেশ কষ্টসাধ্য বলে দেখা যায় – নানা রকম প্রচেষ্টার পরও উল্লেখযোগ্য ফল আসে নি। 
  • অংশগ্রহণকারীদের সাক্ষরতা অনুযায়ী, চূড়ান্ত প্রোটোটাইপ পরীক্ষায় ৫৪% অংশগ্রহণকারী প্রতিটি গন্তব‍্য পৌঁছানোর হন‍্য কতটুকু সময় লাগবে তা বুঝতে পেরেছেন।
here sign_ BGL Signage blog_ Apr 2020
ভাষা

বলা বাহুল্য, লেখা শুধু তাদেরই কাজে আসে যারা পড়তে পারে। 

  • লিখিত ভাষার মধ‍্যে বর্মি ও ইংরেজি সবচেয়ে বেশি মানুষ বুঝতে পারে।
  • সম্প্রদায়টির একটি বিশাল অংশই বাংলা পড়তে পারে না। কর্তৃপক্ষও সাইনবোর্ড বা নির্দেশক চিহ্নে বাংলা ভাষা ব্যবহারের পক্ষপাতী নয়। 
ফরম‍্যাট

format image

জনপ্রিয় নয় এমন ধরনের ছবি;
অংশগ্রহণকারীদের পছন্দ বাস্তবসম্মত আঁকা ছবি

  • ছবির নানাবিধ প্রকারের মধ্যে সেবা গ্রহণরত মানুষের বাস্তবসম্মত আঁকা ছবিই সবচেয়ে বেশি জনপ্রিয়।  
  • প্রোটোটাইপের পরীক্ষার সময় যাঁদের পরামর্শ নেওয়া হয়েছে তাঁদের ৮৩% বলেছেন যে, সাইনবোর্ড বা নির্দেশকে ছবি/কার্টুন এবং লেখা—দুটোর একসাথে থাকাটাই তাঁদের বেশি পছন্দ।
  • ৩%-এরও কম কেবল লেখা (বর্ণ/বাক্য) থাকলে ভাল হবে বলেছেন।
  • তোলা ছবি (ফটোগ্রাফ) জনপ্রিয়তা পায় নি (৮৯.৪% বলেছেন তোলা ছবি তাঁদের পছন্দ নয়)।  
  • মানুষের ছবির সরল রূপ (বা ইমোজির মত রূপ) বিভ্রান্তি সৃষ্টি করেছে, অংশগ্রহণকারীদের অনেকেই বলেছেন সেগুলোকে তাঁদের ভূত বলে মনে হয়।  
  • অংশগ্রহণকারীদের নব্বই শতাংশ জানিয়েছেন যে, তাঁরা সাধারণত ছবি দেখে কোনো সাইনবোর্ড বা নির্দেশকের অর্থ বোঝার চেষ্টা করে থাকেন। 

image designs

অবশেষে উন্নতির লক্ষণ দেখা যাচ্ছে!

Women safe space sign

মহিলাদের জন‍্য নিরাপদ স্থান: আমাদের অন‍্যতম একটি প্রোটোটাইপ

টিডব্লিউবির গবেষকদের সাথে কর্মরত আমাদের গ্রাফিক ডিজাইনাররা সমাধান হিসাবে এই চিহ্নটি ব‍্যবহার করতে পরামর্শ দিয়েছেন।  ক্যাম্পের রোহিঙ্গা বাসিন্দাদের পছন্দ ও চাহিদার উপর ভিত্তি করে তৈরি ছয়টি নির্দেশকের মধ্যে এটি একটি। এই নকশায় সম্প্রদায়ে পরীক্ষিত সচিত্র যোগাযোগ পদ্ধতি (জীবন্ত চিত্র, আঙুলের সাহায‍্যে দিক নির্দেশনা) ব‍্যবহার করার সাথে সাথে যারা পড়তে পারেন তাদের জন‍্য বর্মি ও ইংরেজি ভাষায় তথ‍্য সংযুক্ত করা হয়েছে। চিহ্নগুলোকে দেখতে খুব সাধারণ মনে হলেও, এগুলো সম্প্রদায়টির জটিল ও সুনির্দিষ্ট চাহিদাগুলো সামনে রেখে তৈরি করা হয়েছে। 

এই চিহ্নগুলির চূড়ান্ত প্রোটোটাইপ পরীক্ষার সময় সম্প্রদায়ের যেসব সদস্যের সাথে কথা বলা হয়েছে তাঁদের সবাই বলেছেন যে, এই ফরম্যাট মেনে ক্যাম্পে সাইনবোর্ড বা নির্দেশক লাগানো হলে তা তাঁদের জন্য সহায়ক হবে (৯৭% “অনেক সহায়ক”, ৩% “সহায়ক”)। চারটি ক্যাম্পে উল্লিখিত ছয়টি সেবা ব্যবস্থার সাইনবোর্ড বা নির্দেশক নিয়ে প্রারম্ভিক পরীক্ষার (পাইলট টেস্ট) প্রস্তুতি চলছে, আর এই ফলাফল পাওয়ার প্রত্যাশিত সময় ২০২০ সালের মাঝামাঝি। 

আশা করা যায় এবার রোহিঙ্গা শরণার্থীরা ক‍্যাম্পের ভেতরে পথ খুঁজে পাবেন!

Peter Squires, Evidence and Impact Officer for the Rohingya Response, Translators without Borders

The language lesson: what we’ve learned about communicating with Rohingya refugees

A Translators without Borders study found that access to information has improved in the Rohingya refugee response as a result of an increased humanitarian focus on communicating with communities. Yet language barriers still leave many Rohingya refugees without the critical and life-saving information they need. Prioritizing spoken communication in Rohingya and a mixed approach on formats and channels is key to effective communication.

Our assessment of comprehension and support needs among Rohingya refugees tested their comprehension of simple spoken, visual, and written information.

From the outset, language challenges have played a central role in the Rohingya refugee response. There are at least five languages — Rohingya, Bangla, Burmese, Chittagonian, and English — used in the response. Low literacy levels and limited access to media compound the situation.

To find out how humanitarians can effectively communicate with refugees, Translators without Borders assessed language comprehension and support needs among the refugees. We surveyed more than 400 Rohingya men and women living in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. We asked them what languages they spoke, how they preferred to receive information, and we tested their comprehension of simple spoken, visual, and written information.

Here is what we found.    

Communication has improved, but not all Rohingya refugees feel informed

Twenty-eight percent of refugees say they do not have enough information to make decisions for themselves and their family. Extrapolated to the whole camp population, this suggests that about 200,000 people feel that they lack the basis to make properly informed decisions.  Nevertheless, it is a marked improvement from a year ago when an assessment by Internews found that 79 percent of refugees did not have enough information.

Communication in spoken Rohingya is critical

Rohingya is the only spoken language that all refugees understand and prefer. Our study shows that 36 percent of refugees do not understand a simple sentence in Chittagonian. Women are less likely than men to understand spoken Bangla or Burmese. Refugees prefer to receive information in spoken Rohingya, either by word-of-mouth, loudspeaker, or phone call.

This preference for spoken Rohingya coincides with strong trust levels in imams, family, aid and medical professionals, and majhees (government-appointed community leaders) as sources of information. Radio, TV, and the internet are less trusted by and less familiar to women.

After spoken Rohingya, simple visual messaging is the most widely understood format. Comprehension rates for visual communication are high regardless of gender, age, or education level.

These Rohingya participants helped us assess language comprehension and support needs among the refugees living in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
These Rohingya participants helped us assess language comprehension and support needs among the refugees living in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

Burmese is the preferred written language, and is relatively well understood

After Rohingya, Burmese is the preferred language for written communication. Although two-thirds of refugees prefer written communication in Rohingya, the language lacks a universally accepted script. Refugees prefer written information to be given in brochure or leaflet form. This allows them to take information away with them and ask a friend or family member to help them understand it.

Sixty-six percent of refugees said that they cannot read or write in any language, and comprehension testing broadly confirmed this. When tested for reading comprehension, 36 percent understood Burmese, a similar rate to Bangla and English.

Investment in language will improve the response

These findings make it clear that there are varied language needs within the Rohingya community. They show that different people understand, prefer, and trust different formats and sources of information. Nonetheless, practical actions for effective humanitarian communication exist.

Using Rohingya for spoken communication, and Burmese for written information is important. Providing information in a mix of formats and channels to account for varied preferences and education levels will also help.

Investing in formal training for field workers and interpreters in the Rohingya language and in humanitarian interpretation techniques is key. Staff should be supported to communicate in the language understood and preferred by the whole community.

This enumerator is tests a Rohingya man’s comprehension of simple spoken information.

As time goes on, communication and language preferences may change. Ongoing assessments on information and language support needs should be coupled with further research to better understand communication issues affecting the Rohingya refugee response. Sustained coordination among humanitarian organizations can help ensure communication is consistent, appropriate, and addresses key community concerns.

View the research brief.

Read the full report.


This study is part of the Common Service for Community Engagement and Accountability. Funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) through the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and by European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO). It was conducted in partnership with IOM Needs and Population Monitoring and REACH Initiative. Translators without Borders has been working in Bangladesh in support of the Rohingya refugee response since 2017, conducting research on language barriers and communication needs, advocating for local language and cross-cultural competence, providing translation and localization support, and training humanitarian staff on the Rohingya language and culture.

Written by Mahrukh 'Maya' Hasan, Evidence and Impact Consultant for the Rohingya refugee crisis response in Bangladesh.

An evolving crisis needs an evolving glossary

The expanded TWB Bangladesh Glossary app is now available for field workers and interpreters working on the Rohingya humanitarian response.

As a humanitarian crisis evolves, so do the information needs of affected communities. And so does knowledge of the associated language complexities. Humanitarian responders gradually understand the linguistic ambiguities and cultural nuances that affect our work. Glossaries help to consolidate our knowledge and make us more effective.

The initial information needs relating to critical things like how to build shelter and how to access services have been met. But humanitarian responders are now addressing more complex ongoing issues affecting the community. That means language requirements are changing and becoming increasingly complex too.

A glossary to help 

Translators without Borders (TWB) released its Bangladesh Glossary app in June 2018 for people working on the Rohingya humanitarian response in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. It helps field workers, interpreters, and Rohingya refugees communicate between five languages: Rohingya, Bangla, Burmese, Chittagonian, and English.

You can view and use the TWB Bangladesh Glossary app here. It’s available offline for easy field access.

The initial TWB Bangladesh Glossary app included terms focused on WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene). But other humanitarian sectors clamored for a tool that could help them communicate more effectively too. TWB understands the importance of communicating in a language that affected people understand. So we responded to the clamor and added hundreds of new terms to the Bangladesh Glossary app.

Adding to the conversation

We’ve added 200 terms to improve conversations on key gender issues. For example, we learned that the term for puberty in Rohingya differs according to gender. Ghor-goille is literally translated as ‘entering the house’, and is used only for girls, as this is the beginning of their gender segregation. Certain words highlight how the community perceives women’s roles in society. Azad mela-fuain, commonly used by aid workers to refer to women’s independence, is often misunderstood by the Rohingya community as ‘a woman without morals’ (or a free or loose woman).  

“Conversations about sensitive gender issues can rely heavily on euphemisms,” says TWB Sociolinguistic Researcher, AK Rahim. “While there may be a correct term, there are euphemisms that the community prefers and feels more comfortable using. That’s why this tool is so important. It doesn’t only identify the correct word; it also helps humanitarians to respect the cultural importance of particular terms.”

This update also includes another 100 WASH terms and more health terms focusing on disability and inclusion. The addition of emergency terms will assist in discussions about disaster preparedness and response.

The expanded glossary is also easier to navigate, with sector-relevant categories now available on the left side of the app. We’ve also transliterated Chittagonian and Rohingya terms so that you can view and show them in both Latin English and Bengali scripts.

Of course, the tool can only make an impact when used, and we’re proud to say we have now trained close to 400 field workers to use it. In the next few months, we’ll be adding another 500 terms, focusing on the health, education, and nutrition sectors.  

The TWB Bangladesh Glossary app is a practical and evolving tool. We invite feedback from humanitarians and the community, so please get in touch with your suggestions and alert us to any faults. We want to know if you’re using the glossary, how you’re using it and when it’s not working.

As always, we are grateful to the partners who have contributed to this project, particularly Unicef, Oxfam, and Care International. The TWB Bangladesh Glossary app was developed with the support of IOM, the UN migration agency. It is co-funded by the UK Department for International Development, UNICEF, and Oxfam.

Basic download instructions for Android or iPhone are  here in English and Bangla.

  
Written by Irene Scott, TWB's Program Director, Bangladesh.
 

Translating with empathy improves wellbeing in Bangladesh

“I always put myself in the shoes of the person(s) for whom I am translating.” Mak, translator for Translators without Borders (TWB).

Translators improve lives by translating potentially lifesaving information into ‘marginalized’ languages spoken by vulnerable individuals. Those who volunteer for Translators without Borders bring a range of experiences and skills, but they share a vision of a world where knowledge knows no language barriers. We are grateful for all of our translators, and we love sharing their stories.

In Bangladesh, almost a million people are currently living in the largest makeshift refugee camp in the world. There, nonprofit organizations need to provide critical information quickly on matters such as cyclone preparedness, heavy rainfall, landslides and how to protect shelters in potentially life-threatening situations. All of this information needs to be translated into a language that is more accessible for Rohingya refugees, and in many cases, into the language of local volunteers and field workers. Enter Mahay Alam Khan, or Mak, a dedicated translator who works tirelessly to help translate critical documents into Bangla.

What makes Mak?

As one of our most skilled and committed Bangla translators, Mak brings twelve years of translation experience to TWB. In the past year, he has worked on over fifty tasks and translated over 40,000 words.

Mak has been known to go the extra mile to support TWB in our mission. He has spent nights working on urgent translations, journeyed to internet cafes, borrowed computers when necessary, and even worked on translating documents while changing houses in downtown Dhaka.

“If that’s not dedication, then I don’t know what is,” Dace, TWB’s Translation Emergency Coordinator, wholeheartedly attests to Mak’s merit.

Mak has his own praise for Dace and the team, telling us he is “always amazed to get continuous support from TWB management, admins and support personnel. They are so prompt and caring.”

Translating opens a window into the world of the Rohingya

Mak explains that translating with TWB has changed his perspective. The experience has opened a window through which he can look into the horrific conditions experienced by refugees and especially children.

“I knew a bit about the suffering and agony they endure in this world, but I never knew language barriers could be a reason why people become vulnerable,” recalls Mak.

In his time volunteering with TWB, Mak has worked on numerous projects with organizations like the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. He has translated knowledge in the fields of water, sanitation, health, and hygiene. One personally significant project focused on training health workers. While most of the refugees speak Rohingya rather than Bangla, the health workers are Bangla-speaking; it is important to train them in the right language. The content trained workers in teaching the refugee community how to prevent life-threatening diseases like diphtheria and dysentery, which affect children in particular.  

Mak has translated information on an array of subjects — beyond what you might have imagined. He has translated guidance on how to deal with violence against immigrants, and how to manage bodies in a proper and dignified manner after a fatal disaster. These are messages which are important to communicate sensitively and clearly. The knowledge he imparts in a critical language has a real and immediate effect on the lives of those affected by the crisis. And he bears this in mind as he makes his translations the most effective they can be.

Visualize the situation: Mak’s strategy

Working with TWB has influenced Mak’s whole approach – it has made him more expressive and more cognizant of the importance of his translation work. Before starting a translation, Mak says it’s important to visualize the people for whom he is ultimately translating.  He closes his eyes and imagines he is standing in a queue waiting for food or medicine. The language barrier between support workers and refugees makes it hard to distribute food, or even to ensure understanding of instructions for taking life-saving medicines.

So, he translates and helps people access information in a language they can understand.

To get in touch about any of the topics mentioned in this post, and to leave feedback please join the discussion here, or send an email to [email protected].

Support the Rohingya refugee response by donating here.

 

Written by Danielle Moore, Digital Communications Intern for TWB, with interview responses by Mahay Alam Khan, Kató translator for TWB.

 

Hefazot transforms to nirapotta; janela becomes kirkiri

One year into the Rohingya refugee response, a language evolves with its people.

Language is fluid. It is subject to environment, culture, and the whims of communities. It’s been one year since more than 700,000 Rohingya fled over the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh. And it is here in these cramped refugee camps that a language is shifting and evolving right in front of us.

The early days

In the early days of the response, the language challenges for the refugee community were immense. First responders struggled to communicate where and how to access lifesaving services, and to document individual accounts of trauma. The community struggled to explain its essential needs (According to one report, more than 60% of refugees said they could not communicate with aid workers), and dozens of untrained interpreters emerged overnight to fill the need for linguistic middlemen. Many of these amateur interpreters spoke the local Chittagonian; while somewhat similar, there are very distinct differences in the languages that create confusion, misinformation and miscommunication. Rohingya speakers estimate that there is around a 70% similarity between Chittagonian and Rohingya (Rohingya Zuban report). That might sound pretty good – but keep in mind that there is more than 80 percent similarity between Spanish and Italian, and no one would ever hire an Italian interpreter for a Spanish refugee!

“Only a few of our men knew Bangla or English. The locals were helping, but even they couldn’t fully understand us. We couldn’t explain to them why we were fleeing, what was being done to us across the river.”  

Woman in her mid-30s, living in Nayapara, an informal camp in the region.

For example, early in the response, the phrase ‘violence against women’ was frequently misinterpreted as ‘violent women’. Certain kinship terms, like husband (beda / zamai / shwami) and daughter (zer-fua / maya-fua / mela-fua), led to some families being separated when shelters were assigned. Then there was gaa lamani — in Rohingya it means diarrhea, but in Chittagonian, it literally translates as ‘body falling down.’ This certainly led to some confusing sessions with health workers.

Signs directing the community to health centers, food distribution sites and other essential services were written mostly in English (although less than 5 percent of the population is literate in English). The main avenue to complain or give feedback was the complaints box – a concept that not only requires a level of literacy, but is also culturally alien to the community.

Help desk sign

A new way forward

A year on, many organizations are creating innovative ways to communicate. For example, many are working with the community to develop image-based signage.The challenges in developing images that represent such seemingly simple concepts as ‘caution’ or ‘hospital’ give an insight into the complexities of communicating symbols amongst different languages and cultures.

“A white hand means clean hand. If you want to stay ‘stop’ or ‘caution’, use red. A red hand will stand out. It will tell us to stop.”

Middle-aged man, testing shelter signage

More than a million Rohingya refugees now live in camps spread across the southernmost tip of Bangladesh. Here, older refugee communities that arrived over the last 30 years live side by side with new arrivals and the host community. Throw into the language ecosystem the institutionalized jargon spoken by English speaking aid workers and you have a fascinating interplay of language and culture.

Language is influenced by its surroundings. For example, the Rohingya dialect spoken by the older arrivals now differs from the Rohingya spoken by the newer arrivals. Decades of living amongst a Bangladeshi host community has seen their mother tongue adopt a number of Bangla words. For example, a newly arrived refugee might use the word hefazot, to refer to ‘security’ or ‘safety’ while the more established refugee community now borrows from Bangla nirapotta. Older refugees might use the word janela (actually borrowed from the former Portuguese colonizers) meaning window, while newer refugees use kirkiri.

“When I go to the clinic, the doctor can’t understand when I explain what’s wrong using Rohingya language. The health interpreter sometimes teaches me the word for my condition in Bangla. This is helping me communicate better with the doctor.”

Woman, 54

When speaking to a newly arrived Rohingya refugee, you will notice the influence of Burmese, Arabic, and Farsi in their terminology. Serama (from siyama in Burmese, meaning ‘female teacher’), serang (‘to make a list’) and atwarta (‘documents’) show the Burmese and Rakhine influence on the language. While mosiboth (‘danger’) and izzot (‘honor’) come from Arabic, aramiyoth (‘health’), moroth (‘male’), and rong (‘color’) are Farsi words either borrowed directly or via Urdu.

“Sometimes it’s even difficult for us to understand the new Rohingyas, especially if they come from fuk-kool” (literally, ‘the east side’ of the mountain range). “Their accent is distinct, and they use words that many other Rohingyas don’t use. Maybe they use more Rakhine words.” 

Salim, Rohingya interpreter from Teknaf.

In the last year it has become clear that humanitarian responders are giving more than aid to the community. New English words are creeping into Rohingya dialogue every day.  For example, the Rohingya word for ‘toilet’, tatti is now commonly replaced by the word lettin (from ‘latrine’) and modotgoroya, the word for ‘aid worker’, has become bolontiyar (from ‘volunteer’) in everyday Rohingya vocabulary. While the registered Rohingya community uses the Bangla word shoronati, the newer arrivals have replaced the Burmese dokasi with the English word ‘refugee’ (pronounced rifuzi). Interestingly, even English words that they picked up while in Myanmar are now being replaced with “newer” English words, like the word for intravenous saline (deep from ‘drip’ in Myanmar; selain from ‘saline’ in Bangladesh).

“Most of us now say ‘hosfital’ for medical centers, but the older women still prefer to ‘dattahana.’”

Young woman, focus group discussion

The camp is full of different languages; Burmese rhymes compete with Arabic hymns and Hindi pop songs. The community is eager to learn new languages. Burmese is regularly cited as the most desirable language to learn, closely followed by English and Bangla (in that order). And while the teaching of Bangla is officially banned by the government, some Rohingya men – particularly the youth – study informally at night among themselves and with the older, registered Rohingya refugees.

This is what makes our work here so fascinating. It’s riveting watching language twist and turn to fit into its new environment like you would squeeze into a pair of new jeans. That’s why resources like our glossary, resources, and the training we provide to field workers in this response is so crucial. This ensures important information is delivered in the right language and that as their language needs shift and evolve, we are able to move with them. Over the next year we’re sure to see more change, as more children have access to learning centers that teach English and Burmese, and interactions between the community and aid workers from around the world increase. Listen carefully; language matters.

This blog post is based on dozens of conversations and focus groups held by TWB with the community over the last year.

Written by Irene Scott, TWB Program Director, Bangladesh, and AK Rahim, TWB Sociolinguistic Researcher.

Report from the Field

Our Board Chair visits Bangladesh, sees progress and challenges first hand

I recently visited Bangladesh with Ellie Kemp, our Head of Crisis Response, to see first hand the work of Translators without Borders (TWB) around the Rohingya crisis. Our trip included a visit to the “megacamp” at Kutupalong, the biggest refugee camp in the world, and meetings with our partner humanitarian response teams based in Cox’s Bazar. We also spent a few days in Dhaka meeting with donors and partner organizations.  

The crisis is an incredibly challenging one. One year ago this month, the Myanmar army escalated a long-standing campaign of persecution against the largely Muslim Rohingya to what the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has characterized as ethnic cleansing. Thousands were killed in Myanmar, and over 700,000 fled over the Naf river to Bangladesh; at the peak, 20,000 refugees arrived per day. The Myanmar government refuses to recognize the Rohingya as citizens, claiming they are Bangladeshi migrants. The Bangladeshi government, although generously offering them sanctuary, is facing its own political challenges and does not recognize them as refugees either.

The Rohingya people therefore are denied the right to work and not allowed to register as residents, and cannot build more permanent homes than the bamboo and tarpaulin shelters they have been in for the last 12 months. Formal schooling is not allowed in the camps;  people in camps are even officially forbidden from owning mobile phones. On top of this the humanitarian response has been suffering from poor coordination due to unclear division of responsibilities. Unfortunately these challenges have been acutely felt in the way the responding organizations have communicated with the communities they are trying to help.

This response was supposed to be different.

There has been increasing awareness over the last few years of the need to improve programs for communicating with communities (CwC) and to build these programs into every response. This was one of the first major responses since the World Humanitarian Summit “Grand Bargain” signed two years ago in Istanbul, where the humanitarian community committed itself to doing this better. Unfortunately it has not quite played out that way. Too often, key roles in CwC are left vacant or not given the resources they need. Key initiatives, such as refugee registration (a sensitive topic for a systematically persecuted population), have been handled without proper planning of how to communicate. And while some major donors, such as the UK’s DFID and the EU’s ECHO now recognize the problem with inadequate funding for CwC, the funding provision still remains far below the need. Our task on advocacy around the need for mainstreaming CwC continues…

Andrew B,
Andrew Bredenkamp at Kutupalong camp, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

From a linguistic perspective the situation is complex too. Rohingya is not a written language, and the thousands of Rohingya in the camps who have received an education were taught in Burmese. Rohingya is related to Chittagonian, the local language spoken in Cox’s Bazar and more distantly Bangla, the national language of Bangladesh. Unfortunately this has sometimes led to responders assuming that Chittagonian and Rohingya are basically the same language. We heard the statement repeatedly that “Chittagonian and Rohingya are 70 percent the same, so we’re using Chittagonian speakers”. Bearing in mind Spanish and Italian are 80 percent similar and that no one would consider using Italian to communicate with a Spanish community, this highlights the need for continued awareness about language issues among responders.

This is not an academic discussion.

The words for “help,” “pain,” “pregnant,” and “menstruation,” even the phrase for the common cold, are all unrecognizably different in Rohingya and Chittagonian. There seem even to be differences between language used by male and female Rohingya speakers.    

Despite these difficulties TWB and our consortium partners, BBC Media Action and Internews, have been able to make a huge difference. Here are some of the highlights:

  • We have been providing language services across the response into both Bangla and Rohingya.
  • We have been providing training for staff and volunteers working for the response organizations, focusing on the differences between Chittagonian and Rohingya and developing glossaries around key topics for critical sectors, such as water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), health, and protection, including work around gender-based violence.
  • We have been supporting the listening programs of our partner Internews and the content programs of BBC Media Action, helping to make the response more accountable to the refugees and host communities.
  • We have been continuing to advocate for all aspects of the response to take into account the need to communicate with the Rohingya community and the local host population.

Enormous credit has to go to the team, led by Ben Noble, our Country Director, and Irene Scott, Program Director. I have to also mention the amazing efforts of AK Rahim, our South Asian linguistic expert. AK is an amazing source of knowledge about the languages and cultures of the region and how they interact. He has been our secret weapon in winning the trust of the host Chittagonian population as well as the Rohingya community, and has led the research that enables us to provide practical advice for humanitarians on communicating more effectively with both.

We heard time and again from our humanitarian partners that our work was indispensable and extremely effective.

Our donor meetings were extremely encouraging, not just in terms of the desire to support our work in Cox’s Bazar, but also more strategically. There was explicit confirmation at the highest level that “the humanitarian community is still not doing enough on CwC.”

Overall another great testimony to the importance of our mission. There is a lot we can learn about this response for others we are and will be involved in. The need remains immense.

Donate to the Rohingya refugee response

Written by Andrew Bredenkamp, Chairman of Translators without Borders Board of Directors.

Language Technology Could Help 157 Million People Get Access To Information

I was exhausted.  It had been a great week in Bangladesh, but the overload of language, smells, refugee camp, seeing old friends, meeting new friends, government, donors, and all the while pretending like I wasn’t jetlagged, was taking its toll.  I just wanted to go to sleep.

My last meeting was in Dhaka with someone in the Prime Minister’s office.  I had little hope of staying awake through the meeting.

And yet, I was captivated.

Bangladesh Help Desk Signage
Bangladesh Help Desk Signage

The literacy rate in Bangladesh is considered low (72.8% according to UNESCO in 2016) but is just below the global average. Literacy among women is lower (69.9%); but, in general, the majority of the people have at least basic literacy skills.  There is 90 percent mobile phone penetration and 96 percent mobile internet access. The International Mother Language Institute, the body in Bangladesh that supports the promotion, spread, and preservation of Bangla languages, says that 41 languages are spoken in the country, only five of which have written scripts.  In the humanitarian response for Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Translators without Borders (TWB) finds the situation particularly difficult. Rohingya has no agreed written script. Very few of the refugees can read and write, there are few people who speak Rohingya and anything else well. Add to this mix low radio coverage – not only do the Rohingya not have radios, even if they did there is not even radio coverage in parts of the camps, and about one million people living in poor and difficult conditions that speak many different dialects and you begin to understand why communicating effectively is difficult.

It’s vitally important that there is two-way communication between the people – refugees and local Bangladeshis – and the government and aid workers. Take the issue of the coming monsoon. The formal and makeshift refugee camps have sprouted up all over the Cox’s Bazar district, an area that includes a national park and lush forest. But now the trees have been torn down to make room for shelters and for firewood.  This makes the soil very unstable and dangerous, with monsoon rains promising huge mud pits and the possibility of landslides. It is also a hilly area; tents are built on the sides of hills that will become slippery and unstable with heavy rains and wind. Refugees, as well as local residents, need to know where to go, what to do if there’s an emergency, how to get help for those needing medical attention, and what to do if food gets swept away.  

The challenges abound. The digital world seems a world away.    

And yet, enter Dr. Jami.  In a buzzy, busy office with a high level of excitement and a relatively good gender balance, I was suddenly in the middle of a high tech environment.  Dr. Jami launched directly into what he wanted us to know and do.

Dr. Jami runs the Access to Information (A2I, inevitably) project in the Prime Minister’s office. The aim is to help the people of Bangladesh quickly and easily get information on public services. One of A2I’s projects is the digitization of government institutions; they have developed over 1,000 key government websites.  Dr. Jami is not a language guy (he’s a solutions architect), but he proceeds to tell me quickly that Bangla was only standardized in Unicode five years ago, so there is very little data available from which to build good translation engines.  While there’s 90 percent mobile phone penetration, in 2018 GSMA estimated that only 28-30 percent of those were smartphones. Yet, 96 percent of internet access is via phones. Whaaa? How does that work? It’s also startling how little desktops and laptops are used to access the internet.  

I asked a taxi driver, who was using a smartphone, if he used his phone for the internet.  He replied, “No, but I use it for Facebook.”

There are no data charges for Facebook in Bangladesh – unless you want to see videos or pictures.  Internet use is Facebook and Facebook is only text. Those who are illiterate, or only barely literate, won’t have smartphones.

To Dr. Jami, who needs more people to have smartphones to help ensure they can get access to information, the cost is not the barrier:  There are very inexpensive smartphones in Bangladesh. He believes it is fear of technology, which he believes is associated with illiteracy. To reach his goal of migrating 70 percent of the current mobile phone users to smartphones, he must address fear.

Language is an issue.  With a population of over 157 million people, and one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, you’d think that the language technology for Bangla would be outstanding.  It’s not. That’s surprising. And without that technology, equipping 1,000 websites with dynamic information in Bangla is nearly impossible, not to mention making them interactive and/or adding audio.

The work that A2I is doing is globally relevant, of course.  Other countries are already seeking their support to bring better access to information to their people.  He mentions that they are already working in South Sudan – which has the 2nd lowest literacy rate in the world.  Again, the language barrier is huge. And, again, there is little digital language data.  

Dr. Jami has heard of TWB’s Gamayun project – can we help?  Can we be a neutral broker to bring together the limited language data out there and leverage our knowledge of language and the language industry to help Bangladeshis get access to information about basic services?  

Dr. Jami and the TWB team will continue this conversation – there are still many questions to be asked and answered.  But I was impressed by the enthusiasm and the accomplishments of his team. And I am really excited to see where Dr. Jami and other countries take this exciting initiative.

Written by Translators without Borders' Executive Director Aimee Ansari. This article was also published on HuffPost UK.
Read a related post on The #LanguageMatters blog, ‘Language: Our Collective Blind Spot in the Participation Revolution’.  In TWB’s last blog post, Executive Director Aimee Ansari explains why we need to create and disseminate a global dataset on language and communication for crisis-affected countries. 

Bangladesh Program Update

Bridging language gaps empowers people to communicate in Cox’s Bazar refugee camps

Kutupalong makeshift camp, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
Kutupalong makeshift camp, Cox’s Bazar.

Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, once famed for its beautiful 120km long beach, is now home to one of the largest refugee populations in the world. Between 900,000 and one million Rohingya women, men and children, depending on the estimates, now live in the area. Since August 2017, more than 670,000 Rohingya have fled across the border from Myanmar and settled in camps in and around Cox’s Bazar.

Translators without Borders (TWB) first came to Cox’s Bazar in October to assess the communication and information needs of the affected population.

Our team rapidly discovered that language was making communication between the affected communities, humanitarian organizations, and the host population extremely difficult. As reported by our partner organization Internews, more than 70 percent of the refugee population identified themselves as being totally illiterate in any language and more than 60 percent said they were unable to speak to humanitarian providers.

In Cox’s Bazar, Rohingya is often the only language spoken by those most in need. It is an oral language, with no commonly accepted written script.

One of the major communication problems in this humanitarian crisis is the lack of a common language. The humanitarian workers mostly speak English, local NGOs and government officials speak Bengali, many interpreters speak Chittagonian, and the refugees speak Rohingya.

The reality

Take a moment to imagine this in the context of a refugee camp. Signs are erected to identify health facilities and safe spaces for women in a language they do not understand. Information can become distorted as it is passed from person to person and humanitarian organizations rely on untrained interpreters to communicate life-saving information as part of their support to the refugees. As summarized by TWB’s sociologist,

Three interpreters (Hassan, Rafique, and Abdullah) in Kutupalong makeshift camp near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Photo: Eric DeLuca / Translators without Borders
Three interpreters (Hassan, Rafique, and Abdullah) in Kutupalong makeshift camp near Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. 

“There’s just a lot of crucial information lost in this crisis.”

One of the most urgent needs is to find ways for the refugee population to fully express their needs to humanitarian responders.

With thorough research and community interaction, we are developing a professional training program and tools to help interpreters and humanitarian organizations understand some of the cultural and linguistic specificities of the refugee population.

Shades of meaning

TWB is developing a freely downloadable glossary of key humanitarian terms. This translates technical terminology in English into simple and clear Bengali, Rohingya, Chittagonian, and Burmese terms. The aim is to cover concepts relevant to a range of sectors, making the glossary useful across the humanitarian response.

‘We really deliberated on the meanings and context of the translations,’ says TWB’s sociolinguist. ‘Words can have shades of meaning, so the social and cultural context is important.’

Working as a consortium with Internews and BBC Media Action, TWB is contributing to a regular newsletter distributed to all humanitarian organizations in Cox’s Bazar. This newsletter, entitled What Matters? The Humanitarian Feedback Bulletin, specifically addresses communication and language issues. The first newsletter, distributed in February this year, highlighted the important differences in weather terms between Chittagonian, Bengali, and Rohingya. This is vital when distinguishing between a warning for strong winds or a cyclone, for instance. 

Ultimately, bridging these gaps is empowering people to communicate. When people can communicate they can assert their rights and humanitarians can deliver life-saving information.

With the cyclone and monsoon season starting soon, the need for simple and actionable information, in plain and clear language that the refugees can understand, is becoming even more acute. The United Nations has estimated that more than 100,000 refugees could be in grave danger when the rains begin in April. These are likely to cause major flooding and landslides in the steep hills and unstable terrain where the camps are located and contribute to the spread of disease.

‘This is where translating key Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) messages are critical,’ says our sociolinguist. ‘Community workers need to be able to explain the differences in severe weather systems between here and Myanmar, what services are there to help in a disaster, even how to help prevent the spread of disease. These are not messages you can afford to miscommunicate.’

Follow the progress of our work in Cox’s Bazar and consider a donation to support our work around the globe.

Written by TWB’s Program Director for Bangladesh

The Silver Lining – Education brings hope during a refugee crisis

There is a lot of despair and pain radiating from the refugee camps in and around the Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh. Physical pain from disease and injury, coupled with a lack of food, are constant issues for the Rohingya refugees in the camps. The mental anguish is much greater. Loss of family to violence, loss of homes and crops, and an ongoing feeling of degradation and violation of rights – this anguish lives with every refugee, every day.

And yet, while walking through camps, meeting with responders and activists throughout Cox’s Bazar, there was also a thin yet constant thread of hope. Would it be possible, now that the refugees are relatively safe, in camps run by Bangladesh and the international community, to truly educate hundreds of thousands of Rohingya children, giving them a future they could not have previously imagined?

Educating an illiterate population

The new influx of more than 600,000 refugees to Bangladesh includes a large number of school-age children. According to Save the Children over 60 percent of the new refugees are children. These numbers could increase as even more refugees are expected to cross the border by the end of the year. UNICEF estimates that more than 450,000 Rohingya children aged 4-18 years old are in need of education services. That includes those who have been in the camps for longer periods [source: Reliefweb].

Evidence indicates that a very large number of the children, as well as the adults, are illiterate. In fact, in a rapid survey conducted by the TWB team in October with Rohingya refugees, 73 percent of respondents self-reported to be illiterate. This illiteracy is limiting the children’s ability to be further educated and to demand their human rights.

Evidence also indicates that when education is made available, literacy rates increase. In fact, in the study TWB completed last month, it was clear that refugees who have been in Bangladesh longer show higher levels of literacy than those who had more recently-arrived.  While not easy to obtain, education is more readily available in the established camps than it was in Myanmar where twin restrictions against movement between villages and education above primary level severely limited access to education. When our team tested populations who have been in Cox’s Bazar since prior to August 2017, comprehension rates improved across the board.

Now, with hundreds of thousands of children together in the refugee camps in Bangladesh, is this an opportunity to offer them education and a future?

Unfortunately, though, the language of instruction will be unfamiliar to the Rohingya children. Currently, a number of organizations are looking to set up learning centers in the camps. The goal is to give the refugee children at least two hours of education a day, beginning in January. Yet the official curriculum that the government of Bangladesh has approved does not include mother tongue education, and the teachers who are being hired will teach in Bangla and Burmese, two languages that the children do not read or speak.

Why mother tongue education matters

A wealth of experience and evidence over the last 50 years has proven that children learn better when they are taught in their mother tongue language. We also know that countries do better when their children are educated well. Evidence from a project that Save the Children has implemented in Thailand focusing on mother tongue education for Rohingya children, shows that learning a second language, English or Thai, is difficult when children do not understand the language of instruction. This undermines children’s ability to participate and invest in their education, despite their motivation [source: Save the Children].

But the issues with mother tongue education for the Rohingya children are deeper, because their mother tongue, Rohingya Zuban, is largely oral. The illiterate community speaks it fluently but does not generally have a means for written communication, through their mother tongue. Interesting work is already being done to establish a written form of Rohingya Zuban. A script was developed decades ago, and has been taught within the established camps and throughout areas of Bangladesh and Malaysia. The teaching is generally ‘under the radar’ of even informal education centers, and the materials used are handwritten, as unicoding of the language, is not complete. But even so, there is a major desire among the children and adults in the established camps to learn the written form; estimates put the number who have learned some of it at 10,000. Even more encouraging is the excitement generated among the students when they do have the opportunity to learn it – there is a true sense of the empowerment and identity that learning to read their own language gives them.

This initial mother tongue education work is unknown to most international agencies setting up learning centers, and its potential is unexplored. TWB is working with these agencies, as well as local organizations, international organizations specializing in mother tongue education and hopefully, the Bangladesh government, to include mother tongue tools in the curriculum. Teaching aids in Rohingya Zuban, mobile and online tools in unicoded Rohingya Zuban, and printed Rohingya Zuban early readers would all make a difference.

Now, back home and separated from the daily grind of the response by miles and time, I have reflected on that seed of hope that is education, and started to figure out how TWB can contribute to its growth. I believe TWB can make the greatest impact, by including mother tongue teaching and learning aids into the education programs being developed for Rohingya children.

The Rohingya refugee crisis offers the potential to educate hundreds of thousands of illiterate children, eager to learn, in their mother tongue. I hope we can make it happen.

Please follow this link to support TWB’s response to the Rohingya refugee crisis. 

Rebecca PetrasBy Rebecca Petras, Deputy Director and Head of Innovation at Translators without Borders.