| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6] > | Translator arrested for translating human rights material Thread poster: Percy Balemans (X)
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| From Freedom House | Apr 17, 2007 |
A member of Veritas, a popular new Uzbek human rights group, Umida also worked as a translator for Human Rights Watch and is a former Freedom House employee. In late December 2006, she was detained by the police upon her return from an OSCE conference in Kyrgyzstan, and her laptop, which may have contained human rights-related documents, was confiscated. As many standard human rights documents are deemed illegal by the Uzbek government, Umida left Uzbekistan for neighboring Kyrgyzstan to avoid p... See more A member of Veritas, a popular new Uzbek human rights group, Umida also worked as a translator for Human Rights Watch and is a former Freedom House employee. In late December 2006, she was detained by the police upon her return from an OSCE conference in Kyrgyzstan, and her laptop, which may have contained human rights-related documents, was confiscated. As many standard human rights documents are deemed illegal by the Uzbek government, Umida left Uzbekistan for neighboring Kyrgyzstan to avoid possible arrest. However, she returned in mid-January to rejoin her family after assurances from her lawyer that no charges had been raised against her. Instead, she was arrested on charges of smuggling extremist literature and illegally crossing the border from Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan.
http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=353 ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I'm breathless | Apr 17, 2007 |
Thanks for all the information. She definitely needs help, and we, beside others, can help her.
I just would like to answer a post that suggested boycotting translation and interpreting work that involves the Uzbek language. I don't agree - it would be as if we punished innocent people because they work in language pairs similar to the victim's. This would be prpetrating hate crimes. Instead, let's make sure all translators/interpreters working into/from Uzbek know about this and in... See more Thanks for all the information. She definitely needs help, and we, beside others, can help her.
I just would like to answer a post that suggested boycotting translation and interpreting work that involves the Uzbek language. I don't agree - it would be as if we punished innocent people because they work in language pairs similar to the victim's. This would be prpetrating hate crimes. Instead, let's make sure all translators/interpreters working into/from Uzbek know about this and invite them to make writing letters to help free Umida a condition for language service contracts. It would come down to having every single client commit to write letters along with us, which would not strip people in a poor enough country out of work, but which would also add some weight to our endeavours - if all clients of Uzbek-language translations/interpretation wrote letters, the letters would be too many to count. I think raising awareness is the key to this question. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Percy Balemans (X) 
Netherlands
Local time: 00:00
TOPIC STARTER | Raise awareness | Apr 17, 2007 |
Viktoria Gimbe wrote:
I just would like to answer a post that suggested boycotting translation and interpreting work that involves the Uzbek language. I don't agree - it would be as if we punished innocent people because they work in language pairs similar to the victim's. This would be prpetrating hate crimes. Instead, let's make sure all translators/interpreters working into/from Uzbek know about this and invite them to make writing letters to help free Umida a condition for language service contracts. It would come down to having every single client commit to write letters along with us, which would not strip people in a poor enough country out of work, but which would also add some weight to our endeavours - if all clients of Uzbek-language translations/interpretation wrote letters, the letters would be too many to count. I think raising awareness is the key to this question.
I agree. We shouldn't punish our colleagues who aren't allowed to do their job. Instead, we should raise awareness of the difficult situation they are in. I like your suggestion, Viktoria!
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I have no idea how I can help but am willing to do anything I can, f*** oppression!
Stephen
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| Mail to Amnesty | Apr 17, 2007 |
Katrin Lueke wrote:
Hi all,
I have just sent an email to the German bureau of Amnesty International.
Hopefully they respond soon.
I will let you know then.
Best regards,
Katrin
Hi Karin,
I also did that as soon as I read the article. Let's hope they can do something about it...
Best,
Carolin
| | | | | If I can help | Apr 17, 2007 |
Please let me know,
Angioletta
| | | | Gabi Ancarol (X)
Italy
Italian to Spanish
+ ...
| Let's do something about it | Apr 17, 2007 |
Let's take action, it's 2007! Things like this shouldn't be happening anymore!
I'm absolutely willing to help her.
Maria Gabriela Ancarola
| | | | Owen Davies
Japan
Local time: 07:00
Member (2007)
Japanese to English
+ ...
| Amnesty requests for forwarding responses | Apr 17, 2007 |
Amnesty have requested that any responses from any representatives of the Uzbekistan government be forwarded to them. I haven't received a response yet, was wondering if anyone else had?
A few people have been wondering what to write, this may help when phrasing your petitions:
http://enews.ferghana.ru/article.php?id=1858
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mediamatrix (X)
Local time: 18:00
Spanish to English
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| The wider issue - and some ideas for action... | Apr 17, 2007 |
Reference was made by Clare to the support given by organizations such as Reporters sans Frontiers to journalists who put their lives at risk as they provide coverage of war and strife worldwide.
The press is of course particularly well-equipped to help its own members - just look at the recent wave of international support for BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, who was kidnapped on 12 ... See more Reference was made by Clare to the support given by organizations such as Reporters sans Frontiers to journalists who put their lives at risk as they provide coverage of war and strife worldwide.
The press is of course particularly well-equipped to help its own members - just look at the recent wave of international support for BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, who was kidnapped on 12 March in Gaza http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/04_april/13/johnston.shtml .
That said, the media professionals we see on our TV screens, in the newspapers and on the web do not work entirely alone. Wherever they work - and especially in countries where the journalist does not speak the language - they are supported by local people acting as drivers, guards ... and of course interpreters and translators. In the lingo of the press, these people are referred to as 'Media Assistants'.
The following list, reproduced from the Reporters sans Frontiers website www.rsf.org/special_iraq_en.php3 gives the names of people who are known to have died in Iraq since March 2003 while practicing OUR profession - translation and interpretation:
10.01.2006 - Allan Enwiyah, American journalist Jill Carroll’s interpreter
27.05.2004 - Muhammad Aldin, translator, Le Soir
25.05.2004 - Unknown, translator
26.03.2004 - Omar Hashim Kamal, translator, Time
06.04.2003 - Kamaran Abdurazaq Muhamed, translator, BBC
22.03.2003 - Hussein Othman, translator, ITV News
Having spent most of my working life connected in some way with the media - although never at the sharp end like Alan Johnston, or 'Unknown' - I have always found it remarkable that people are prepared to put their lives on the line for the sake of press freedom and the 'right to know'. And I am immensly grateful to them for their sacrifice.
I have a few suggestions that might further the cause of Umida Niyazova, specifically, and of our other colleagues - known or unknown - who face similar difficulties.
The first would be for those who have already participated in this thread, and those hundreds of other colleagues who have readit, to seek out information on the Web in as many other languages as possible, and start threads in the appropriate language forum here on Proz.com, to spread the word to non-English speaking Proziens. (The RSF website has reports about Umida Niyazova in half-a-dozen languages, for example.) And if there is nothing available in your language, then why not translate it and post it!
The second would be (as suggested already by Clare) the creation of a forum to focus specifically on matters of this kind. It really is ridiculous - not to say insulting - to have this topic headed "Lighter side of trans/interp".
The third would be for Henry to forego paid advertising in the main banner at the top of every Proz.com page and replace it with a banner linking to the forum page(s) about this important issue. And Henry should leave it there until Umida Niyazova is freed!
The fourth would be for Proz.com to adopt Umida Niyazova as an honorary member, and for Henry to use Proz.com funds and expertise to make sure the world's press is informed about it.
MediaMatrix ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Incredible and painful | Apr 17, 2007 |
I am in the middle of moving back to Ecuador now so my brain (and the rest too) is/are a little messy, but this is something we have to do no matter what. I'll also send a letter. Thanks for bringing this up.
| | | | Gabi Ancarol (X)
Italy
Italian to Spanish
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Owen Davies wrote: Amnesty have requested that any responses from any representatives of the Uzbekistan government be forwarded to them. I haven't received a response yet, was wondering if anyone else had? A few people have been wondering what to write, this may help when phrasing your petitions: http://enews.ferghana.ru/article.php?id=1858
The thing is they absolutely ignore e-mails regarding this subject. I wonder whether Amnesty is aware of this fact. Maybe they could suggest any other course of action.
By the way, the US embassy mail address seems to be incorrect. All mails I sent were sent back by the system.
Any other idea how to keep on pushing to get a reply?
Gabi
[Edited at 2007-04-18 10:48]
| | | | Percy Balemans (X)
Netherlands
Local time: 00:00
TOPIC STARTER | Don't expect a reply | Apr 18, 2007 |
Maria Gabriela Ancarola wrote:
The thing is they absolutely ignore e-mails regarding this subject. I wonder whether Amnesty is aware of this fact. Maybe they could suggest any other course of action.
Just because they don't reply doesn't mean they are ignoring the messages. I write letters and emails for Amnesty every month and have been doing this for years. I think I've only ever received a reply once. However, numerous people I wrote for were released or received better treatment as a result of these campaigns. A lot of governments pretend to ignore these messages and don't take the trouble to reply, but at the same time they do not like the fact that apparently hundreds of people all over the world know they are violating human rights. This is why letter writing does help in many cases.
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sal4trans
Local time: 02:00
Arabic to English
These are thugs. No more, no less. Politicians who act like they are gods and everyone should obey their dictates are no less despicable than thugs who go about harassing people and killing and maiming innocent people. Unfortunately, some western democracies are "in bed" with some dictatorships, and those unions are producing weird things in both types of regimes. What do you call someone who supports a dictator, funds him, does business with him, as if everything was OK? I know that the US is g... See more These are thugs. No more, no less. Politicians who act like they are gods and everyone should obey their dictates are no less despicable than thugs who go about harassing people and killing and maiming innocent people. Unfortunately, some western democracies are "in bed" with some dictatorships, and those unions are producing weird things in both types of regimes. What do you call someone who supports a dictator, funds him, does business with him, as if everything was OK? I know that the US is going down the road of dictatorship. Things look so bleak in the fields of human rights and democracy that one might think that the west itself, at least the bigger "democracies", no longer stand as good examples of respectable democratic systems. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | One almost never gets a reply, but don't stop writing! | Apr 20, 2007 |
Percy Balemans wrote: Maria Gabriela Ancarola wrote:
The thing is they absolutely ignore e-mails regarding this subject. I wonder whether Amnesty is aware of this fact. Maybe they could suggest any other course of action. Just because they don't reply doesn't mean they are ignoring the messages. I write letters and emails for Amnesty every month and have been doing this for years. I think I've only ever received a reply once. However, numerous people I wrote for were released or received better treatment as a result of these campaigns. A lot of governments pretend to ignore these messages and don't take the trouble to reply, but at the same time they do not like the fact that apparently hundreds of people all over the world know they are violating human rights. This is why letter writing does help in many cases.
Thank you for posting this thread, Percy.
I too am a member of Amnesty International and write letters (usually by post) to governments and embassies seeking the release of political prisoners. I have never had a reply, but I don't expect one. I emailed the President of Uzbekistan and the Public Prosecutor about Umida, but have had no reply.
Amnesty says these letters do help, and I had news that a political prisoner in Myanmar whose release we had been requesting was recently freed - who knows whether as a result of our letters or not.
The worst thing for Umida must be the isolation she feels and her anguish at being separated from her young son - all part of the psychological bullying these regimes inflict on their victims. My thoughts are often with her - I wish she knew.
But, everybody, please don't stop writing!
Kind regards,
Jenny.
[Edited at 2007-04-20 07:06]
| | | | Mats Wiman
Sweden
Local time: 00:00
Member (2000)
German to Swedish
+ ...
In memoriam | ProZ.com cannot and should not be a political player | Apr 20, 2007 |
mediamatrix wrote: It really is ridiculous - not to say insulting - to have this topic headed "Lighter side of trans/interp".
Agree. Now it has been fixed
The third would be for Henry to forego paid advertising in the main banner at the top of every Proz.com page and replace it with a banner linking to the forum page(s) about this important issue. And Henry should leave it there until Umida Niyazova is freed!
This is a subject that has been discussed over the years and the ProZ.com policy, backed by the moderator group, is not to allow political discussions of any kind - there are other arenas for that.
Henry has once phrased it something like this:
"ProZ.com with its declared scope:
http://www.proz.com/scope should be a tranquil place protected against the storms and tides of the world, keeping it an amicable place without flame wars and strife."
Some of us have at times been tempted to vent views that might entail political strife and have then, on refletcion - realised that Henry's policy is a very wise one and that the rule "No politics" is something we should all embrace with gratitude.
Now when it comes to the specific subject A TRANSLATOR IN DANGER I think we should all be allowed to discuss and inform each other about such a core thing for us all:
Not to be threatened, jailed, ostracized, deported, fined, sued or otherwise molested because we translate.
BUT.
Suggestions and discussions should be strictly limited to the effort on how to help THE TRANSLATOR IN DANGER.
It should NOT contain utterances like "Dictator X", "Power abuser Y", "Traitor Z" etc or going into details about the relevance of the action which lead to the translator being in danger.
The focus should be "Free THE TRANSLATOR IN DANGER"
BUT:
Acting is up to individuals, individually or in groups.
Nobody should expect ProZ.com to act. ProZ.com is a workplace/meeting place/market place with ingenious ways and methods of letting translators and linguists cooperate and help each other.
It is NOT a guild and it is NOT an organisation, has no board, no supervisory committee, no general annual meeting and we should IMHO all appreciate that.
Mats
[Edited at 2007-04-20 08:47]
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