TRANSLATION & INTERPRETING SERVICES

FOR IMMIGRANTS IN GREECE

Fotini ApostolouDepartment of Translation and Intercultural Studies, School of English,

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Contents Background information Legal Framework Reality Community Interpreter Training Future prospects

Greece turned into a receiving country overnight

Until the 1970s large outflows of Greeks (average 100,000 a year in the peak decade 1960-1970)

Since the early 1990s large inflows of illegal immigrants.

Today, about 1,000,000 immigrants in the country – 10% of the population

800,000 legal immigrants and 200,000 undocumented aliens

Causes Gradual improvement of economic

situation and living conditions in S Europe

Side effect of restrictive measures taken by UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, and others

Outcomes

“Quite often, Greeks are proud because ‘there is no Lepen’ in the country. But this soothing complacency can be seen from another, quite foul, perspective: racist discourse runs through the entire political spectrum and this may render its identification and combating quite difficult” (Christopoulos, “The End of Ethnic Homogeneity”)

Immigration trends First immigrants early 1990s Legal immigrants around 800,000

(including ethnic Greeks) Illegal immigrants 200,000 (2001

census) 126,000 foreign nationals arrested in

2009

Arrests of immigrants for illegal entry/residence 2009

Albanians 63,500 Afghans 17,800 Palestinians 10,700 Somalis 7,700 Iraqis 7,700 Pakistanis 4,800 Georgians 2,500 Eritreans 1,500

“Migration in Greece at a Glance” Gropas, Triantafyllidou

Immigration policy in Greece was quick to develop in terms of putting into practice stricter border controls and other enforcement measures. However, there has been a significant time lag in designing and implementing a more comprehensive framework that includes the regularization of undocumented aliens, and that aims toward the integration of this population across all sectors and areas of the host country.

TRANSLATION & INTERPRETING SERVICES FOR IMMIGRANTS

Legal framework:Asylum Procedure Presidential Decree 90/2008 as

amended by Presidential Decree 81/2009 (transposing Council Directive 2005/85/EC “On minimum standards on procedures in Member States for granting and withdrawing refugee status”)

Article 8 all applicants for asylum … shall be informed in a language which they may reasonably be supposed to understand of the procedure to be followed and of their rights and obligations during the procedure and the possible consequences of not complying with their obligations and not cooperating with the authorities.

These services shall be paid for out of public funds.

Article 10 The interview is always conducted with the support of an interpreter capable of ensuring the necessary communication, so that the interested party confirms what s/he states in his/her application and provides explanations, especially concerning his/her precise personal data or the non-possession of a passport or other official travel document, etc.

Legal framework: Court Interpreting Greek Code of Criminal Procedure

Article 2331. The person who conducts the interrogation or the person who conducts the discussion in court appoints an interpreter when the offender, witness or party does not speak Greek sufficiently. 2. The interpreter is appointed from a list drawn up by the Council of Magistrates … the first ten days of September.

Legal framework: Court InterpretingArticle 237: Document translation and written

depositions in foreign language1. When a translation of documents is needed and will take a long time, a period of time is allocated in which the interpreter will have to hand in the translation; the deadline can be extended. …2. As an exception, when a witness or the accused does not know Greek …, s/he can give a written deposition or plea in a foreign language; the deposition is included in the file together with its translation, which is drafted later in accordance with par. 1.

Reality: Asylum Procedure Report on PD 81/2009 published on the

website of the Greek Section of Amnesty International in 2009

Another crucial issue which casts doubts over the efficiency of the new asylum procedure is the one of interpreters. Given that the Directorate of Aliens in Attica, which so far examines almost 95% of asylum applications, faces a lack of interpreters, the problem will only become even greater for the other Police Directorates which will have to secure the services of the necessary for their needs interpreters both in numbers and in languages spoken.

Reality: Asylum procedure Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe

Commissioner for Human Rights, “Report on the issue of human rights of asylum seekers after a visit to Greece in December 2008”“The Commissioner has noted with grave concern that the problem of lack of sufficient interpretation has been a chronic problem in the Greek asylum system”.

Out of 15,900 applicants in 2009, refugee status granted to 35 people.

Reality: Court Interpreting The law does not refer to specific qualifications Extremely low compensation (17 euros for each

court case, 11 euros for interrogation procedure) Long delays in payment of interpreters Too many cases demand interpreting

(in 2009 out of the 300,000 complaints filed in the Evelpidon Court Houses in Athens, 130,000 involved witnesses, victims or offenders who did not speak Greek; it is estimated that on a daily basis 150 to 180 complaints filed with the three-member Misdemeanour Court in Athens involve interpreting)

Community Interpreter Training Ministry of the Interior

“Training Programmes for Intercultural Mediators” ran by two private Vocational Training Centres in 2007 and 2008Trained 300 Greeks and legal immigrants.100-hour and 80-hour programmes.

Contents of training: 2007 Characteristic phenomena of intercultural

societies – principles of interculturalism The image of the “alien” in Greece and

information on target-groups Institutional and legal issues –Services provided

by public and private bodies, communication with public services and use of services

Psychosocial needs of immigrants and support methods

Communication and negotiation techniques

Contents of training: 2007 The concept of the cultural and the intercultural.

The contemporary social-national perspective and multicultural dynamics

Interculturalism and social negotiation. Management models

Theory and practice of negotiative intervention in Intercultural Consultation

Greek legislative and institutional framework Communication principles Development of personal skills

Contents of training: 2008 Introduction to cultural specificities in health

issues Interpreting modes and techniques Consultation and Career Guidance

Other training bodies Training provided by NGOs but on a

random and informal basis No training from Universities No cooperation between

Government and Universities

The Minister for the Protection of the Citizen (former Ministry of Public Order) announced in October his will to employ immigrants as intercultural mediators in Police Departments

Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity also announced a similar programme for major hospitals in Athens and Thessaloniki

Similar announcements from some municipalities

Future prospects

Conclusions Pressures for necessary framework

for integration of immigrants Current framework not effective in

improving treatment of immigrants by state

Need for improvement of services

“The contemptuous attitude of public bodies toward the foreigner as user of public services, reflects a more general attitude of lack of respect for his/her dignity. Foreigners are not treated as subjects of rights but as objects of contradictory regulations, whose positive content does not always correspond to improvements in reality” (Chatzi 2001)

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