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Many NGO workers on the ground don’t speak the local language – new research
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<time datetime="2018-08-08T12:48:29Z">August 8, 2018 8.48am EDT</time>
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Angela Crack
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Senior Lecturer in International Relations, University of Portsmouth
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Hilary Footitt
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Research Professor in Modern Languages, University of Reading
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Wine Tesseur
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Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Modern Languages, University of Reading
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<p>After the Oxfam sexual exploitation <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/oxfam-scandal-49793">scandal</a> in Haiti <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/15/timeline-oxfam-sexual-exploitation-scandal-in-haiti">hit the headlines</a> earlier this year, 22 aid agencies published an <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43167746">open letter</a>
declaring that they would “take every step to right our wrongs and
eradicate abuse in our industry”. They made a commitment to “listen and
take action”. </p>
<p>There is nothing new about NGOs claiming that they “listen” to
communities and act on their feedback. A cursory glance at NGO publicity
materials reveals that they typically claim that they empower
communities by listening and involving them in decisions about aid
projects.</p>
<p>It is therefore reasonable to assume that aid workers share the same
language as local communities (or at least that they use good
interpreters). Otherwise, how could aid providers and aid recipients
communicate with one another effectively? You might also assume that it
is relatively easy to translate basic development terms into local
languages. Development NGOs promote common goals, such as gender
equality and human rights. Surely organisations must use common
interpretations of these words when interacting with the people that
they aim to help?</p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.reading.ac.uk/modern-languages-and-european-studies/Research/mles-listening-zones-of-ngos.aspx">our research</a>
suggests that this is typically not the case. We conducted a three-year
project to explore the role of languages in international development,
in conjunction with UK-based NGO INTRAC. We interviewed dozens of NGOs,
officials from the UK’s Department of International Development (DfID),
and conducted field research in developing countries. Our data led us to
arrive at three startling conclusions.</p>
<h2>Three language problems</h2>
<p>First, we found that languages generally have a low priority in
development. DFID officials generally assume that NGOs have sufficient
language capacity to communicate with aid recipients. But few NGOs have
language policies and language needs tend to be underfunded, even though
aid workers are keenly aware of the importance of languages in their
work. Many NGOs rely on multilingual staff members on the ground to come
up with ad hoc solutions. The problem is that staff are not always
fluent in the languages and dialects of the communities that they work
with, and so interpretations can be sub par. Communities can become
confused about the objectives of aid projects, or even misunderstand
them entirely. </p>
<p>Second, many development concepts that are essential to NGO work are
not directly translatable into other languages. Examples include
accountability, resilience and sustainability. Aid workers often have to
invent their own interpretations of these concepts with minimal
guidance from management. The interpretations can vary widely, which
exacerbates the confusion of the communities about the purpose of aid
projects.</p>
<p>Third, these language problems have negative effects on community
participation, and the trust that communities have in NGOs. Certain
groups, especially those speaking an indigenous language that does not
have official status, end up being effectively excluded from
participating in project design, and providing feedback on the
performance of the NGO. This is an impediment to establishing
relationships of mutual respect.</p>
<h2>Change needed</h2>
<p>This needs to change if the aid sector is serious about dealing with
the issues raised by the Oxfam scandal. The International Development
Committee’s <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmintdev/840/84003.htm">recent report</a>
on sexual violence in aid called for the inclusion of the voices of
victims and survivors in policy-making. Our research suggests that NGOs
should ensure that safeguarding policies and procedures are extremely
sensitive to the linguistic and cultural context of the areas where
abuse may occur.</p>
<p>In fact, in all areas of their work, it is clear that NGOs need to
include language as a key consideration when designing development
projects. They should use local interpreters wherever possible, who will
have a deep understanding of the culture. They need to make more effort
to translate development jargon, and better support multilingual staff
who undertake the informal work of language mediation outside of their
agreed job descriptions. NGOs should also conduct regular assessments to
determine whether communities and fieldworkers understand one another
well.</p>
<p>It’s not just NGOs that are problematic. We found that DfID also has a
blind spot about the importance of languages. For example, it only
accepts funding proposals in English. This prevents thousands of
excellent local organisations in developing countries that are unable to
speak or write English, but are worthy of financial support, from
applying for funding. If they cannot enlist the support of a fluent
English speaker, they are unable to access money that might help them to
make positive changes in their communities.</p>
<p>DfID <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/leaving-no-one-behind-our-promise/leaving-no-one-behind-our-promise">claims</a>
that it is committed to “putting the last first”, and that “every
person counts and will be counted”. But if development is to be truly
inclusive, then it needs to cater for the languages spoken by the
recipients of aid, who often tend to be the poorest and most
marginalised in society. DfID should open up opportunities for
non-English speaking organisations to apply for funds. This would
promote a bottom-up approach to development that empowers the
grassroots: a radical, much-needed change in the way that development is
practised.</p>
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<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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