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Mexico Cityprocess).- Several indigenous language translation experts – concerned about inclusion and access to justice for indigenous communities, which continue to face barriers when it comes to linguistic and cultural rights – have raised questions in a letter to the National Institute of Indigenous Languages (INALI) to strengthen educational programs for interpreter training and fair remuneration.
The letter follows a conversation on May 21 about the framing of the campaign and the impact of the documentary. The Woman of Stars and MountainsSantiago Esteinou’s work is released in the country’s cinemas – Experts have advocated “progress” in the professionalization of interpreters, thus complying with people’s right to receive services in their own language in government institutions in areas such as health and justice.
The Woman of Stars and Mountains (Muki sopalírili aligué gawíchi nirúgame, Mexico, 2022) focuses on Rita Patiño, a Rarámuri woman who was held in a psychiatric hospital in the United States for 12 years without access to an interpreter and diagnosed with schizophrenia, in addition to poor medication.
Even within his community, he had previously experienced multiple forms of abuse and discrimination (https://www.proceso.com.mx/cultura/2024/4/28/dos-cintas-sobre-el-marginal-mundo-raramuri-327967.html).
Edgar Adrián Moreno Pineda, director of the National Culture and Diversity Division at the Chihuahua State Ministry of Culture, who moderated the recent panel discussion on the letter to INALI, gave his perspective in a Zoom interview:
“A lot of times, we realize that there is linguistic diversity, cultural diversity, and we’re proud of that, but when it comes to addressing diversity, that’s where we’re learning to recognize diversity. In what sense? There’s not really justice in the native language… there’s not enough justice. Even a lot of times, agency personnel are not trained to handle a lot of cases of injustice, and then we start seeing all these issues, people lack the opportunity to translate their conflicts, and we’re invalidating their rights because their language is not Spanish.
“The situation in the health sector is very similar. Many personnel lack knowledge and understand only from a Western point of view or only from university medicine, which invalidates all other expressions of traditional medical knowledge, ways of understanding illness and health. “When a person’s mother tongue is not Spanish, they come for a consultation and are spoken in technical terms and without translation, which reflects a complete lack of knowledge of the rights. ”
emphasize:
“We try to look at health, education and justice as the most important areas, and in these areas, these aspects of recognizing language rights are not being implemented. “It has been a full-scale attack on mother tongues, and there are no effective mechanisms for people to feel respected.”
Moreno-Pineda stressed the need to promote interpretation and translation work in different mother tongues and urged the promotion of linguistic and cultural training for those who, although they do not belong to these ethnic groups, do understand the treatment of these communities. “It should not be seen as just one way of understanding reality, because there are multiple realities and this is where we start to reproduce many negative discriminatory comments. ”
In that meeting, the protagonist of the meeting was Rita Patiño. The Woman of Stars and MountainsThe meeting was attended by Guillermo Alejo Carlos, from the Board of Directors of the Organization of Translators, Intercultural Interpreters and Managers of Indigenous Languages; Elisa Cruz Rueda, Professor at the Autonomous University of Chiapas; Dr. Artemia Fabre Zarandona, President of Civil Associations, Dialogues and Movements, and Flavio Reginaldo Vázquez López of the Indigenous Professional Counseling, Defense and Translation Center. Moreno Pineda was the moderator.
They are based on the documents they signed and sent to processaddresses “the lack of adequate training for interpreters and translators, and the absence of effective programs that truly meet national needs. Despite the efforts of existing institutions, such as the University of Indigenous Languages of Mexico, doubts remain about their ability to meet the growing demand and guarantee the necessary quality of interpretation and translation in indigenous contexts.”
Another issue that has received widespread attention is the lack of recognition and fair compensation for these professionals:
“Despite the existence of official tabulation bodies, the reality shows that payments are often insufficient and do not adequately match the services provided, reflecting structural inequalities that must be urgently addressed.”
Education Promotion
On the other hand, they stress “the urgent need for effective public policies that promote the teaching and use of indigenous languages at all levels of education, as well as the decentralization of educational models to empower communities to manage their own institutions” of education and culture. Finally, “a comprehensive public policy that guarantees indigenous languages an official status equal to that of Spanish.”
According to the explanation in the text:
“Discrimination and racism against Indigenous languages were also central topics of discussion, demonstrating how these false perceptions negatively impact the professionalism of interpreters and translators, who are key to guaranteeing equitable access to basic services and justice for Indigenous communities.”
The conclusion of the conversation stressed the urgency of implementing these major reforms:
“This is not only a commitment to social justice, but also a commitment to the fundamental human rights of Indigenous peoples, who continue to face significant barriers in exercising their linguistic and cultural rights.”
Therefore, there are four specific actions required to participate “respectfully” in INALI:
“1- Review and strengthen training and education programs for Indigenous language interpreters and translators to ensure they effectively meet current needs.
“2.- Implement policies and allocate resources to guarantee fair and decent remuneration for indigenous language interpreters and translators, including the review and effective application of official tabulators.
“3.- Pursue a comprehensive public policy to encourage the use and teaching of indigenous languages in all areas of education and administration in the State.
“4. – Actively support initiatives that promote recognition and respect for Mexico’s linguistic and cultural diversity, as well as the educational and cultural autonomy of indigenous communities.”
The conversation can be viewed at this link https://www.facebook.com/share/v/ehem1u3Y4KhZXg4e/.
exist The Woman of Stars and MountainsMoreno Pineda commented:
“The film is very faithful to what happens in these situations. A woman from Chihuahua leaves her community, she leaves the way an illness is understood (in this case it could be a mental illness, a disease with certain types of symptoms), within her community it is culturally understood, it can have support and it can have an explanation within its community… It enters a foreign context, first of all it is no longer Mexico but the United States and we begin to see the whole process of it being treated exotically, dehumanized, she is considered crazy, not because she exhibits certain types of mental conditions but for the simple fact of speaking a different language, ah!, she already has a mental illness, she is already crazy and we don’t know what he is saying.
“And then all these negative issues started being directed at Rita, and a lot of the cultural replication that existed among the Rarámuri people started being performed by her, like the Yumare song, where she does repetitive movements, and it was like it was a psychiatric diagnosis. So it seemed like people didn’t really understand cultural practices, different ways of being in the world, and categorized them negatively with these types of issues.”
appear:
Rita is one of many cases that unfortunately exist at the national or international level. For example, in the United States, a Tzotzil indigenous woman sued because she did not know how to say how many tablespoons of milk she gave her baby and had her child taken away because the measurement was completely different from the actual situation or the standard measurement in different countries.
And concluded:
“These problems continue to happen at the hands of mestizos, people coming from the United States, while the abandonment of indigenous peoples continues. What is important about this situation is that the film depicts what happens to one person, to many people who migrate, leave their communities, speak languages other than Spanish, lack rights. This is what we are trying to achieve with this documentary and by working with various institutions: we want to support efforts to ensure the rights of indigenous peoples in the health, education and justice sectors, three sectors that are affecting the problem of the “loss” of linguistic diversity, as well as social problems that begin to emerge such as high suicide rates, drug addiction, alcoholism, etc.”
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