TRANSLATION SERVICES
Many migrant workers and asylum-seekers can not necessarily communicate
in a third or fourth language about their experience. Translation services are
vital, especially given the vulnerable nature of asylum-seekers and migrants as
those who for the most part do not speak the language, and are in need of help
navigating a complex legal system.
A trend among all three detention centers when conducting interviews was that
actually there was an insufficient amount of translation happening at different
parts of the incarceration procedure. For the purposes of this report, we focused
on interactions with IPS, Police, the MOI, and Medical Health Professionals inside
detention, as well as the Administrative Review Tribunals who make decisions
at Saharonim and Givon around releases from imprisonment and are under the
mandate of the Ministry of Justice. In many cases, when interviewed, detainees
share highly personal information, many times stories of incredible trauma and
pain. The necessity for high quality translation that is also sensitive to the needs
of the population is important, in order to ensure that detainees are comfortable
both sharing their stories during interviews or tribunals, but also so that they feel
comfortable asking for the things they need in detention. It is important to clarify
that the arrest and detention procedures, as well as the functioning of the MOI
officers and Administrative review Tribunal, have no connection to the IPS, but to
the MOI and the Ministry of Justice.