The horrific and devastating tragedy that befell Haiti calls for all of us to contribute in any way and as much as possible to help the country move forward. As professional translators and interpreters, we can also do our part in this international effort. A few days after the tragedy, Translators Without Borders released an official call for help as Doctors Without Borders and its French affiliate Médecins Sans Frontières were and are in urgent need of the assistance of professional volunteer translators who can work with the language pairs English to French and French to English. Likewise, I would like to take this opportunity to place a link to Translators Without Borders where everyone who is interested can find additional information.
The work of firemen and doctors is not the only work needed there, since we, as facilitators of communication, can offer our assistance we know best, making it possible to ease and quicken this transition period and do our part to get help there as soon as possible.
As with many other sites that are attuned to this catastrophe, the website of the ATA (American Translators Association), of which we are active members, will continue to publish information on volunteering and the best ways that language professionals can help.
