Interpreting at the Border: «Shuttle interpreting» for the UNHCR

Abstract

This paper will provide an overview of relevant research in the area of interpreting in conflict zones with a special focus on working with refugees. The relevant theoretical framework will be supplemented by my personal experience working as field interpreter for UNHCR in Macedonia and Kosovo in 1999/2000, and the experiences of my colleague interpreting for the refugees in Macedonia during the European refugee crisis at the Macedonia-Greece border in 2015/2016. Tackling the question of the discrepancy between the prescribed neutrality and real-life experiences of mediating and advocating for the vulnerable, the article will propose a new mode of working for interpreters in conflict that I would call «shuttle interpreting», namely independent interpreting between the communication parties.