Dear Colleagues, fellow interpreters!
It’s great to be an interpreter. We, working in this field, we thrive on encounters, we take delight in people’s company and get a kick out of bringing the most different parties together. Now is not the time for this. And we, working in the international arena, feeling at home in various countries of the world, having friends we care for and who care for us in many places – we saw this coming.
This is not the usual March where after the silly season our phones start ringing and we finally get the impression we’re back to business as usual. It’s springtime, a time to charge our batteries. Phones do ring continuously now too, but we don’t even need to pick up to know – it’s another cancellation. It’s hard to accept and it’s frightening already without even knowing how long this would last. Our industry is not the only one affected – the epidemic has struck and will strike many more, even if only in an economic sense.
Right now, however, we need to think of those whose health is struck, the most vulnerable. Let’s pay attention to one another, stick to the guidelines and keep a close watch on ourselves. Currently, it’s more important than ever not to sit into the booth if we feel ill. We can now decide to leave the house as little as possible to slow down the spread of the virus. Translations might still be coming, but we can spend that break forced upon us in many different ways. We can learn using that translation tool we never had the time for, dig deep into a topic we always feared, boost our weak language or even learn a new one! The time spent with the family is actually a gift. Let’s make an opportunity out of a crisis and make this March another inspiring one so that once the epidemic is over, we can come out of it stronger! We need to build our relationships at a different level, caring for others and for ourselves. It will do us good you’ll see!