Refugee Translation Project

Damian Harris-Hernandez never expected for his freelance Turkish translation business to turn into a full-fledged nonprofit. But in 2016, the Columbia University graduate began receiving more translation requests than he could handle on his own. That year saw an attempted coup d’état in Turkey, and a subsequent rise in refugees leaving Turkey in pursuit of safer conditions. Many arrived in New York and knew Harris-Hernandez tangentially, from when he lived in Turkey himself.

“I started receiving requests from colleagues and friends of friends asking me to translate their asylum documents—and I couldn’t charge people for this, because they were often escaping Turkey across the river into Greece with nothing but a backpack as their bank accounts had been frozen,” shared Harris-Hernandez. “So, I started translating for free, and word got around.”

Not long after the volume of requests became truly untenable, Harris-Hernandez resorted to crowdfunding to co-found the Refugee Translation Project (RTP) in 2017, of which he remains executive director. Then, he got in touch with the International Refugee Assistance Project, which needed someone competent in Turkish and English to translate a backlog of documents. With the funding and support from a growing network, Harris-Hernandez was able to further expand to include Arabic translation services for refugees originating from countries like Syria and Iraq.

“The ultimate goal of the Refugee Translation Project is to provide free language services to people seeking asylum and other immigration relief and help them transition to a life of safety and security here in New York and beyond,” Harris-Hernandez said.

The Refugee Translation Project undertakes a wide range of initiatives to support refugees and asylum seekers, largely in New York City. One major focus is assisting with immigration cases, which includes translating critical documents. Beyond document translation, the organization works to connect individuals with essential services through interpreters, including an interpreter training program that equipped six asylum seekers with the necessary interpreting skills to help more than 700 fellow asylum seekers obtain benefits in New York like IDNYC cards and discounted MetroCards.

Additionally, RTP supports job-seeking migrants by helping them craft resumes, enabling them to secure employment, move out of shelters, and work toward long-term stability. RTP also translates educational documents for those wishing to return to school or apply for jobs, as well as vaccination cards for children enrolling in public schools.

”It’s basically any service that anyone who’s been forced to leave their country may need,” Harris-Hernandez added.

In 2024, RTP translated 1156 pages of documents for over 173 cases, involving over 435 individuals. They also guided 2,000-3,000 individuals toward various resources at New York City resource fairs with the help of their trained interpreters. Additionally, RTP has collaborated with over 50 organizations to create and translate over 1000 pages of outreach materials which have been distributed to thousands.

The number of asylum seekers has notably grown in New York City since 2022, and fundraising to keep up with need has been difficult for RTP. Brooklyn Org’s support has considerably offset that deficit, Harris-Hernandez says. Providing free document translation is a critical part of RTP’s work, yet it comes with significant costs, as all translators are paid. Managing the influx of requests while also handling fundraising and internal operations has stretched the team thin.

“We really are getting overwhelmed with the triage of receiving translations, proofreading them, and sending them out,” expressed Harris-Hernandez. “This grant from Brooklyn Org will allow us to allocate more hours to someone who can coordinate and proofread translations, and maybe even translate as well.”

RTP’s plans for the future are ambitious, with hopes to expand its interpreter training programs and to create more robust programs specializing in medical and legal interpretation, which require additional training and third-party certification. They also envision establishing a dedicated working space, allowing for personalized, in-language drop-in services for refugees who may lack access to email, computers, or literacy resources.

At its core, RTP’s mission is about language justice—ensuring that no asylum seeker is denied the opportunity to work, study, or build a stable life because of a language barrier. Brooklyn Org’s support is helping make that vision a reality.

This story was written by Matteo Papadopoulos, one of Brooklyn Org’s January 2025 interns from Brown University’s Careers in the Common Good internship program.