The fate of translators in conflict areas

Iwan Dzulvan Amir, Australian National, University, Canberra

It was a bizarre mix of feelings I experienced when I heard of the planned court trial of two foreigners -- Joy-Lee Sadler and Lesley McCulloch, the latter a dear friend and colleague, who is recognized as a good academic. They are highly likely to be deported from the country after weeks in police custody in Aceh.

I am also extremely worried about the ordeal of their Acehnese translator, Fitrah binti Amin. Her fate received little attention in the world's media. Some got her name wrong, while the UK's Mail on Sunday for instance, omitted her name altogether, referring to her simply as "a local female interpreter".

Such "selective humanizing" in this coverage harks back to 19th century images of an insignificant native porter serving the famous big white hunter in some wild and remote jungle. Even The Jakarta Post on Sept. 18 published an article by Dr. Damien Kingsbury devoting a mere 30 words to Fitrah, ending with a lame excuse, "this is so often the case", with reference to her fate.

It seems none of the journalists bothered to interview any of Fitrah's acquaintances, even though advanced communication technology is available in Aceh. Both foreigners were portrayed as individuals, while their local interpreter was a supplementary footnote.

Fitrah is now in deep trouble and her status seems uncertain. She has no protection from embassy or consular officials. As a student in Aceh, it is highly unlikely she can afford good legal representation. Therefore, her future prospects are endlessly gloomy, ranging from social isolation to doing time in prison as well as outright execution by another nameless gunman: All are common scenarios in Aceh.

Though not imprisoned, she is now required to report regularly to the police. This will undoubtedly alienate her from antigovernment Acehnese because of her "compromised" status -- and alienated from progovernment Acehnese because she was caught in supposedly GAM-held territory.

She will also be alienated from ordinary Acehnese simply because they fear she will "bring trouble", either from GAM or the authorities. Her troubles have only just begun and she will have to face them without the support of her two companions when they are deported.

As a social researcher one must, first and foremost, protect the safety of informants during fieldwork. Fitrah, despite her dismissal by the media as a mere translator, was an active participant and informant in the fieldwork.

Since she, legally an Indonesian citizen, was caught in the company of foreigners in the middle of a prolonged conflict involving international parties, she is open to accusations of espionage, if not treason.

As an Acehnese caught in known GAM territory, she is open to accusations in court of being a GAM collaborator. As she is a student -- quite unlike a researcher in the employ of a prestigious university -- in the eyes of the authorities she has lowly and vulnerable status. I can only hope that the presiding judge will be lenient when examining her case.

In short, she has much more to lose than her two foreign companions in the event of trouble with the local authorities. When the research is done such interpreters will have to live with the very real consequences of both the process and outcome of the research.

The writer has an MPhil. in Anthropology from the Australian National University. He lived in Aceh for six years and wrote his masters thesis on Acehnese women.