Locals and Refugees Work Together to Bridge Language Gap in Buffalo NY

For the last 15 years, Buffalo, New York has been the new home of refugees from Sudan, Somalia, Burma, Bhutan and Iraq. While some of their younger children easily adapted to life in the United States and picked up English because they spend several hours in school each day, their elders did not have that luxury. The biggest hurdle for them is the language gap. In Buffalo alone, about 60 languages other than English are spoken.

Finding a common language is the first thing that must be overcome. Han Moe, a Burmese refugee, has lived in the United States for 15 years. He was in the U.S. Naval Reserve and is fluent in English. Moe works as an interpreter and medical assistant at Jericho Road Community Health Center. Talking at a recent refugee health conference, he said that at times he still finds it difficult to communicate with medical professionals. He mentioned a situation that happened to him when he accompanied a neighbor, also from Burma, to a local hospital. Moe said that he was trying to explain to the hospital staff the language and medical situation of his neighbor but the hospital said that he was not needed because they have their own system. He said that two hours later the hospital asked for his help. The hospital thought that Burmese is the language spoken by everyone from Burma.

Such is the case with some other hospitals and institutions serving the increasingly diverse community in Buffalo. For example, refugees from Burma speak not only Burmese but also different dialects of the Karen language. The telephone interpreting system of the hospital was not able to determine what dialect was spoken by Moe’s neighbor.

While locals and refugees try to adjust to the new city demographics, the language barrier remains the constant obstacle. Beyond this, the refugees also have to adjust to the American way of life, which for them is a very alien thing. Now they have to live in houses with concrete walls and modern fixtures. They have to understand about trash collection, smoke detectors, public school schedules, using credit cards, depositing money in the bank, paying bills and writing checks. They have to get used to indoor plumbing, water that runs out of faucets, and buying and storing food in pantries and refrigerators.

Often their children act as their interpreters and translators. And while it could help their parents and their older relatives who do not have English-language skills, it has been determined that this gave the children too much power over their parents. They get letters from the school, which they ask their children to read and translate to them. Some of the children were found to be lying, if the content of the letters were not favorable to them.

Refugees, government leaders, the police, and social workers agree that language is the most difficult of all the challenges of assimilation. But while it is difficult, citizens and organizations in Buffalo are working hard to bridge the language gap.

The Office for New Americans was created by Mayor Byron W. Brown. A New Americans Advisory Committee is about to be formed by County Executive Mark Poloncarz. He is also supporting a program to hire more county workers who are fluent in immigrant languages. The police are giving lessons on how they can call 911 and health care providers use interpreters for video or telephone conferencing.

While the immigrants and refugees are learning English, the local government and private institutions in Buffalo are doing everything they can to help them enjoy all the benefits they could gain from their new home country, including explaining to them that the yellow bus brings their children to school.

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