Search results for " reception centre"

Interpreting Distress Narratives in Italian Reception Centres: The need for caution when negotiating empathy

2020

This paper examines the interpreting of migrant narratives in reception centres in Italy, based on first-hand data collected by the authors, and discusses the potential risks of empathic bonding. The data consists in recorded mediated interactions between migrants, public service interpreters and service providers, as well as recorded interviews. The data show how asylum seekers and migrants construct their narratives both to reflect their own life experiences and to be as persuasive as possible to improve the chances of a successful asylum application. Public service interpreters – or ‘language mediators’ as they are termed in the Italian setting – may struggle to position themselves profe…