There was a lot to learn from the event yesterday, but I’ll write about one thing that stuck out the most.
They hired an Interpreter for the sprinkling of expats in the room. As the talks progressed, I could hear radio updates that attendants were complaining about the quality of interpretation. You mean because the devices were faulty, or is the Interpreter struggling to keep up? Doesn’t matter. Complaints are complaints, the poison to any backstage crew’s sanity.
Fast-forward to group discussion. My partner came up to me with an I-cant-deal-with-this-right-now look and asked if I could help interpret for Table 1. I guess. Why? And so commenced a 15-minute whispering session with the lead EO, who had been the one updating on the walkie-talkies. Apparently after some people complained about the interpretation, they took off the devices and didn’t want to put them on anymore. As we are now on round-table mode, there’s only a couple of expats left on Table 1, so the Interpreter has been asked to ditch the devices, sit closely to those in need, and whisper her assistance to their delicate, English-only ears. I phrased that oddly, but really it was a common request. I’ve done a lot of whisper-interpreting in intimate team meetings, and I’m not even particularly experienced.
The Interpreter refused. As the lead EO and I whispered furiously, we were looking at her, as she was sitting down, donning her interpreting transmitter. She was typing something on her phone.
It wasn’t clear to me why she would refuse. I was told that the Interpreter insisted on using the devices still, which is why she was wearing the transmitter. But none of the expats were wearing the devices. And so, even though she was wearing her tool, she was silent.
It still wasn’t clear to me what she hoped to accomplish through this, or what she expect will happen. Now, to be fair – I never actually talked directly to the Interpreter. I was told that she is unwilling to whisper-interpret (or whatever the official term is) for fear of being too loud and disrupting the actual dialogue. Though I can appreciate her polite consideration, I was still not clear on how she and her manners expect to carry out the job she was hired to do.
In short, we have nonworking interpreting devices and a nonworking interpreter, and I’ve been asked to step in.
I think it was that first sight of her that got to me. Normally I would pay no mind to “whose job it was”, and do whatever needed to ensure a smooth event. That’s why my partner asked me, because he trusted that I would be a trooper. But I couldn’t do it. She was on her phone.
The lead EO didn’t know the Interpreter, because the Host Organization was in charge of the interpreter. But people were complaining to the EO, not the Host, and she now felt accountable to rectify this. So did I, as the person having been asked to step in. It seems the work was urgent, and the principle was important, and neither were both.
Oblivious to our drama, the Facilitator at Table 1 simply transitioned to English.
This bought us time, but these guys will have to move tables soon, likely to someone else less comfortable speaking in English. The clock was ticking.
It dawned on me that the Interpreter was also choosing between her work and her principles, and she chose the latter. I followed. Instead of doing the job I was asked to do, I found the Host and told her what happened. Formally I was not in a position to tell her what to do (her being my client and all) but her event was being compromised by a person she hired, so she should at least be advised. The Host moved in.
The Interpreter, now speaking to the people who paid for her existence in this ballroom, apparently still refused. The Host lady came back and said four utterly confusing words, “She doesn’t want to.” The Interpreter still insisted on using devices, oh and also, the device people refused to be blamed for the trouble. Their devices were fine.
Now, I understand that in that moment of chaos, it was not a time for a lecture, or even logic. This is now 26 hours after the incident, and I’ve come up with an analogy to digest this: it was as if a speaker was presenting onstage, and the microphone suddenly died, and so the speaker sat down on stage silently and began typing on their phone, with everyone watching. Also, the sound crew insisted the mike was fine. What went wrong here?
Later that day, I told a friend about what happened, and he marveled at the Interpreter’s ability to simply refuse to do her job. I also still wonder, had I stepped in, whether the Interpreter would have been angry at me for doing her job.
What I’m trying to say is how much I disagree with the Interpreter’s perception on whom she was ultimately serving. But in doing so, I had to admit that I too had dropped the ball. I believed the audience was the main focus, and we should serve them any way we can. It was not the time to berate the device guys or to insist on good manners. But if I truly believed so, I would have intervened and did the interpreting myself.
I just couldn’t do it. She was on her phone.
Tika Anindya 