– There is a lot now, says Viktoriya Savchuk Myran (50).
Before the war, she had a quiet working day where time passed between the major assignments. Now she works almost around the clock, only with small breaks to sleep to recover.
Savchuk is Norway’s only state – authorized Ukrainian interpreter. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, around 11,000 people have fled to Norway. The need for translators has exploded.
The Norwegian Directorate of Health states that over 38 per cent of Norwegian municipalities report a “challenging offer” of interpreting services.
In the front line
The Ukrainians who come to Norway have fled war and are in a vulnerable situation.
– An interpreter is required at all levels. Everything from when the refugees are to register on arrival, to when they are to settle and deliver the children to the school. An interpreter should be involved in the whole process, she says.
– ALONE: Savchuk Myran is Norway’s only state-authorized Ukrainian interpreter. Photo: Frode Sunde / TV 2
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In addition to helping the refugees directly, all Norwegian forms and information leaflets must be translated, at the same time as the municipality, police and health need an interpreter.
A number of Norwegian institutions are calling for help translating between Ukrainian and Norwegian. Among them are Eidsvoll municipality, the hospital in Tromsø and the Red Cross.
“We are desperately looking for someone who speaks Ukrainian or Russian,” the latter wrote on social media.
– There is a very large range of work tasks and a very exciting time. Although I work a lot, it is therapeutic, both for myself and those I help. In this war, we all have our own front lines, says Savchuk.
– HELP: A number of Norwegian institutions need people who can translate between Ukrainian and Norwegian. Screenshot: Facebook
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– Afraid and insecure
According to the National Interpreter Register, there are only 26 Ukrainian interpreters registered in Norway today.
– Norway was not ready and is still not ready.
That is the opinion of Tetyana Bondarenko, who is the general manager of the Ukrainian Association, Eastern Norway.
– People travel from war by bus to a country they know nothing about. They wonder what is going to happen and who can help them. They also wonder about things on a daily basis, such as whether they can drink tap water, where they can get hygiene items or medicines, says Bondarenko.
As general manager of the Ukrainian association, she has had contact with several volunteers who have traveled around various receptions.
– CRITICAL: The leader of the Ukrainian association is not happy with how the situation for the refugees has been resolved so far. Photo: Private
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She herself has been to Thon Hotell Gardermoen, which is used to house refugees.
Bondarenko believes that the lack of an interpreter is a huge problem.
– There is great despair among Ukrainians who come due to the lack of information and interpreters. That makes the Ukrainians scared and insecure, says Bondarenko.
– Has collapsed
Bondarenko claims that certain receptions have been without an interpreter for two weeks. Elsewhere, volunteers or young people who are good at English must take the job of translating.
Bondarenko believes that it is voluntary organizations and private individuals who to a large extent ensure that it goes around.
– What the authorities were to arrange, as an interpreter, was not arranged, even though the association and other volunteers have submitted plans and proposals to fix it, she says.
She further says that many Ukrainians, who have good Norwegian skills and a police certificate, have offered themselves as interpreters temporarily, but that they have been rejected.
The Directorate for Integration and Diversity (IMDI) does not believe that there is a shortage of Ukrainian interpreters in Norway today.
There are currently 26 interpreters in Ukrainian and 135 interpreters in Russian. There is reason to believe that most Ukrainian refugees who come to Norway speak both Ukrainian and Russian, says director Libe Rieber-Mohn.
– DIRECTOR: Libe Rieber-Mohn in IMDI. Photo: IMDI
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She emphasizes that the situation may change.
– Whether there is enough capacity for interpreting services depends on the number of refugees who come. Both private and public providers of services and services for Ukrainian refugees must plan how to cover their interpreting needs in Ukrainian and Russian in the future, she says.
– Meaningful
Viktoriya Savchuk Myran explains that many Ukrainians are good at English, both when it comes to understanding and making themselves understood. However, in the face of bureaucracy in a new country, challenges arise.
– ON RÅDE: Viktoriya Savchuk Myran works such a long day as an interpreter, that one of the evenings she ended up staying at Råde. The photo was taken by a colleague. Photo: Morten Sand Andersen / Private
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– For the more formal procedures, we do a job of ensuring that the information arrives.
She was born and raised in Ukraine, and moved to Norway in 1998. In three months she learned Norwegian, and shortly after she started working as an interpreter.
Although the workload is demanding, Savchuk says that she has good working conditions and that she feels taken care of.
– It takes very little to make it better for people, so it is a very meaningful work, says the 50-year-old.
Enormous interest
To meet the enormous demand for translators, OsloMet has announced an extraordinary admission to the interpreter education in Ukrainian.
– There is great interest, says Antra Prane-Sundby, who is an advisor at the interpreter education at Oslomet.
She states that 79 people have applied for education so far. According to the plan, 30 students will start education in May and take the exam already in the autumn of 2022.
In addition, it is possible to qualify as an interpreter with only a bilingual test and a two-day course in the Interpreter’s area of responsibility for working as an interpreter at the lowest level.
– The interest is enormous, and there are 287 applicants for this test as of today, says Prane-Sundby.
The director of the Directorate for Integration and Diversity envisages that the measure at Oslomet will solve the increased demand that is expected in the future.
– Very many have expressed their interest and we can thus expect many more interpreters into Ukrainian in the interpreter register over the next weeks and months, says Libe Rieber-Mohn.
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