Encounters in Translation, an interdisciplinary, open-access, double-blind peer-reviewed journal, recently contacted a lecturer in the English Department at the University of Human Development, Araz Ahmed Mohammed, and requested his help with translating an essay from English into the Kurdish language. The essay was originally written by Alaa Alqaisi, who is a Palestinian translator and writer at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, titled ‘The double life of a Palestinian translator: A bridge between wounds and words’.

Mr Mohammed accepted the request and produced a beautiful translation of the essay, which is available at this link: https://publications-prairial.fr/encounters-in-translation/index.php?id=1463

The essay depicts translation as an ethical and political work. It highlights the difficult tasks that Palestinian translators face and the moral service they offer to humanity; the war, destruction, and annihilation cannot erase the Palestinian voices, their stories of loss, grief, and everyday life under siege. Thanks to their direct interaction with the Palestinians, translators can challenge the dominant narratives of the ongoing situation in Palestine and present a truer picture of reality.

Mr Mohammed is pleased with the help he offered. He sees it as his contribution to the global sympathy toward the Palestinian cause and an attempt to alleviate their suffering.