Just so you all know, there was a news report of 5 soldiers killed here on Liberty/Victory base. I am fine, as are all the people here that I work with.
Last week the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was here inspecting the prison. I went to the command briefing, it was very interesting. They had gone through the medical part when they were here in January, so they did not visit our clinic this time. I heard we got reviews again.
One of the detainees is on a hunger strike, hadn't eaten or drank anything for 3 days (the definition is refusing 9 consecutive meals). I got to do the evaluation, explain the consequences of his actions, and I even talked him into getting IV fluids, so that made me happy. He's crazy, thinks the bottled water is contaminated and therefore refuses to eat or drink. And he wants to be released. And have his tonsils out. He's in the SHU.
SO let me tell you about another group of people I encounter every day in the DMC, the interpreters. The interpreters here at the DMC and hospital are mostly local nationals with contracts with the US government. They get paid well by Iraqi standards; I heard it’s about $1000 per month. Still and all, they are performing heroic work. Well, some of them are. Some of them may be gathering intelligence to pass on to others, or may be passing info to some of the detainees. Who knows?
Interpreter/ linguist/ speaker- these are the most common terms for them, and I’m not sure which one is most accurate. While we certainly could not do our job without them, there are several problems with working with our linguists in our situation.
1) Most doctors don’t know how to use interpreters. Luckily, I was trained by Teresa McG to speak to the patient, keeping eye contact, pausing to allow the interpreter to interpret. Most of the docs here address the speaker “ tell him that …”. “Ask him to …” I have noticed that the surgeons that address the patients directly with benefits, risks, etc have a higher consent rate than those that use the “Explain to them…” method.
2) The linguists don’t speak English well enough to be helpful. This is especially true with medical English, and most of our linguists have ZERO medical knowledge, which makes it tough to be a medical interpreter. But some just don’t even have a firm enough grasp of English to be helpful..
3) Different dialects, words, usage, accents. Most of the detainees are from greater Baghdad, but some of our linguists are from the Kurdish North, Jordan, Mosul, etc. And there are enough detainees from Syria, Lebanon, etc. that the Baghdad linguists have a tough time occasionally. It would be like someone from Arkansas interpreting for
someone from rural Scotland.
4) The linguists have their favorite doctors, who trained them to approach patients a certain way, which doesn’t work well with other doctors.
5) It may be an Arabic thing, but the concept of time is lost on patient and interpreter. For example, for a sore throat, “How long has it been a problem?” “Two years.” “No, your sore throat now, how long has it been bothering you? 2 days, 1 week, 10 days?” “Before 1 week.” “What does this mean, ‘before 1 week’?” “Before 1 week!” says the
interpreter. Oh just forget it. Drive on.
If the interpreters work for 1 year, they are eligible for a work visa in the US. This is obviously a big deal, a way out for them. Sara, from the Kurdish North, has had several family members killed by the Hussein government, and others have died since the war. She is 21 or so, has very good English, is a good interpreter. She is tough, brooks no BS from the detainees and tries to teach us docs a word or phrase of Arabic everyday we work with her. Most of the linguists wear large dark sunglasses, some wear bandanas over their face, they all have made-up names- Sara, Brian, Don, Michael, G9. There are some detainees that resent them for working for the Americans, and as more and more detainees are released, the linguists’ families, or their own lives, may be at stake. While most interpreters are young, Katari is a retired schoolteacher. He was an English teacher, and it is obvious he has very little medical knowledge, but he enjoys learning, but
unfortunately is shy (or something) about teaching us Arabic.
The interpreters that work in other venues- interrogation centers, for the commanders who meet with Iraqi leaders, etc.- these are American citizens. My favorite we’ll call “Nash”. Born in Baghdad about 60 years ago, he has been an American citizen for 35 years. What a difference, working with someone that is truly fluent in both languages! He understands idioms, context, the concept of time in both cultures, etc. He works as a contractor, is paid $100k per year, gets to go back home for two weeks of leave 3 times per year. If only all were like Nash.
Well that's all for this time. Just a picture or 2 this time.
More than half-way done! Woo-Hoo!!
My wall on May 1st
Me and Christine Sharkey, on a day-off together. A few of us wear the black Cropper T-shirt as a teflon-shield against bad vibes, to put us in a good mood. I guess I needed it that day.
Me and Christine Sharkey on a picnic at FOB Sather (this pic at Victory)
Me & SPC Zahn of Watertown WI. The Wisconsin state flag, with the Brewers' flag below.
The Watertown unit runs the Quick Reaction Force. State and UW flags fly over Camp Cropper, Iraq.
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