Afghan Interpreters Through Western Eyes

This book explores how endangered local interpreters in Afghanistan were seen through Western eyes in the period from 2014, when the West drew down the bulk of its military forces, to the summer of 2021, when NATO forces withdrew completely. The author examines how these interpreters were understood and represented by Western governments, militaries, agencies, press and lobby organisations, how the understandings changed over time, and to what extent the representations reflect distinct rationales for intervention/historic relationships with Afghanistan, specific immigration and anti-terrorism policies, and notions of citizenship. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of translation and interpreting, history, war studies, and migration studies.

Examines the issue of interpreter protection from an international perspective Considers the question of gender as it affected interpreter recruitment Argues for the importance of contextualising war interpreting beyond specific military operations

Autorentext

Hilary Footitt is an Associate Fellow of the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies, School of Advanced Study, University of London, UK.

Klappentext

This book explores how endangered local interpreters in Afghanistan were seen through Western eyes in the period from 2014, when the West drew down the bulk of its military forces, to the summer of 2021, when NATO forces withdrew completely. The author examines how these interpreters were understood and represented by Western governments, militaries, agencies, press and lobby organisations, how the understandings changed over time, and to what extent the representations reflect distinct rationales for intervention/historic relationships with Afghanistan, specific immigration and anti-terrorism policies, and notions of citizenship. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of translation and interpreting, history, war studies, and migration studies.

Inhalt
Chapter 1: Reversing the Gaze.- Chapter 2: Western Imaginings of Afghanistan.- Chapter 3: Spaces of Encounter.- Chapter 4: Naming the 'Interpreter': from the NATO drawdown until the Evacuation.- Chapter 5: Evacuation.- Chapter 6: After the Evacuation.- Chapter 7: Conclusions.