Please Sign and Support a Translator

To:  UNHCR Peshawar, Pakistan

Expressing Solidarity with Mr. Khan Mohammad Stanikzai, Freelance Translator from Afghanistan


Dear UNHCR:

We would like to express our solidarity with Mr. Khan Mohammad Stanikzai, a freelance Pashto translator from Afghanistan and request that you do your utmost to accelerate processing his request for asylum.

After translating documents for Ching Hai International Association and the United States Central Command, Mr. Stanikzai became the target of media attacks in his home country Afghanistan’ accusing him of translation of irreligious material and intelligence activities. Fearing more serious attacks, he moved to Peshawar, where on March 26 2009, he was fired on by armed men while he was on his way back from his work place.

The reality is that, a linguist is neutral and acts only as a conduit for making a text understandable in a new language. The linguist will not add any personal or political bias to the document or even correction; however, this is not always understood and can be misconstrued.

For this reason, we are shocked and appalled by the persecution Mr Stanikzai has faced while carrying out the activity of translation, obviously the result of efforts by certain groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan to suppress distribution of even the least sensitive of information. We therefore find it of the utmost importance to support him in his efforts to find safety in a country where he and his family can live in peace.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Please Sign and Support a Translator Petition to UNHCR Peshawar, Pakistan was created by Translation agencies, Freelancers and Human Rights Supporters and written by Khan Mohammad Stanikzai (pashto.translator@gmail.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.