Interpreting for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the South of Spain: How University Interpreter Training can Respond to Real Needs Identified by Stakeholders

Abstract

In 2019, Spain became the country with the third highest number of asylum applications in the EU and it continues to be one of the top destinations for international migration (Migration Policy Institute 2022). This is a particularly pressing issue in the southernmost regions of Spain, namely the Canary Islands, Ceuta, Melilla and Andalusia, which have become the main gateway to Europe for those arriving by sea (Martín-Ruel 2021). As a result, the need for interpreting in international protection settings has increased, as these services prove essential for overcoming cross-linguistic and cross-cultural barriers, facilitating better integration of asylum applicants and refugees into the host society, and safeguarding their language rights (Wallace and Hernández 2017). In this article, we propose that the interpreter training provided by Andalusian universities can be used to respond to the needs identified in the international protection sector, thus contributing to the professionalization of the activity, and enhancing graduate employability in this field. To that end, we first describe the profile of an ideal interpreter for the stakeholders in international protection settings, then analyze current interpreting training programs, and finally suggest how specific training may be incorporated to provide better services in this field.