by Jody McBrien, AWG and AAWE Paris
Five or six years ago, I came across the organization NaTakallam, founded by Aline Sara, a young Lebanese woman who had just completed her master’s in International Affairs at Columbia University. NaTakallam means “we speak” in Arabic. It began as an online language exchange/learning program hiring refugees and asylum seekers to teach their native languages and receive compensation for their work, sometimes the only money they could make, depending on the circumstances of their host country.
NaTakallam has grown over nearly 10 years, employing refugees and asylum seekers to teach seven languages. In addition, many of the employees are hired as online tutors, teachers, translators & cultural exchange partners, regardless of their location.
As someone who has worked with refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants for over 20 years, I was looking for a way to make their experiences real for the university students in my International Human Rights and Global Migration courses. I assigned articles and documentaries. Though powerful, they couldn’t break through in the same way that a personal encounter can.
NaTakallam had introduced a program called “Refugee Voices,” which provides both group and individual online encounters with refugees and asylum seekers. My students have interviewed participants from around the globe: Syrians, Venezuelans, Ukrainians, Afghanis, those from war-torn African countries, and more. In their one-on-one interviews, they gain a personal sense of the journeys of people who are forced to flee from their homes. Many have commented on how they relate to the person they interview through family similarities, children, music interests, and much more.
I conducted research on the effects of this assignment, both in the short- and long-term.1 It is the most effective assignment I use, and many of my students have called it the best assignment they have had at the university. They call it “life-changing,” and many say that they now speak out when among people who parrot media misinformation about refugees and asylum seekers.
I want to note that the NaTakallam employees are trained and well-monitored to ensure that their work is not traumatizing, as it is true that the retelling of traumatic experiences can be detrimental for some people.
Getting Involved: FAWCO clubs and members
NaTakallam offers online sessions for both groups and individuals. You can book a session for your FAWCO Club. Charges are based on the duration, number of NaTakallam employees you want to have for the session, and number of your club members. Learn more here.
You can also book individual sessions to learn about a refugee’s journey at $30/hour session. Or you can take language classes in Arabic, Persian, Ukrainian, French, Spanish, or Russian (I’m planning to use the French language learning). You can begin with a free lesson to see how you like it! More information is available here.
Translation and interpretation services are also available.
Engaging with any of these opportunities will benefit people who have been forced to migrate due to violence and war.
I love NaTakallam’s saying, “In a global setting where political leaders are talking about building walls, NaTakallam is building bridges.” I have seen this for myself. We need more bridges.
1 Jody L. McBrien (15 Sep 2024): Getting real: U.S. University students meet global refugees, Intercultural Education, DOI: 10.1080/14675986.2024.2400440
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