Documenting Civil Rights Violations with the Montagnard Community
4th Annual Association for Refugee Service Professionals National Conference, Oct 9, 2014
University of North Carolina Greensboro
Summary
In collaboration with Montagnard refugee community members, I would like to present a discussion about interpretation problems we have documented, reported to the US DOJ and NC AOC and which have resulted in a 12-page action report by the AOC Office of Language Access Services (OLAS) to Guilford County courts about addressing refugees' Civil Rights.
This is a most serious and pernicious problem measured by the long time Montagnard refugees have been in Guilford County. Stories about language and interpretation problems infuse refugee resettlement matters and come up repeatedly in almost all refugee and newcomer communities, so this is not an isolated case of one community's problems. For the Montagnard community interpretation problems have been especially glaring, especially in court cases. In March 2012, the US DOJ warned the NC AOC about the state's poor record of interpretation access leading to Civil Rights violations.
It is an open secret that the problem exists, has existed and in all likelihood will continue to exist, yet there seems to have been little concerted action to change an unresponsive culture. Our discussion will be an overview of the problem, an analysis of why the problem persists, an explanation why it matters now, and why this is a very solvable problem for the Montagnard community.
This presentation and our work was only possible because of community members who have the expertise and knowledge to intervene.
Legal problems we see in Greensboro, Guilford County and North Carolina are part of the matrix of serious problems newcomers face. For the Montagnard community, these problems continue decades after first refugees arrived, raising large questions about what constitutes success in refugee resettlement.
This graphic is used to explain to lawyers and court officials the differences between Jarai and Rhade, between a language and a dialect, why Rhade and other language interpreters cannot be substituted for Jarai interpreters and the existence of several Jarai dialects which are not always easily understandable to interpreters.
Physical distances experienced by Jarai community members, in Vietnam and Cambodia and in North Carolina, the largest community outside of Southeast Asia.
This graphic was created to explain to lawyers and court officials why recent arrivals seem to have fewer skills and knowledge about US and local customs and law. The 1986 and 1992 groups had very different but rich experiences interacting with other tribes and peoples. The post 2001 group tends to have far limited experiences, often coming from small villages and then connecting to established networks (churches, neighborhoods) that in numbers are no bigger than their villages back home.
An incomplete graphic that will eventually come up with actual costs to defendants and the community team in order to witness, document and report Civil Rights violations.
We should not allow civility to stand in the way of Civil Rights.
(1) March 2012 US DOJ letter to NC Administration of Courts citing Civil Rights (Title VI) violations
(2) March 8, 2012 NC Justice Center media release
(3) March 21, 2014 NC OLAS Report to NC AOC about language complaints complaints concerning Montagnard community
(4) May 16, 2014 NC AOC memorandum and action plan follow up
4th Annual Association for Refugee Service Professionals National Conference, Oct 9, 2014
University of North Carolina Greensboro
Summary
In collaboration with Montagnard refugee community members, I would like to present a discussion about interpretation problems we have documented, reported to the US DOJ and NC AOC and which have resulted in a 12-page action report by the AOC Office of Language Access Services (OLAS) to Guilford County courts about addressing refugees' Civil Rights.
This is a most serious and pernicious problem measured by the long time Montagnard refugees have been in Guilford County. Stories about language and interpretation problems infuse refugee resettlement matters and come up repeatedly in almost all refugee and newcomer communities, so this is not an isolated case of one community's problems. For the Montagnard community interpretation problems have been especially glaring, especially in court cases. In March 2012, the US DOJ warned the NC AOC about the state's poor record of interpretation access leading to Civil Rights violations.
It is an open secret that the problem exists, has existed and in all likelihood will continue to exist, yet there seems to have been little concerted action to change an unresponsive culture. Our discussion will be an overview of the problem, an analysis of why the problem persists, an explanation why it matters now, and why this is a very solvable problem for the Montagnard community.
The US Department of Justice (1) concluded that North Carolina Administration of Courts discriminates against newcomers on the basis of national origin. The extensive investigation exposed gross faults and gives examples of regular discrimination that have harmed newcomers. The investigation was based on original complaints filed by the Latin American Coalition, Vietnamese Association of Charlotte, and Muslim American Society and the NC Justice Center (2)
Two years after the US DOJ finding, a report (3) by NC Office of Language Access Services (OLAS) showed that very serious violations continue.
On the left, the original NC AOC position quoted by Judge Smith and then US DOJ answers, including threat of significant penalties against the State of North Carolina should it continue to violate federal law. On the right, instructions from Judge Smith in a memorandum (4) to AOC officials to remedy problems cited in the March 2014 report.
Summaries of six recommendations from the Office of Language Access Services (OLAS) to NC AOC director Judge Smith. These recommendations only address the complaints from the March 21 OLAS report. They do not address the massive problems cited in the original US DOJ letter.
An incomplete graphic that recaps steps in the court process and shows failure to provide proper interpretation at each stage.
Our community-based team carried out the most critical work of witnessing and confirming Civil Rights violations. Outsiders like myself can provide technical support, but only newcomers with language and culture skills and community knowledge can do this.
An incomplete graphic with suggestions to other newcomer communities how witnessing and documenting court problems can be carried out.
In an unequal contest, newcomers have borne the greatest costs.
Vision of an intact community with access, availability and utilization of services. The Vietnam War created new people and words to describe them and others on the losing side: Boat People, Amerasians and Yards. Like the case of Ms Vo, shot to death by Greensboro police, we remind authorities about their origin not as an excuse but to highlight the inadequacies of basic services like interpretation.
We should not allow civility to stand in the way of Civil Rights.(1) March 2012 US DOJ letter to NC Administration of Courts citing Civil Rights (Title VI) violations
(2) March 8, 2012 NC Justice Center media release
(3) March 21, 2014 NC OLAS Report to NC AOC about language complaints complaints concerning Montagnard community
(4) May 16, 2014 NC AOC memorandum and action plan follow up
