Should Canada's Border Agency improve translation services?

[Juventus3]

Canada's Border Service Agency says it will improve translation services at a Vancouver airport where a Polish immigrant was unable to communicate with officials and died after being Tasered by the RCMP.

I'm of the opinion that people need to be at least basically familiar with a culture when they enter into it. It ensures the safety of both the foreign individual and the cultural environment itself.

In a world where English is becoming the global language, we should not go out of our way to become more adopted to foreign languages.

This was an unfortunate event, but to blame the death of Mr. Dziekanski on a language barrier is not right. The situation wasn't the problem, it was the way it was dealt with.

Link to full article: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...hub=TopStories

[MaDMaN_26]

Originally Posted by Juventus3

I'm of the opinion that people need to be at least basically familiar with a culture when they enter into it. It ensures the safety of both the foreign individual and the cultural environment itself.

In a world where English is becoming the global language, we should not go out of our way to become more adopted to foreign languages.

This was an unfortunate event, but to blame the death of Mr. Dziekanski on a language barrier is not right. The situation wasn't the problem, it was the way it was dealt with.

Link to full article: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...hub=TopStories

It not just about immigration, it's about being a good host and welcoming visitors - whether they are here for a holiday (and to boost our economy) or visiting family that has already integrated itself into our society. So to answer your question; absolutely I think they should. As for Mr. Dziekanski after flying for at least 10hours (probably 13-14) and then being held for another 10 hours, that is an unacceptable delay and I would have been PO’ed too, especially if I came from a country that not that long ago was under communist control and anyone wearing a uniform was not a good guy... can you imagine his frame of mind and the restraint it took to go 10hours without snapping, especially since he had no help or any sign of it ending... he's a better man than me, that I already know. The video where you hear people going "Is he speaking Russian?" is just uniformed by standers... the man had a passport, the authorities had to know he was Polish and why an interpreter couldn't be found - even for a conference call - in 10 hours is complete crap and not being able to communicate certainly had something to do with the issue.

A co-worker of mine is Polish and her father in-law came to visit last year and was held for 3 hours with no communication to her or her family and he too spoke no English, they just held him becuase apparently he didn't throw a sandwich out in the right bin... this is the first time someone has died, but this practice of "holding" foreigners is done on a daily basis and needs to be addressed and changed. As Canadains we should all be upset and demanding change. These high school drop outs...errr... I mean security guards have way to much power.

[Dan02]

there are 6912 known active languages in the world. You can't provide a translator for all of them. Sure we can say Polish isn't that rare and there could have been a translator, but next time it could be a more obscure language which we don't have a translator for anyways.

It was a bad situation combined with a bad response from the police and some downright bad luck that the guy had a severe adverse reaction to the taser. Correct what you can, in this case the actions of the police and move along.

[Flashpoint]

It couldn't hurt. I say do it. The more languages the better. It will increase our ability to deal with what otherwise can be complete communication breakdowns.

[MaDMaN_26]

Originally Posted by Dan02

there are 6912 known active languages in the world. You can't provide a translator for all of them. Sure we can say Polish isn't that rare and there could have been a translator, but next time it could be a more obscure language which we don't have a translator for anyways.

It was a bad situation combined with a bad response from the police and some downright bad luck that the guy had a severe adverse reaction to the taser. Correct what you can, in this case the actions of the police and move along.

Sure you most likely can not cover all 6000+ languages, but come on I work with 6 Polish people, like you said this is not some rare language. They have a large representation in every community. Call a Polish church. We are talking 10 hours with nothing... I'm not saying you have to have someone on hand. Create a multilingual call center that all airports and border crossings have at their disposal. If that would cost too much I'm sure people, if asked, would gladly sign up for as a "welcoming committee" type thing were you are invited to volunteer if you have bilingual skills and they can conference you in on a as needed basis. The authorities could have a database of local people in every port sorted by language skills. I'm sure many people would be happy to have a reason to use or practise their non-english speaking skills if it was only a few times a month.

[Dion]

Border agency couldn't deal with one man who was lost and confused. What the hell are they going to do in 2010 during the winter Olympics when all the nations of the world converging on Vancouver?

Prety sad state of affairs if you ask me.

[Ayrahb]

There is a telephone service called the Language Line and places that deal with high non-English speaker traffic should buy it and train their staff to use it.

On a different note, the place I work for has a refugee reception office set up at the airport. Citizenship and Immigration informs us of the new arrivals and one of our staff goes to the airport to meet them, put them in a cab and send them to our temporary housing facility.

Unfortunately, we cannot provide such a service to family class and professional immigrants. The former are supposed to be greeted by their relatives and the latter are supposed to be able to take care of themselves.

[mykalberta]

I would say the major languages yes. English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, etc.

Polish no, he made the mistake of coming into a port that caters to East Asian, not Eastern European.

And yes, when you go to a country you should have at least a few of the basic phrases down pat. No excuse not to.

[burn_baby_burn]

I don't know the whole situation. One would think that it would be easy enough for somebody with the border agency to get a polish english dictionary or make some attempt to bridge the communication gap. The passenger himself should have had a polish english dictionary. Personally I wouldn't fly to Poland without one.

On the other hand. Customs agents are probably the laziest work force in the country. Its obvious that some of them even get a kick out of tormenting people. Because they have the power.

[MaDMaN_26]

Originally Posted by fotze

It is not so much the language thing that peeves me, it is the attitude portrayed. I know people who are landed and randomly the immigration officials force them to wait in an empty waiting room for hours only to interview them for 30 second before letting them go.

Has being semi-nice to people ever resulted in a "terrorist" getting through and being mean kept one out?

These people are representing us to people who are going to extremely great lengths and personal cost to come to a country they probably admire and some jerk official with a chip on his/her shoulder who thinks he isn't getting paid enough, takes it out on this scared, tired person.

I bet if the officials were just averagely decent human beings, this situation would not have got so far, the cops would not be getting crucified and buddy would not be dead.

8 hours he was there? I am suprised he was as calm as he was.

I heard 10 hours but whatever... I couldn't agree more Fotze...

The apparent suggestion by some here that this man not having an Polish to English dictionary or that he did not memorize a few lines of English somehow makes his death his own fault is callous and sickens me... I'm saddened that Canada has become a place where we foster these kinds of opinions.

[Juventus3]

Originally Posted by MaDMaN_26

I heard 10 hours but whatever... I couldn't agree more Fotze...

The apparent suggestion by some here that this man not having an Polish to English dictionary or that he did not memorize a few lines of English somehow makes his death his own fault is callous and sickens me... I'm saddened that Canada has become a place where we foster these kinds of opinions.

I don't believe that's what people (at least myself) are saying at all. The suggestion being made is hypothetical. Obviously this case with the Polish man is separated from the average incident. I'm sorry, but you are letting this situation cloud your judgement on a broad spectrum. There are simply too many countries with too many languages for Canada to essentially advertise "We'll help you in any language". The fact of the matter is that all people need to hold themselves accountable when entering an unfamiliar place. Canada is a country, not a day care.