I am a proud Cuban, born and raised in Havana, but my journey to the Language Services Department of Catholic Charities began in the Netherlands. As a biochemistry student there, I never imagined that speaking English would be the way I made my living.
For nine months, I studied biochemistry at Barneveld College near Amsterdam. I was surrounded by students from 42 different countries, but everyone spoke English. I couldn’t speak English very well at the time, but I learned quickly. The brain is so smart.
I came to America in 2005. Five years before, my brother won a “visa lottery” to leave Cuba and come to America to work at a research institute. One year and one day after he arrived, he applied to become a permanent resident and was able to bring our parents over. I was left behind, living in my parents’ house.
The Cuban government wasn’t happy that my parents chose to leave, so they took their house. I was forced to live with my aunt for a year before leaving for the United States to reunite with my family. I left everything behind, but we were together again, which was all I needed.
My first job in Louisville was as a technician in the blood processing lab of the Red Cross. I was happy putting my education to work. I was laid off in 2008 and had a new baby at home, so I needed to work.
A friend referred me to this job at Catholic Charities. I started as a translator and interpreter in 2011.
Our job is to break down communication barriers between people who speak different languages. We help people socialize and become part of a community. We help people feel welcomed and safe.
But it is so much more than that!
We give people a voice. We help people express how they really feel. They might be concerned about how well their child is doing in school or be describing to the doctor what kind of pain they are in, where it hurts and how long it has been going on.
Imagine not being able to communicate these things. I know people who were very sick but canceled their doctor’s appointment because they couldn’t speak English.
This is a very hard job. Not the language, but the situations we find ourselves in. As a medical interpreter, I have had to tell a young father of three that his stomach cancer was incurable and that he wouldn’t live long. I had to tell a woman that her newborn baby had died.
We are professionals and are supposed to be indifferent; just say the words. But that is hard. We are humans, too. Sometimes I need to look over the patient’s shoulder at the wall behind them because I can’t look them in the eye.
I love interpreting for early childhood education, where the challenges are very different but just as important. We help children find their voice and grow in confidence.
Between the time someone comes to America and the time it takes to learn this very difficult language, English, interpreters are there to help them live a life of dignity. It is an important job.
Liliana Mastrapa is a professional interpreter in Catholic Charities’ Language Services Department.
