A group of Malian translators who work for the German peacekeepers in Mali have expressed their fear of being targeted by jihadist groups after the UN mission ends its operation in the country by the end of the year. The translators, who have played a vital role in collecting information and communicating with local communities, say they have received threats and insults from some people who consider them infidels and traitors for working with the UN forces.
Their fear was heightened by the recent murder of their friend Hachimi Dicko, who had worked as a laundry supervisor at the German UN base in Gao, northern Mali. He was kidnapped and killed by the Islamic State (IS) group in June after they found photos of him with German soldiers on his phone.
The translators have written a letter to the German government, asking for protection and relocation to a safer place or country. They say they are not satisfied with the response they have received so far, which only offers financial and logistical support in case of a crisis. The German military command in Mali says it has not found any reliable evidence of a systematic or individual threat to the local employees, and that the concerns and fears raised by them are unspecific, vague and abstract.
The UN mission in Mali, known as Minusma, has been operating since 2013, after Islamist groups and their Tuareg rebel allies seized the north of the country. The mission has been one of the deadliest for the UN, with more than 200 peacekeepers killed in attacks by various armed groups.
Some of the UN contingents, including Germany, have decided to withdraw from Mali by 31 December, following a request by the military government that took power in a coup in 2020. The withdrawal has created a security vacuum in the north, where IS has almost doubled the areas it controls in less than a year, according to a UN report.
The situation in Mali is similar to that of Afghanistan, where thousands of translators who worked for the US forces were left behind after the US withdrawal in 2021. Some of them have been executed by the Taliban and many more are in hiding. The International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC) has been campaigning for the protection of translators in conflict zones since 2009. It says the UN agreements with the troop-contributing countries do not offer any guarantees for the local staff on temporary contracts.
The AIIC, along with 21 other organizations, has urged the German ministers to extract the Malian translators and their families before the full withdrawal. It says the translators have risked their lives to support the peacekeeping mission and deserve recognition and respect.
The Malian translators say they hope the international community will not abandon them and will help them find a safe haven. They say they are proud of their work and their contribution to peace and stability in their country.
Source: BBC News
