International Translation Day celebrates those who work behind the scenes to make the world a smaller place
 
Imagine you are visiting a foreign country and you have to ask for the nearest pharmacy. How would you do it? Google Translate, right? Well, now imagine you’ve been given a literature book for you to translate. What about now?
 
Breaking language barriers is everyday life for translators and interpreters. Translating isn’t only about making information available to all, is about giving a chance for the reader of the translated version to feel the same as the readers of the original. Struggling when certain words exist in one language but not in the other. Interpreting the heart and spirit of the original author’s words into a completely different language.
 
They help science develop by transferring knowledge through translation in all fields, from mathematics to chemistry, and medicine. They have an essential role in diffusing culture by translating books, movies, video games, news, and social media. Hundreds of millions of people use translations every day.
 
United Nations recognizes: “the practical contribution of language professionals, both in conference servicing and in the field… including in the maintenance of peace and security, peacekeeping, the promotion of human rights and operational activities for sustainable development.”
 
It’s believed that translation is an easy, one-to-one process. People aren’t aware of how much translators affect their lives. For instance, I believe that almost all of us, when thinking of translation, we just imagine Google Translate and not all the work that is behind it. We are used to thinking that translation is a direct equivalence between words, and therefore it can be automated by machines. But that’s not like this. Language professionals can not be replaced by technology.
 
So why such a complex and so demanding job, it’s hardly recognized? Professionals are ignored and underpaid. Their names don’t appear on the covers of books, and even when they do, it is in a small font and placed such that they wouldn’t stand out. According to a recent report, called Translators on the Cover, “the profession of translation for the creative and cultural sectors has become unattractive due to poor working conditions, low remuneration and precarious status, as well as a lack of recognition and visibility.”
 
The United Nations is one of the world's largest employers of language professionals. That makes Europe the owner of nearly half of the industry. However, economic and social measures must still be taken to improve the working conditions of language professionals. Some specialists argue that a public fund is the best option to give financial support to translators and interpreters. Literature award events should also recognize the work of these professionals, not just the authors.
 
As for what we can do to help in our day-to-day life, you can be part of awareness-raising campaigns. Use and like posts with hashtags like #DiscoverTranslation, #TranslatorsOnTheCover or #namethetranslator. And also, just learning about translators is already a way of recognizing their work.
 

​Excess neutrons and energy are shed while fissile isotopes attempt to become stable.
 
That is how nuclear weapons develop their explosivity. There are almost 9,000 weapons in the world. Thousands of which are ready to be used in an instant. Many of them hidden away in bunkers, carried by submarines across the world and stored at airfields and naval bases. One nuclear bomb could destroy a city centre. A nuclear war would threaten life in its present form.
 
But how large exactly would be the effects of a nuclear explosion? And how small are the atoms that cause the danger?
 
It is 1938. Three nuclear physicists in a laboratory in Berlin, Germany make a small discovery that should forever change the world. Their names: Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner and Fritz Strassman. What they discovered: a sudden, powerful release of energy is created when an atom of radioactive material splits into lighter atoms, the so-called nuclear fission. They made the very first atomic bomb possible. 
Exactly seven years later, in 1945, the world’s first-ever nuclear weapon was detonated at the Trinity test site in New Mexico, United States, marking the beginning of the Atomic Age. Since then, the development of nuclear weapons has increased considerably and triggered the idea of a nuclear world destruction time and time again.
 
But although many war strategies and weapon mechanisms have changed over the past 70 years, the science behind the most disastrous ones – the nuclear weapons – has largely remained the same. Nowadays, we distinguish between nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. The first describes the production of large amounts of energy through a nuclear chain reaction that starts when heavier unstable atoms are broken apart into two smaller atoms. In contrast to that, fusion does not contain breaking two atoms apart, but putting them together to build a third unstable atom. Also the sun is fuelled by this process. During the merging, neutrons are released which then fuel the fission reactions of heavier atoms creating an explosive chain reaction. Hydrogen bombs make use of both splitting and merging atoms, whereby the fission reaction is amplified by the fusion producing a much more powerful explosion than atomic bombs. These atomic bombs are using either uranium or plutonium to create an explosion through a domino effect of several fission reactions. 
While the atomic bombs Little Boy and Fat Man fully destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, modern hydrogen bombs can produce much more energy and damage. The Soviet bomb Tsar Bomba, tested in 1961, is to this day the world’s most powerful nuclear weapon with 51,000 kilotons of produced explosive energy and a destructive radius of roughly 60km. Little boy, in comparison, only produced 15 kilotons of energy. 
 
During the catastrophes of Hiroshima alone, 250,000 people died both at the moment and during the following weeks because of radiation. In the first weeks, most of the deaths were caused by thermal injury and super-lethal radiation exposure, after 10 weeks people mostly died from ionising radiation. Numerous health complications have arisen after 20 weeks due to the exposure, including infertility, sub-fertility and blood disorders. The individual chance of dying of cancer has increased during that period. The Children of Chernobyl are further proof of the devastating consequences a nuclear explosion has on the human body. It is the name given to children born after Chernobyl which present malformations, no hands, cysts on head and eye or cancer. New studies show, however, that these mutations are not genetically transmitted. 
 
Based on the events in 1945, some climatology hypotheses include the so-called nuclear winter. Nuclear explosions can light urban areas on fire – areas as big as several football fields. Copious smoke will be produced which will rise above the surface. As it happens after forest fires too, the smoke will be propelled into the stratosphere by solar heating where it will spread globally within a month. The ozone layer will be destroyed due to the absorption of sunlight by the smoke and by heating the stratosphere by 100 °C. What happens without ozone? Earth’s surface is exposed to harmful UV light and cools. Agriculture and ocean life will suffer from cooling and reduction of light. When freezing temperatures at mid-latitudes arise, the food chains get disrupted. The result: Global starvation. 
 
To prevent not only the horrible health issues and deaths that follow a nuclear explosion, but also to save the planet Earth as we know it, it is crucial to eliminate nuclear weapons from the world. Only then we can live in a human togetherness free from fear and destruction. And although diplomacy has proven itself effectful throughout the last 40 years – multiple treaties and agreements reduced a total of 64,000 warheads in the 1980s to roughly 9,000 today – it is still a long way to go. A way of peace and hope.

If you listened to our broadcast on Rodon FM last Tuesday, you had the opportunity to listen to Blowin’ in the Wind by Bob Dylan. Or maybe you just know this song, which was published in 1963 on the album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.
Either way, we have taken a closer look at its poetic lyrics, which summarize the different aspects of peace pretty good.
Let’s start with one of the first lines:
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
This line is a really good summary of the entire song. As a white dove is one of the main symbols for peace, it shows that the movement for peace has existed for many years. And even though it had many positive effects, there is still much to do to get to peace. Still, the movement (or, in Bob Dylan’s words, the „white dove“) can’t stop and rest and „sleep in the sand“.
One of the things the peace movements of the past fought for is having no war. There were and are so many anti-war movements, especially during the Cold war, but also in our time. 
And still, since the beginning of 2020, the Doomsday clock is at 100 seconds before midnight, which is the nearest it has ever been to 12 o’clock. This clock shows the symbolical time humanity has till a man-made worldwide catastrophe happens (which would happen at midnight). The clock includes mostly nuclear risk and climate change. (If you want to know more about the topic of nuclear weapons, you can take a look at our article " Threat of nuclear weapons for peace " ).
So, as long as so many countries have nuclear weapons, real peace is not possible. You can see the risk of these weapons for example in the ongoing war in the Ukraine, where a nuclear war has been feared since it began.
Or, as it is said in the song:
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they're forever banned?
Another problem on the way to peace is that many people ignore unpleasant issues. That can be politicians who decide about something important, but also on a smaller scale people on the street who ignore things like racism or other forms of discrimination.
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see? (...)
And how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'til he knows
That too many people have died?
As you can see, peace is about many topics, and of course world peace is kind of an utopia. And even though the answer is still blowin’ in the wind, it is clear that if we treat each other with respect and kindness, we do the first step towards a life that is more peaceful for everyone.​

Why do some people love to travel?
I think you already know the answer, because they discover a beautiful place they don’t know, a new culture, new people, they can also discover themselves what do they really like, who they are. Traveling is part of a way of life, and it can be done in many ways. But there is a way you should favor and avoid taking into the mass tourism.

Million of people are tourist every year, but some of them are destroying the planet, and the place they are visiting. They take part in the mass tourism which refers to the movement of a large number of organised tourists to popular holiday destinations for recreational purposes. It is a consequence of globalisation and capitalism; indeed, people want to relax as much as possible during their 3 weeks of holidays, which is understandable. However, don’t forget that this mass tourism plays an important role in climate change. This kind of holidays resort belong to big tourist chains who try to make as much money as possible and prevent the small local shops to survive.

That’s why you should avoid this kind of places and favor small and local hotels or hostels and restaurants even if they are more and more complicated to find. Hiking and traveling by train are also a nice way to discover new places instead of taking the plane.

Personally, it has been a year I have been a tourist and from the beginning of September I’m going to be one again for a year. Sometimes last year I knew that I was eating or drinking in places only made for tourists and I was feeling like I was just there to give them money while I was really living in Greece for a year, and I wanted to be considered as an inhabitant. Obviously, that was complicated because I don’t look Greek at all, and the language is too complicated for me.

Next month I’m going to study in Brazil for a year and everyone would know that I’m not Brazilian because of my European appearance, but I really wish to be part of the culture and to speak the language, which, I think is going to be easier than Greek.
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Being a tourist during the whole year is very nice since I was in Europe, I created my new comfort zone/ routine. Sometimes I wish to speak Greek and felt frustrated because people were not understanding me. Other times when I was a tourist, I felt as prey with money.

Therefore, I can say that after this year abroad, being home is an amazing and weird feeling since you speak the same language, you have the same culture references, the same sense of humor but nothing changed during the year you have discovered so many people and places that you will never forget.

To sum up, you have to take advantage of being young and going out of your comfort zone as much as possible to live incredible moments avoiding mass tourism!

Forced marriage is one of the oldest forms of slavery. However, not all the time forced marriages were considered slavery. Traditions of patriarchal societies and religious prejudices played a pivotal part and had a strong influence on the mindset of many generations. For example - some people still believe that they should strictly follow these “customs” and take someone’s else life decisions.

Why do families continue to force young girls to marry strangers who are 20 or even 40 years older? Why is education not the main target for disadvantaged families?

Forced marriages are still widespread in the backward societies of Asia, in the Middle East. For many individuals who are unable to provide quality education to all their children, forced marriage is considered the norm. The patriarchal society system in some countries has a strong influence on a person's worldview and even forms a mentality.

The dominant position in these societies is occupied by men, they perform the functions of the head of the family, they are considered wiser, and physically stronger, and thus they are more privileged compared to women.

According to this kind of mentality only a son can be educated and later he can provide a sufficient level of support for the parents and afterward create his own family. In such a community male offspring receives a lot of attention, his life matters, unlike the life of a daughter. Additionally, sons can find a job, leave the house without a permit, and are respected by other people. The functions of women in this type of society are giving birth to the children, taking care of them, and being involved in hard unpaid domestic work.

Unfortunately, little girls cannot even hope for support from their families. There is practically no such question as access to education for females and the choice of a life path. They are often illiterate or have only elementary writing and reading capabilities. All important life decisions are taken by fathers or other male relatives who simply sell their daughters into the hands of old and rich men. Many of the fathers who sold their daughters believe that this is better than nothing, because, according to them, women are incapable of what men can do. In such societies, discrimination based on sex, and violation of human rights are the norm.

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), unless drastic measures are taken, 70 million girls, neither physically nor emotionally ready for marriage, will get married in the next five years. These dramatic statistics remind us that all forms of modern slavery must come to an end. International society tries to raise awareness about this crucial problem. On the 23 rd of August United Nations established International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. Along with that Sustainable Development Goals Targets 5.3 (the elimination of the child, early, and forced marriages), 8.7 (the end of modern slavery), and 16.2 (the end of abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against children) are highlighting the key points in the existing problem.
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Due to collaboration, quality information distribution, work with vulnerable
groups, and remembrance some measures can be taken, and humanity can end it.

​What if I tell you that by paying an average of $750 to $1,000 you can travel and simultaneously lend your hand to a community in need?
This is what a voluntourism project is about.
 
It may sounds like a good cause, right? Who would refuse to help someone in a difficult situation and also get the opportunity to travel? But what if I tell you that some of these trips do more harm than good?

Some of these projects promote a reliance mentality, disable the community and harm their confidence and independence. How? In which way? Picture a group of unskilled people called from a different country to solve a problem to which you are trying to figure out the solution. In the long term the feeling of not being capable of finding out the answer yourself will be more and more persistent. This is one of the main problems of voluntourism: disempowerment of the community and low self-esteem.

Given that the solution is found and achieved, doesn’t mean that is the right one. In most of the cases with these projects lasting a couple of weeks, the result is a quick fix. This is the evidence of an attitude that ignores or refuses to better understand and analyze the causes surrounding the issue, that will repeat itself in the long term.
 
What can be the solutions?
The amount of money paid by the participants can be reallocated in the economy of the community by paying specialized people. By stimulating the economy, the community will be supported. Rather than giving a solution that in the long run will be useless, give to the community the tools and resources to sustain themselves and be independent.
 
The main purpose of these projects is helping who in needs. So, before preparing your bag, critically think if those few weeks will really help the community or damage it. Is the main goal trying to help or is it wanting to feel to be needed? Is it just an experience to put in your curriculum? Or is it for those pictures that you’ll upload on your social media?

In recent years, more and more major events (historical or less so) are taking place in the world we live in. Since we live in a time when social networks make it possible for everything to be accessible, information to be easily spread, it is not a secret for anyone and it is no longer very surprising if somewhere a war starts or natural disasters happen, if somewhere there is drought and lack of drinking water, if somewhere politicians are trying to destabilize the situation for personal reasons or if a journalist has been killed, if somewhere human rights are not respected or women still do not have equal rights with men, if some ice caps on which the entire global climate depends are melting or if more and more specialists are worried about the development of climate change, which is why I think it's very imperative that we ask ourselves now: what it still means to be human and where the humanity in us is?  

In October 2021 the estimated population of the Earth was 8 billion people. It's very complicated to see the whole picture in which we all fit and in which we are so small, each of us lives more inside our thoughts, inside our bodies, we build communities where we feel at home, we make friends with whom we share our most intimate moments. Whether we believe in destinies, reincarnation, or anything else, we have life plans, we want quality education, health, wealth, comfort, love, money, the vital things for a good life. We want to believe that each of us matters, and this is undoubtedly true, so I remember the lyrics of a song that says it all:  

“We are the world 
We are the children 
We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let's start giving 
There's a choice we're making 
We're saving our own lives 
It's true we'll make a better day, just you and me”  
 
World Humanitarian Day 2022 takes place on Friday,19th August. In 2022, the theme for World Humanitarian Day will be #RealLifeHeroes. The campaign will share inspiring personal stories of the humanitarians that have been heroes during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Whether each of us has felt panicked or indifferent to this pandemic, lost loved ones or simply been affected by the changes in society caused by it, in the fight against the pandemic itself, on the front line were medical workers, so in addition to their personal concerns, they had to take care of others, and for that, they can be called true heroes. 

We can also talk about all the social workers, who whether it's pandemic, or war, or whatever, they provide advice and help to those who are socially vulnerable. 
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I want everyone on this day to ask themselves what makes us humans unique and special, and to realize that to be a hero in real life, you don't necessarily have to be someone famous, to hold an important position, being a hero has begun to mean being a little more human than we used to be. ​