Interpretations – An Ethnographic Drama
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Interpretations – An Ethnographic Drama

Adrian Blackledge, Angela Creese

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  1. 144 pages
  2. English
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eBook - ePub

Interpretations – An Ethnographic Drama

Adrian Blackledge, Angela Creese

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About This Book

This highly original book brings compelling narratives of migration and social diversity vividly to life. At once a play script and an outcome of ethnographic research, it is a rich resource for the interpretation and representation of life in the multilingual city. The book takes an inside view of a hidden space in the city: an advice and advocacy service in a Chinese community centre. Here, advisors translate and translanguage, making sense of the bureaucratic world for clients who need help to access rights and resources related to housing, employment, education, welfare benefits, insurance, taxation, health and much more.

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Year
2020
ISBN
9781800410114
Scene 1
Four women, Lifan, Qi, Xia and Meili, each sit at a desk. Each of them looks at a computer screen. In a corner of the room a chair is empty. Lifan looks at her watch. Enter Jin, shaking out an umbrella and placing it, still open, under the window.
JinHello, hello, sorry. Terrible traffic this morning. Terrible weather, terrible traffic. Some kind of incident on the way into the city, all the buses at a standstill, nothing moving.
LifanThats all right. The first client cancelled anyway. She was probably in the same traffic as you, so you havent missed anything. Have you got the recorder? We can get set up if you like.
JinOh yes, lets get you wired up. Here is the news at ten, BBC! Youll be on, everything recorded. [laughs]
LifanI dont think so! [laughs]
Jin[Goes to Lifan and fastens a tie-clip microphone to her clothing, placing a digital voice recorder on the desk] Like last time, you just need to keep an eye on the red light. If its on, everythings fine. It should be all right, but keep an eye on it, check it every now and then if you remember. I will mic up everyone else once we get started, okay?
LifanAnd I do the same as normal, nothing different? Like you said, do my job the same as usual?
JinThats right, thats right, just do your job as usual, thank you, yes. And here are the consent forms. Remember, they all have to sign before you start. Explain the research project briefly. If anyone doesnt want to be recorded, dont switch on the recorder, and if they dont want to be involved, I wont take notes.
LifanNo problem, no problem, thats all right. I dont think anyone will object. Ill ask them to sign the form.
Jin[Sits in the chair in a corner of the room, downstage. She takes a laptop computer from her bag. She speaks to Lifan] If we have a few minutes before your first appointment, I wonder whether I can ask you a couple of questions. Is that all right, just while we have a couple of minutes?
LifanOf course, anything you like.
JinCould you say a bit about how you came to work here? How long you have worked here, and what attracted you to this work.
LifanHere? It was a while ago now. It must be twelve years. The job centre sent me to interview for the office job. I didnt know anything about the organisation. I mean, I had heard of them.
MeiliI remember interviewing you. It cant be twelve years!
LifanThe work wasnt difficult: keeping records, typing letters, filing papers, taking notes. It was part-time, and there was always a free hot lunch in the dining room. Then after four months I moved to the day centre, working with the old people. It was harder work, but more rewarding. I quite liked it down there. The old people made me laugh.
MeiliThey loved you.
LifanBut as soon as I settled to that I made another move, to Advice and Advocacy, as a community advisor. I wasnt sure about the move at the time. I liked the old people. In A and A you never know what kind of problems are coming through the door: its unpredictable. People have all kinds of needs; they want all kinds of help and support.
JinYou agreed to the move though?
LifanI was told I had a talent with people, an ability to help them. A natural, they said. So I joined the community advice team. And ten years later here I still am, listening to peoples problems, doing what I can to help.
JinThey flattered you into it?
LifanHa ha ha! I didnt really mean that, but you could say so, yes. I suppose they did.
JinFrom what I have seen already, you do more than listen to peoples problems. You have a fantastic knowledge of the welfare benefits system, immigration rules, taxation, how insurance works, all kinds of bureaucratic processes. I can see that you really help people to find their way through the system.
LifanYou have to keep up to date. The rules are constantly changing. I go on courses when I can.
JinDo you see yourself as a community advisor or a translator? I think most people who come for help need some support with speaking and understanding English – is that right?
LifanBoth, I suppose, it has to be both, but it isnt only a question of translating English: its translating all those complex bureaucratic systems. People get lost with them. It isnt only a question of English. The regulations are difficult for anyone, but its more, its more than that: its about listening to peoples stories, working out what they need. Some of them have a lot of problems.
JinWhat kind of problems?
LifanIt can be challenging. You are dealing with technical language a lot of the time, and of course there are areas I cant help with: I dont give medical advice and I am not allowed to give legal advice. I am not trained as a legal advisor. You have to be careful not to go beyond your remit, but yes, I would say its both, at the same time an advisor and a translator. You might say an interpreter.
JinInterpreter?
LifanYes, it could be that. I dont want to dress it up too much. We do what we can to help people.
JinYou seem to be able to move easily between languages, going back and forth. That doesnt seem to be a problem for you.
LifanI dont know whether its even that, whether its even about languages. Its about communication, about findings ways for people to communicate their needs and working out how to meet those needs.
Scene 2
A small, smartly dressed man, Chang, needs help with a claim that has been turned down by his insurance company. He sits in front of Lifan’s desk. Lifan telephones the insurance company and speaks to a rep...

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