Amya Miller continues to chronicle the day to day struggles of the people and relief efforts in the earthquake and tsunami ravaged areas in Japan...
I have been in Ofunato and Rikuzentakata for a week now and have found myself numb driving past and walking through the immense devastation. I have been told by the relief workers I am working with that shutting down my emotions is a necessary part of doing my job and while I have struggled with the idea of having to go “robotic” in order to function, I’ve done just that. Until yesterday.
This, I believe, was the first time in my over twenty years of interpreting that I broke down and cried in front of those for whom I was interpreting. The combination of humiliation, pain, anger and frustration is a pretty nasty soup of emotions.
Evidently I'm human. Evidently I can't go a whole week shutting out my emotions and being strictly professional. Evidently, all this comes at a price.
Continue reading "The Interpreter's Corner: My Breaking Point" »
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