Translating against the Storm: Activists supporting Women and LGBT Refugees in the Context of Right Wing Populist Discourse and Policy Backlash

Based on case studies in Germany and Denmark, this paper aims at comparing protest, participation, and political engagement by LGBT and women refugees and their supporters mobilizing on the issues of Human Rights, gender, cultural diversity and civic rights set in the context of right wing populist backlash. The paper explores the potential relevance of intersectional practices of political translation set in the context of self-organized refugee groups and supporters, can have at the local level to include different linguistic groups and minorities in democratic public dialogue. Political translation, distinct from linguistic translation, is a set of disruptive and communicative practices developed by refugees and migrants’ rights activists, global justice activists, LGBT and grassroots community organizers in the US and in Europe in order to address inequities hindering democratic dialogue and to work together more inclusively within asymmetric group settings. I will explore the impact of activists’ political translations within multilingual policy contexts such as asylum interviews and everyday interactions and deliberations involving refugees, officials, immigration officers, residents, social workers, NGOs, and volunteers in Germany and Denmark. The paper is based on data gathered through ethnographic fieldwork and interviews.