Ever since one of the largest humanitarian wars started in 2011, 11 million people have fled their homes (Syrian Refugees EU, 2016). Since then, they faced distress and difficulty to reach safer places. But what is new is that the refugees are tech lovers, they know everything about the latest and greatest technology. Thus, they travel most of the time not only with cash but also with their phone. However, while most of them are very well accustomed with the language of tech, real language barriers still obstruct them.
Imagine that you would arrive after a long, frustrating and dangerous journey. You might have medical problems afterwards but how can you communicate with the doctors if they do not speak the same language? Imagine that you are queued up with a lot of people to do a medical check, but what after the long wait there if there is no translator who is able to speak your language?
The refugee crisis is not only very challenging for the refugees themselves, it also creates major challenges for governments of the countries in which the people arrive. Take Germany for example, how can they organize good medical treatment for over 60,000 refugees?
That is where tech companies can make the difference. Cisco, a tech company well known for connecting everything, collaborated together with the City of Hamburg, private sector partners and the university hospital Hamburg to build the first of its kind “Refugee First Response Center”. The Refugee First Reponse Center was build out of a shipping container. After which it was equipped with Wi-Fi and real-time translation service. The real-time translation service works as follows; it consists of video translators who are able to speak 50 languages only at the push of a button. Thus, this of course provided the assistance, which was needed during the medical consultations. Refugees were now able to connect with the doctor, which helped both to provide and receive the best aid possible.
This story shows just one example of how tech is helping for the greater good. However, the story does not end here. Everyday people, companies and technologies together create extraordinary things.
Interested? Watch more about it in the section below.
Sources:
Syrian Refugees EU (2016): http://syrianrefugees.eu
Refugee First Response Center (2016): http://refugeefirstresponsecenter.com
NOS (2015): http://nos.nl/op3/artikel/2085743-techfugees-hoe-de-techwereld-vluchtelingen-helpt.html
Computer Weekly (2015): http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/How-technology-is-helping-deliver-aid-to-Syrian-refugees-in-the-Middle-East
