Editor’s note: The language challenges of the COVID-19 crisis have held much of our attention this year. Here on Language on the Move, we have been running a series devoted to language aspects of the COVID-19 crisis since February, and readers will also have seen the special issue of Multilingua devoted to “Linguistic Diversity in a Time of Crisis”.
Additionally, multilingual crisis communication has been the focus of the research projects conducted by Master of Applied Linguistics students at Macquarie University as part of their “Literacies” unit. Over the next few weeks, we will share some of their findings.
Today, Alejandra Hermoza Cavero examines the language choices and content of COVID-19 prevention information aimed at Peru’s Indigenous population.
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COVID-19 prevention poster in Quechua Chanka
Peru has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of November 14, 2020, there were 892,497 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country. 110,470 of these were found in sparsely populated rural Andean communities, where most of Peru’s Indigenous people live.
Peru has one of the largest Indigenous populations in Latin America, with more than 50 different recognized Indigenous groups. There are over 300 different languages spoken in Peru, and the largest of these are Quechua and Aymara.
Many Indigenous people, particularly in rural areas, do not speak Spanish, Peru’s national language, or do not speak it well.
Therefore, I was interested to discover whether language barriers were to blame for the high rate of COVID-19 infections among Peru’s rural Indigenous population.
Plenty of multilingual information posters available
I discovered that the Peruvian government had, in fact, acted promptly to communicate COVID-19 prevention information. When the first local cases of COVID-19 appeared in March 2020, the Ministry of Health rapidly initiated a translation project to provide preventative sanitary recommendations multilingually.
Prevention information was made available in multiple Indigenous languages, including Aymara, Ashaninka, Awajun, Kichwa del Napo, Ocaina, Quechua Ancash, Quechua Cajamarca Norteño, Quechua Chanka, Quechua Cusco Collao, Shipibo Konibo, Urarina, Wampis, Yanesha, and Yine.
Each set includes the same two posters and infographics. In the following, I will discuss the Quechua Chanka version.
COVID-19 prevention poster in Quechua Chanka
Recommendations related to handwashing were particularly emphasised in the materials. There are instructions on how to wash hands thoroughly to prevent infection. The infographic uses phrases in Quechua Chanka such as “use plenty of water to wash your hands (Step 2)”, “rinse your hands with plenty of water (Step 4)”, and “turn off the faucet with the paper towel you just used to dry your hands (Step 6)” (my translation).
This is inclusive multilingual information, right?
Well, no.
Rural Indigenous populations may now be able to receive government information in their language after years of exclusion and deprecation (Felix, 2008), but they cannot act on this information because the message does not suit their lived reality in poor rural communities.
Many Indigenous communities in the Andes do not have access to running water
The content of this poster is not actionable because “one-third of Peru’s population live in rural communities, in small villages in the Andes with around 60 families per village, where only two-thirds have access to safe water and one-third to sanitation facilities” (Campos, 2008).
The poverty rate in rural indigenous communities is approximately 45% (Morley, 2017). The systematic exclusion that Peru’s Indigenous communities have suffered since colonization (Pasquier-Doumer & Risso Brandon, 2015; Felix, 2008) is expressed today in lack of access to basic services. Access to running water and sanitation services have been a multi-sector policy issue since the early 2000s (Gillespie, 2017) as rural poverty has been a constant issue (Morley, 2017).
Limited telecommunication infrastructure another material problem
Water and sanitation are not the only infrastructure weakness in rural areas. No or limited access to telecommunications is another (Espinoza & Reed, 2018).
Like running water, telecommunications are also essential tools in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is apparent in the COVID-19 prevention posters, too. The Quechua Chanka infographic includes a hashtag that translates to: “I stay home”, an additional number for Instant Messaging, and a hotline number from the Ministry of Health for any queries.
Just as advice to wash your hands under running water is useless if you do not have access to running water, being pointed to further information on the Internet or by phone is useless if you do not access to telecommunications.
Multilingual COVID-19 prevention information is only meaningful if actionable
At first blush, the preventive campaign against the spread of COVID-19 by the Peruvian government may be considered inclusive given its multilingual approach and availability of materials in numerous Indigenous languages.
Unfortunately, this multilingual public health campaign is not suited to the lived reality of Peru’s Indigenous people, particularly those who live in the rural Andes. The perpetual lack of basic services and infrastructure reflects the history of marginalisation and neglect these rural indigenous communities have suffered since colonization.
The failure of the Peruvian governments to attend to their needs, year after year, has placed the rural population in a state of permanent vulnerability. To provide health advice that is impossible to follow, even if it is their own language, is adding insult to injury. The content of these posters and infographics represents the indifference and exclusion of the government toward their fellow countrymen and women.
References
Campos, M. (2008). Making sustainable water and sanitation in the Peruvian Andes: an intervention model. Journal of Water and Health, 6(S1), 27–31.
Espinoza, D. & Reed, D. (2018). Wireless technologies and policies for connecting rural areas in emerging countries: a case study in rural Peru. Digital policy, regulation and government 20(5), 479-511.
Felix, I. N. (2008). The reconstitution of indigenous peoples in the Peruvian Andes. Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, 3(3), 309–317.
Gillespie, B. (2017). Negotiating nutrition: Sprinkles and the state in the Peruvian Andes. Women’s Studies International Forum, 60, 120–127.
Morley, S. (2017). Changes in rural poverty in Peru 2004–2012. Latin American Economic Review, 26, 1-20.
Pasquier-Doumer, L., & Risso Brandon, F. (2015). Aspiration Failure: A Poverty Trap for Indigenous Children in Peru? World Development, 72(C), 208–223.
Nota del editor: El presente año hemos visto con particular interés los desafíos lingüísticos debido a la crisis mundial causada por el COVID-19. Desde febrero en Language on the Move, hemos creado un espacio enfocado a los aspectos lingüísticos sobre la crisis del COVID-19. Asimismo, nuestros lectores han visitado la edición especial de Multilingua sobre “La diversidad lingüística en tiempos de crisis”.
La comunicación multilingüe en tiempos de crisis ha sido objeto de estudio de los proyectos de investigación realizados por los estudiantes de la maestría de Lingüística Aplicada de la Universidad de Macquarie para el curso de “Alfabetizaciones”. En el transcurso de las siguientes semanas, publicaremos algunos de sus resultados.
En esta ocasión, Alejandra Hermoza Cavero analiza las decisiones lingüísticas y la información de la campaña preventiva contra el COVID-19 dirigida a las comunidades indígenas en el Perú.
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Afiche sobre la prevención del COVID-19 en quechua chanka
Medidas vacías en la inclusión de comunidades indígenas en la campaña de prevención contra el COVID-19
El Perú ha sido severamente afectado por la pandemia del COVID-19. Hasta el 14 de noviembre de 2020, se reportaron 892,467 casos confirmados de COVID-19 en el país. Entre estos casos, 110,470 ocurrieron en las comunidades rurales andinas, cuya mayoría se encuentra dispersada a lo largo del territorio de los Andes peruanos.
El Perú cuenta con uno de los mayores índices de población indígena en Latinoamérica: más de 50 comunidades indígenas han sido reconocidas en el país. Existen más de 300 idiomas en el Perú; el quechua y el aimara cuentan con el mayor número de hablantes. Es importante recalcar que, a pesar de que el castellano es uno de los idiomas oficiales del Perú, existe un gran número de personas indígenas que no habla castellano o no lo domina. Por estas razones, fue de gran interés para mí conocer si el índice elevado de contagios por COVID-19 en las poblaciones rurales indígenas en el Perú es producto de las barreras lingüísticas.
Disponibilidad significativa de afiches con información en diversos idiomas
El gobierno peruano, en efecto, actuó de manera acelerada en comunicar información sobre cómo prevenir el COVID-19. En marzo de 2020, cuando aparecieron los primeros casos de COVID-19 en el país, rápidamente el Ministerio de Salud inició el proyecto de traducción de recomendaciones sanitarias preventivas en diversos idiomas.
La información preventiva se dispuso en numerosos idiomas indígenas, los cuales incluyen aimara, asháninka, awajún, kichwa del Napo, ocaina, quechua Áncash, quechua Cajamarca norteño, quechua chanka, quechua Cusco Collao, shipibo konibo, urarina, wampis, yanesha y yine.
La traducción a cada idioma incluye los mismos dos afiches e infografía. A continuación, analizaré la versión del idioma quechua chanka.
Afiche sobre la prevención del COVID-19 en quechua chanka
Dichos materiales enfatizaron las recomendaciones relacionadas al lavado de manos. Asimismo, se incluyeron instrucciones acerca del lavado riguroso de manos con el fin de prevenir la infección de dicho virus. En la infografía, aparecen frases en quechua chanka tales como “utilice bastante agua para lavarse las manos (paso 2)”, “enjuáguese las manos con bastante agua (paso 4)” y “cierre el caño con la toalla de papel que acaba de utilizar para secarse las manos (paso 6)” (versiones de traducción mías).
¿Se puede considerar esta información multilingüe como inclusiva?
Pues no.
Actualmente, las comunidades indígenas rurales sí pueden recibir información del gobierno en su propio idioma luego de años de exclusión y menosprecio (Felix, 2008). No obstante, ellas no pueden cumplir los consejos que se les proporciona debido a las condiciones de pobreza presentes en estas comunidades.
Falta de acceso a agua corriente en numerosas comunidades andinas
El contenido de dicho afiche no se puede cumplir, debido a que “un tercio de la población en el Perú vive en comunidades rurales, en caseríos ubicados en los Andes con alrededor de 60 familias por cada uno de estos, donde solo dos tercios cuentan con acceso a agua corriente y un tercio a instalaciones de saneamiento” (Campos, 2008).
El índice de pobreza presente en las comunidades rurales indígenas representa el 45%, aproximadamente (Morley, 2017). La exclusión sistemática que las comunidades indígenas en el Perú han sufrido desde la colonización (Pasquier-Doumer y Risso Brandon, 2015; Felix, 2008) actualmente se manifiesta en la falta de acceso a servicios básicos. En vista de que la pobreza rural ha significado una problemática constante (Morley, 2017), el acceso al agua corriente y servicios de saneamiento ha sido un tema de política multisectorial desde comienzos de los 2000 (Gillespie, 2017).
Infraestructura limitada de telecomunicaciones: otro problema crítico
Los servicios de agua y saneamiento no representan los únicos problemas de infraestructura en las áreas rurales: situaciones donde el acceso a las telecomunicaciones se encuentra de manera restringida o nula también están presentes en dichas áreas (Espinoza y Reed, 2018).
Las telecomunicaciones, así como el agua corriente, son consideradas como herramientas fundamentales en la lucha contra la pandemia del COVID-19.
Los afiches de prevención contra el COVID-19 lo muestran así. En la infografía al quechua chanka aparece un hashtag que se traduce al español como “me quedo en casa”, un número de celular para enviar mensajes instantáneos y un número telefónico de servicio gratuito implementado por el Ministerio de Salud para cualquier consulta.
Así como recomendar el lavado de manos con agua corriente es inútil si es que no se cuenta con el acceso a este servicio básico, brindar recursos de consulta a través de la internet o telefonía es ineficaz cuando no se cuenta con acceso a las telecomunicaciones.
La información preventiva contra el COVID-19 en varios idiomas solo es valiosa cuando se puede cumplir
La campaña contra la propagación del COVID-19 realizada por el gobierno peruano, a primera vista, puede considerarse como inclusiva debido al enfoque multilingüe y a la disponibilidad de materiales en distintas lenguas originarias que presentaron.
Desafortunadamente, esta campaña de salud pública preventiva multilingüe no se adaptó a la realidad de los pueblos indígenas; sobre todo a las comunidades andinas rurales. La continua ausencia de servicios básicos e infraestructura refleja la historia de marginalización y desidia que estos pueblos indígenas han sufrido desde el periodo de colonización.
La falta de atención que el gobierno peruano ha demostrado hacia las comunidades indígenas año tras año ha provocado que dichos pueblos se encuentren en un estado de vulnerabilidad permanente. La difusión de recomendaciones sanitarias que son imposibles de cumplir, aun cuando se encuentran traducidos a la lengua originaria respectiva, significa profundizar la herida que las comunidades indígenas han tenido desde tiempos de la colonia. El contenido de dichos afiches representa la indiferencia y exclusión del gobierno ante sus propios compatriotas.
Referencias
Campos, M. (2008). Making sustainable water and sanitation in the Peruvian Andes: an intervention model. Journal of Water and Health, 6(S1), 27–31.
Espinoza, D. y Reed, D. (2018). Wireless technologies and policies for connecting rural areas in emerging countries: a case study in rural Peru. Digital policy, regulation and government 20(5), 479-511.
Felix, I. N. (2008). The reconstitution of indigenous peoples in the Peruvian Andes. Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, 3(3), 309–317.
Gillespie, B. (2017). Negotiating nutrition: Sprinkles and the state in the Peruvian Andes. Women’s Studies International Forum, 60, 120–127.
Morley, S. (2017). Changes in rural poverty in Peru 2004–2012. Latin American Economic Review, 26, 1-20.
Pasquier-Doumer, L., y Risso Brandon, F. (2015). Aspiration Failure: A Poverty Trap for Indigenous Children in Peru? World Development, 72(C), 208–223.
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Hi Alejandra,
Thank you for this insightful article outlining the difficulties faced by indigenous people in Peru during the pandemic. On the one hand, it is admirable that the government recognised the need to reach the entire population, thus creating multilingual resources explaining safety procedures against COVID-19. As the article about Indonesia highlighted, this is not always the case for all governments around the world. In both cases, the communication strategies adopted by the two governments failed to acknowledge and take into account the realities some of their citizens live in and related challenges (e.g., lack of running water, low level of literacy) creating a discrepancy between expectations and reality. In Australia, I have noticed a similar attempt by the Australian government in creating informative resources in a variety of languages. In particular, I appreciated the effort of the government of NT providing such information in Aboriginal languages through various channels (audio, video, printed). Indeed, the question remains: how easy is it for these groups to access such information?
Thank you for your article, Alejandra. The situation in Peru has parallels with the Northern Territory of Australia where Covid-19 information in print, audio and video format is available in eleven of the hundred or so Indigenous languages spoken.
A third of the population is Indigenous; sociopolitical factors since colonisation have created markedly poorer health than among non-Indigenous Australians. Approximately 10% of the Territory’s population live in overcrowded housing where physical distancing is impossible. A quarter of Indigenous people live in very remote areas where health services beyond very basic facilities are difficult to access, overcrowded housing is particularly common and water supply may be restricted.
The disconnect between public health advice and a community’s means to put it into practice is evidently a global problem.
Thanks Alejandra for this fantastic insight into the Peruvian Indigenous community. It illustrates clearly the “bubble” so many of us live in and the lack of empathy or even the desire so many have to really understand and have compassion for those who may be poor or disadvantaged such as in so many Indigenous communities around the world. It is interesting that considerable effort was made to translate the information, which may have alleviated the conscience of those doing this important work of formulating and distributing essential public health communications. However, the lack of either knowledge or consideration about the real-world practical application of these messages, or both, is so common globally. In Canada this problem is being solved by encouraging interested members of the Indigenous communities to get a higher education through providing funding for fees, to participate in government by holding federal government positions and through self-governance, and by the creation of 34 federal departments responsible for meeting the obligations and commitments to our First Nations, Metis and Inuit populations. It’s far from perfect but it’s slowly improving over time.
Thanks, Ally! The lack of empathy on all levels is mind-boggling and heart-breaking. I’ve just seen a video of the NSW Premier during yesterday’s press conference saying “Death is horrible but we need to put things in perspective …” the “perspective” was that people in NSW can’t choose how to use their free time …
Please excuse me for using this platform to vent, but I agree: when I heard that comment on the evening news broadcast, it stopped me in my tracks. “To put things in perspective” is a phrase that may be used in discussions between people to help someone move from an overly personal view and consider the needs of others. In my experience, it is associated with people being pro-social. Using it this way is a perversion, in my view knowingly chosen by a politician to access the public’s positive associations in the service of their own agenda.
Despite the impracticality of Covid-19 guidance (i.e., prevention posters) in Peruvian rural areas, I highly admire the effort made by the Peruvian government. This is mainly because they considered multilingualism as one key factor when making their guidance to help Peru’s Indigenous community protect themselves against the Coronavirus. However, in another multilingual country, the Indonesian villagers in Hidayat’s blog post faced the spread of Covid-19 due to language barriers. The Indonesian government ignored multilingualism in their country because they only provided monolingual Covid-19-related information. Similarly, Vietnam experienced some literacy problems when approaching Covid-19-related orders despite not being a multilingual community. A new stay-at-home restriction introduced without interpretation within 24 hours caused the citizens’ confusion and misunderstanding. Hence, some people acted upon their interpretation, which led to several fines for rule-breaking and threatened the safety of the community.
Thanks, Zoe! Just one little correction: Vietnam recognizes 53 minority languages and ethnic group, in addition to the majority Kinh people.
Thank you for your feedback and your correction, Ingrid.
Since the government has created plenty of opportunities for the minorities in Vietnam to go to school, the language barrier is not much of an obstacle anymore. I almost forgot the existence of other languages in the Vietnamese community because over 95% of the Vietnamese population aged 15 and older are literate. Specifically, Vietnam has run the “Xóa đói mù chữ” (The eradication of illiteracy) campaign which Vietnamese – the national language, is taught widely around the country since 1945.
Besides, the government has done a great job in transferring the Covid-19-related information to the ethnic communities in Vietnam by simplifying the message, enhancing its effectiveness in preventing virus transmission in these areas. That’s why these communities are able to prevent and “extinguish’ any outbreaks. Ironically, despite having such effective prevention campaigns in the rural areas, the government has failed to deliver similar information to the urban cities, resulting in the current outbreak in Vietnam.
I hope Ingrid’s feedback and my explanation can help you understand more the context in my home country.
Thank you.
Reading this blog post reminds me of the similar situation happening in the Southern Vietnam so far. In order to stop the spread of COVID-19, the government has enacted the long-term city-wide curfew for severe stay-at-home order. However, the announcement was officially published two days before the execution day and no shipping services will be allowed afterwards. Consequently, in those last days of ‘freedom’, all the supermarkets and pharmacies were full of people rushing to buy essential goods regardless the social-distancing protocol and the number of COVID-1 cases, accordingly, increases every day. That is to say, the reality is totally against the curfew’s purposes and demonstrating for the ineffective pandemic prevention.
Hi Tammy
Wow that sounds so stressful and counterproductive for people’s physical and mental health. I’m so sorry to hear what happened. sadly this seems to be the norm in so many communities around the world. Government workers may have the best of intentions but often really don’t think through the real world practical application of their advice. So often the vulnerable in the population suffer the most like older or disabled people who can’t manage shopping in a huge crowd. I hope things are going better now.
Take care,
Ally
I would agree that launching a campaign or providing a message that suits all people’s lived reality is always a matter of concern. In my country, Vietnam, practicing social distancing could be more plausible and actionable in urban areas yet not viable in rural areas. This is because the city siders tend to live separately in their own households while those in the countryside highly imbue the deep-rooted collectivism. That is to say they are inherently used to living in close-knit group and community, people take care of each other, an individual’s business is everyone’s concern. Therefore, they can hardly do things in isolation and maintain a two-meter distance on the daily basis.
Hi Meghan
Yes its really confounding how so many governments globally forget to take into consideration the cultural norms of their own citizens. Some of us who live in the city so often live in a “bubble” and forget to visualise and have practical compassion for the everyday lives of those in rural areas living more traditional lifestyles. Hopefully things will change over time through appropriate education.
Hi Ally,
Yes I totally agree, culture is supposedly indispensable and has permeated in every aspects of our life. It is necessarily important to take cultural elements into account prior to making any decision that has an impact on people’s lives and habits. The decision should be consistent with their inherent philosophy and perception, otherwise compliance can hardly be followed.
Best,
Megan.
Hi,
I would agree that the lack of access to basic services and telecommunications are the biggest challenge to the COVID-19 prevention campaign. For example, because my country is a developing country, we tend to have limited access to those services in our rural areas and in the slum areas in the city. However, the government normally use the old method of spreading information like making announcements near the markers or use the vehicle to travel around and announce the important message to the people. Moreover, the government also urges the community chiefs to visit the people in those areas to inform them about the situation.
Cheers,
The communication related to Covid was not a major problem in Pakistan. Although a number of people do not have access to basic life necessities, most of the people in the country can speak English and Urdu. In the beginning, the information was given in Urdu and English. Most of the pamphlets are written in both languages. If we check the statistics, we can understand that the actual problem is the poor legislation system and ignorance which resulted in major hike of the viral cases. The government website about the Covid shows the details information in major languages of Pakistan. (Urdu is understood in most parts of Pakistan)
https://covid.gov.pk/guideline
Interesting you say that. The findings of this researcher – about COVID-19 public health communication in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province – suggest quite the opposite …
Hi Alejandra!
Thank you for this insight into the Peruvian indigenous community. I had no idea regarding the diversity in their languages. It is unfortunate that they, like the indigenous populations of so many countries, continue to be excluded.
Thanks Alejandra for the insight into what is happening in Peru concerning COVID-19. I was happy to see the Peruvian government making efforts to communicate in minority languages but saddened to read that the advice doesn’t match the lived reality for many speakers of these languages. It was interesting to see the Quechua Chanka version of the poster for hand washing advice!
Cheers,
Peter