Invisible People/Mereka yang Tak Terlihat: Translator’s point of view

Be ready to take on a journey through the lives of some of Indonesia’s most vulnerable people. From the disabled in Aceh to the survivors of the Ambon conflict. From the transgendered in East Java to sex workers in East Kalimantan. Not forget to mention the Bajau People – the Indonesian sea gypsy, and many more. Through Invisible People you will learn that though vulnerable, they are not the people who just sit there and feel sorry for themselves. They struggled, they shed blood, sweat and tears, they fought for their lives and that’s exactly how they earned their place in the society.

Inivisible People is a book funded by The World Bank (The  Bank)/PNPM Mandiri (National Program for Community Empowerment), and (soon to be) published by Lontar Foundation. I was honoured to be part of this book project, as the translator. I translated the book (from English) into Indonesian. The Indonesian version of this book is called “Mereka yang Tak Terlihat”. I forgot if I was the one who came up with that name, or was it the people at The Bank.

Now, looking at the book from the translator’s point of view, I can say that this book is a powerful resource. Not only that each and all of the stories were carefully written by an excellent writer (Irfan Kortschak) who empathically encountered and interviewed all the subjects, all the photographs (taken by photographer Poriaman Sitanggang and some by Irfan Kortschak) serve as thoughtful companions for each of the profiles. Translating this book was NOT a piece of cake. It’s more like slow cooking a big dish that would feed thousands of hungry souls who would not only eat your food but also judge the taste, the way you cook it, down to the stove and pans that you used! If they liked the food, they’ll happily swallow it, ask for more and eat till their heart’s content. If they didn’t like it, or hate it, they will spit the food right back at you! Yes, it is that scary!

When working on the articles, especially the profiles, I always made sure that I used the right words, consulting the writer about what the subjects were like in real life – the way they talked, how they behaved – so that I got that ‘feeling’, which I would then pour into the translation. It’s a long and hard as process. I can’t say that I didn’t go through blood sweat and tears myself, translating this book, coz I did. But I wouldn’t want it any other way. Some stories made me cry and some were heartwarming. It was definitely an amazing learning process for me personally and professionally. I was never a professional translator, but without being to cocky, I wouldn’t think that other, more professional, translators would have done it the way I did it, as good as I did it.

Another lesson that I got from this book was that no matter how good an editor is, if he/she is not really in tune with the story, the wholeness of the book, they would just make their edits too literal. And sadly, that’s what happened to some of the stories in the Indonesian version of Invisible People. Now, I can’t complain much and there’s really nothing I can do to change it.

Overall, it is a WONDERFUL book, and I believe that the existence of this book would not only change the subjects’ lives (say yes to more well organized community development funding from whoever – anything that would make the subjects’ – and the people they represent- lives better), it WILL also change your life. Well, at least the way you look at the world around you. This book could definitely double, as a great coffee table book, as well as a powerful read for your hungry souls.

Invisible People/Mereka yang Tak Terlihat will be available through independent bookstores in Indonesia, and from Amazon.com for international readers, in September 2010 (can’t say exactly which date, though)

Buy it. Read it. Like it. Tell your friends about it. Ask for more!

*to see Irfan’s Bio please visit his website: www.wayang.net