Project Report 2: Community-embedded communication and support among linguistic minorities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

This report is the second in a series for the research project ‘Transforming crisis communication for linguistic minority communities.’ The project aimed to foster more inclusive, effective and interactive crisis communication with and for linguistic minorities, most of whom are migrants and (former) refugees, through exploring their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Adopting a culturally and linguistically responsive approach, our study draws on 85 in-depth interviews conducted in 13 minority languages plus English in early 2024. This report draws attention to the considerable strength and agency demonstrated by linguistic minorities in response to the many communication-related challenges during the pandemic. Several participants noted the ‘earned strength’ of linguistic minorities, many of whom had already experienced significant adversity. Community-embedded support systems were a crucial dimension of the pandemic response for linguistic minorities. This support did not merely supplement government and other formal efforts; for many, it became the primary source of information, care and emotional support. Key actions included: sharing (translated) information about public health measures and related welfare and visa concerns; distributing food and medical supplies to people in need; and creating spaces for connection and collective sense-making. Many participants emphasised that communicating in one’s first language was important not only for understanding crisis information, but also for emotional communication and wellbeing. De facto ‘community translators’ (Uekusa, 2022b)—people with bi-/multilingual capability, including family, friends, teachers, co-workers or community leaders— were critical for generating and sharing crisis communication among linguistic minorities. Many also became ‘communication bridges’ that linked isolated people to wider channels of support. This (emergent) role was taken on with a sense of pride and responsibility, but could also be a source of considerable pressure, especially when dealing with complex and fast-changing health information. Government engagement with linguistic minorities, where it existed, tended to rely heavily on a few community leaders or organisations. This overburdened some individuals and created a ‘bottleneck’ in distributing information and materials. Many community leaders and translators reported stress, burnout and emotional exhaustion from the level of support they provided for their communities. Recommendations include: to rethink hierarchical assumptions about crisis communication towards a ‘community-embedded’ approach; recognise and invest in the value of bi/multilingualism; broaden and diversify channels of multilingual communication, including employers, education providers and hobby-based groups; support diverse communication forms with flexible funding; and bridge gaps between established linguistic minority communities and less-connected individuals