What refugees need to start new lives | Muhammed Idris

Translator: Isadora Leão Reviewer: Xosé María Moreno

About two years ago,

Hai dous anos,

I got a phone call that changed my life.

recibín unha chamada que cambiou a miña vida.

"Hey, this is your cousin Hassen."

"Ola, son o teu primo Hassen."

I froze.

Eu quedei paralizado.

You see, I have well over 30 first cousins,

Teño ben máis de trinta primos,

but I didn't know anybody named Hassen.

It turned out that Hassen was actually my mom's cousin

Resultou que Hassen era un curmán da miña nai

and had just arrived in Montreal as a refugee.

que acababa de chegar a Montreal como refuxiado.

And over the next few months,

Nos seguintes meses,

I would have three more relatives coming to Canada to apply for asylum

tres parentes meus virían ó Canadá buscando asilo

with little more than the clothes on their back.

con pouco máis que a roupa posta.

And in the two years since that phone call,

Nos dous anos posteriores a esta chamada,

my life has completely changed.

a miña vida cambiou por completo.

I left academia

Deixei a academia

and now lead a diverse team of technologists, researchers and refugees

e agora dirixo un equipo diverso de tecnólogos, investigadores e refuxiados

that is developing customized self-help resources for newcomers.

que desenvolve recursos personalizados de autoaxuda para os novos refuxiados.

We want to help them overcome language, cultural and other barriers

Queremos axudalos a vencer a linguaxe, a cultura e as outras barreiras

that make them feel like they've lost control over their own lives.

que lles fan sentir que perderon o control das propias vidas.

Sentimos que a IA pode axudar a restaurar os dereitos e a dignidade

And we feel that AI can help restore the rights and the dignity

que moitos perden cando buscan axuda.

that many people lose when seeking help.

My family's refugee experience is not unique.

A experiencia da miña familia como refuxiados non é única.

According to the UNHCR,

Segundo ACNUR,

every minute, 20 people are newly displaced

cada minuto, hai 20 novos desprazados

polo cambio climático, crises económicas

by climate change, economic crisis

and social and political instability.

e inestabilidade social e política.

And it was while volunteering at a local YMCA shelter

E foi mentres traballabamos no refuxio local de YMCA

that my cousin Hassen and other relatives were sent to

onde meu primo Hassen e outros parentes foron enviados

that we saw and learned to appreciate

que vimos e aprendemos a apreciar

how much effort and coordination resettlement requires.

o esforzo e a coordinación que o reasentamento require

Cando chegas, tes que buscar un avogado

When you first arrive, you need to find a lawyer

and fill out legal documents within two weeks.

e encher documentos legais en dúas semanas.

Tamén tes que superar un exame médico cun médico autorizado,

You also need to schedule a medical exam with a pre-authorized physician,

só para poder pedir un visado de traballo.

just so that you can apply for a work permit.

And you need to start looking for a place to live

E tes que empezar a buscar un sitio onde vivir

antes de recibir calquera tipo de asistencia social.

before you receive any sort of social assistance.

With thousands fleeing the United States

Con miles que foxen dos Estados Unidos

to seek asylum in Canada over the past few years,

para buscar asilo no Canadá os últimos anos,

we quickly saw what it looks like

rapidamente vimos como é

when there are more people who need help than there are resources to help them.

cando hai máis persoas que necesitan axuda que recursos para axudalas.

Os servizos sociais non se amplían rapidamente,

Social services doesn't scale quickly,

and even if communities do their best

e mesmo se as comunidades fan o maior esforzo

to help more people with limited resources,

para axudar a máis persoas con recursos limitados,

newcomers end up spending more time waiting in limbo,

os que chegan quedan máis tempo esperando no limbo,

not knowing where to turn.

sen saber onde ir.

In Montreal, for example,

En Montreal, por exemplo,

despite millions of dollars being spent to support resettlement efforts,

a pesar dos millóns de dólares gastos para apoio aos reasentamentos

nearly 50 percent of newcomers still don't know

case 50% dos que chegan aínda non saben

que existen recursos gratis

that there are free resources that exist

to help them with everything from filling out paperwork

para axudalos con todo, desde os documentos

to finding a job.

ata atopar un traballo.

The challenge is not that this information doesn't exist.

O desafío non é que non existan esas informacións.

On the contrary, those in need are often bombarded with so much information

Polo contrario, os necesitados son bombardeados con tanta información

that it's difficult to make sense of it all.

que se fai dificil darlle sentido a todo.

"Don't give me more information, just tell me what to do,"

"Non me deas máis información, dime só que facer."

was a sentiment we heard over and over again.

era a preocupación oída unha e outra vez.

And it reflects how insanely difficult it could be to get your bearings

Isto reflicte o incriblemente difícil que é adaptarse

when you first arrive in a new country.

cando chegas a un novo país.

Hell, I struggled with the same issues when I got to Montreal,

Hostia, tiven os mesmos problemas cando cheguei a Montreal,

and I have a PhD.

e teño un doutoramento.

(Risa)

(Laughter)

Como outro membro do noso equipo, tamén refuxiado, dixo:

As another member of our team, himself also a refugee, put it:

"En Canadá, unha tarxeta SIM é máis importante ca a comida,

"In Canada, a SIM card is more important than food,

because we will not die from hunger."

porque non morreremos coa fame."

Pero obter acceso aos recursos e á información correcta

But getting access to the right resources and information

can be the difference between life and death.

pode ser a diferenza entre a vida e a morte.

Let me say that again:

Deixádeme dicilo de novo:

getting access to the right resources and information

obter acceso aos recursos e á información correcta

pode ser a diferenza entre a vida e a morte.

can be the difference between life and death.

In order to address these issues,

Para resolver estas cuestións,

we built Atar,

construímos Atar,

the first-ever AI-powered virtual advocate

a primeira avogada virtual baseada en AI

that guides you step-by-step through your first week

que te guía paso a paso durante a túa primeira semana

na nova cidade.

of arriving in a new city.

Just tell Atar what you need help with.

Só dille a Atar o que necesitas.

Atar will then ask you some basic questions

Atar entón faiche algunhas preguntas básicas

to understand your unique circumstances

para entender a túa situación particular

and determine your eligibility for resources.

e determina a túa elixibilidade para os recursos.

For example: Do you have a place to stay tonight?

Por exemplo: Tes un sitio onde durmir esta noite?

If not, would you prefer an all-women's shelter?

Se non, preferirías un albergue só para mulleres?

Tes fillos?

Do you have children?

Atar will then generate a custom, step-by-step to-do list

Atar xera entón unha lista paso a paso de cousas que facer

that tells you everything that you need to know,

que che indica todo o que necesitas saber,

from where to go, how to get there,

onde ir, como chegar,

what to bring with you

que levar contigo

and what to expect.

e que expectativas ter.

You can ask a question at any time,

Podes facer preguntas en calquera momento,

and if Atar doesn't have an answer,

e se o Atar non ten unha reposta,

poñerate en contacto cunha persoa real que a teña.

you'll be connected with a real person who does.

But what's most exciting

Pero o máis emocionante

é que axudamos a organizacións e servizos humanitarios

is that we help humanitarian and service organizations

collect the data and the analytics that's necessary to understand

a recoller os datos e as análises necesarios para comprender

the changing needs of newcomers

o cambio das necesidades dos que chegan

in real time.

en tempo real.

That's a game changer.

Isto é algo revolucionario.

We've already partnered with the UNHCR

Xa fixemos unha parcería con ACNUR

to provide this technology in Canada,

para proporcionar esta tecnoloxía en Canadá,

and in our work have conducted campaigns in Arabic, English,

e no noso traballo diriximos campañas en árabe, inglés,

francés, crioulo e español.

French, Creole and Spanish.

Cando falamos do problema dos refuxiados,

When we talk about the issue of refugees,

a miúdo centrámonos nas estatísticas oficiais

we often focus on the official statistic

of 65.8 million forcibly displaced worldwide.

dos 65.8 millóns de desprazados forzosos en todo o mundo.

But the reality is much greater than that.

Pero a realidade é moito maior.

By 2050, there will be an additional 140 million people

Para o 2050, haberá máis de 140 millón de persoas

who are at risk of being displaced due to environmental degradation.

en risco de ser desprazadas debido á degradación ambiental.

And today -- that is today -- there are nearly one billion people

E hoxe --hoxe-- hai case mil millóns de persoas

que xa viven en asentamentos ilegais e barrios marxinais.

who already live in illegal settlements and slums.

Resettlement and integration

Reasentamento e integración

is one of the greatest challenges of our time.

son os maiores desafíos do noso tempo.

and our hope is that Atar can provide every single newcomer an advocate.

E a nosa esperanza é que Atar proporcione un avogado a cada recén chegado.

Our hope is that Atar can amplify existing efforts

A nosa esperanza é que Atar amplifique os esforzos que xa existen

and alleviate pressure on a social safety net

e que alivie a presión na rede de protección social

that's already stretched beyond imagination.

que xa está tensionada alén do imaxinable.

Pero o que é importante para nós

But what's most important to us

is that our work helps restore the rights and the dignity

é que o noso traballo axude a restablecer os dereitos e a dignidade

que os refuxiados perden durante o reasentamento e a integración

that refugees lose throughout resettlement and integration

by giving them the resources that they need in order to help themselves.

dándolles os recursos que necesitan para se axudaren a si mesmos.

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Aplausos)

(Applause)