Translating a text from one language into another is an art form. It is translators who allow people from different countries and continents to find a common language. In addition, they help to develop and preserve their native language. Therefore, it is very difficult to overestimate the work of translators.
For its part, the team of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center is doing everything to preserve and develop the language of the indigenous people of Ukraine. For example, in 2019, the CTRC translated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into Crimean Tatar and posted it on the official UN website. In 2021, the European Convention on Human Rights was translated.
The translation of international documents is extremely important, especially in a situation where the Crimean Tatar people are deprived of their statehood and are oppressed in the exercise of their collective rights.
Thus, the CTRC continues to promote the development of the sectoral legal Crimean Tatar language, while engaging qualified experts. Our team makes every effort to preserve the native language of the indigenous people of Ukraine.
We remind you that since the beginning of the occupation of Crimea by Russia, the situation on the peninsula in the areas of UNESCO’s activities (education, science, culture, information, media freedom, etc.) is in a critical state. The CTRC regularly records violations in these areas.
Despite the fact that the occupation authorities have ‘officially’ recognised the Crimean Tatar language as one of the state languages, there are no Crimean Tatar versions of official websites, office work is conducted only in Russian, the use of the native language in the so-called courts is prohibited, and there have been cases of threats to dismiss employees for speaking their native language, which is a violation of Articles 2, 8, 15 and 17 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Before the occupation, there were 15 schools and 384 classes with the Crimean Tatar language of instruction in Crimea. The occupation authorities changed the status of the schools. Currently, there are 7 schools in Crimea with Crimean Tatar as the language of instruction, and 3 with Russian and Crimean Tatar as the languages of instruction. Out of 384 classes with the Crimean Tatar language of instruction, 119 remain.
Teaching in the Crimean Tatar language is allowed only up to the 9th grade and at the request of parents. Administrations of educational institutions create obstacles to such applications under various pretexts: ‘there is only one native language in Crimea – Russian’, “lack of classrooms”, “lack of teaching staff”, “lack of textbooks”, and cases of gross refusal have been recorded: they force parents to refuse to teach in the Crimean Tatar language, or reduce the number of hours for studying the Crimean Tatar language and literature.
On the 10th anniversary of indigenous languages, it is very important that the preservation and development of indigenous languages involve cross-sectoral cooperation, i.e. indigenous peoples, the state, business and international organisations. After all, a language will live if it is in demand.