Limerick company offers free translation services for refugees arriving from Ukraine

A LIMERICK company is donating its technology and language services to help people impacted by the current crisis in Ukraine.

Translit, a language service provider based at Upper Mallow Street in Limerick city, is planning to help refugees arriving on these shores having fled Ukraine due to the Russian invasion.

The firm – founded by Alex Chernenko, himself a Ukrainian national – is donating its interpreting technology which will be used to aid refugees.

Alex was born in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa which has come under heavy fire from Russian forces in the past week, and as a result is determined to help out.

“I have friends and family in Ukraine who are directly affected by this and I am hearing their awful stories every day,” Mr Chernenko said, “A woman who works with me, she has bombs exploding next to her and seven times a day she leaves her work desk and goes down to the bunker.”

“It’s not just what I am reading in the news, I am talking to someone and I can hear sirens in the background before they hang up. They come back two hours later after spending the time in the bunker. Ukraine is my home country and now I see cities there being destroyed, people who have lived there are having to flee and leave their homes because they don’t feel safe. I can’t understand it but my team and I will do whatever we can to help,” he added.

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Already, more than two million refugees have fled Ukraine to neighbouring Poland, Romania and Moldova in the first fortnight since Vladimir Putin-led forces invaded.

Mr Chernenko arrived in Ireland from Ukraine in 2003 and he knows how important it is to access language services, with Translit also offering not-for-profit document translation among other services.

“We are extending our help to the refugees who cannot access the language services they need, and we will make our remote interpreting technology available to various government bodies and organisations,” the businessman added.

“A few years after I came to Ireland we saw an influx of immigrants when the EU expanded, that showed that there was a huge lack of resources - Ireland was not ready. This will likely cause another disruption to the services, and after working on the front line as an interpreter last time, I know what ways we can help to ease the refugees into their time here in Ireland.”

He acknowledged refugees arriving on these shores are stressed and frustrated, and urged government, and non-governmental organisations to ensure they are a reliable partner to the company.

“It works both ways,” Mr Chernenko said.