By Eloge Kaneza 

Silvia Senok has been working as a French and Spanish interpreter for five years. This graduate of a university in Mexico City, where she studied translation and interpreting, believes that the work of healthcare interpreters is essential for accurate communication between healthcare professionals and their patients. 

“We have a very diverse community in Portland. For that community to receive the best medical care, there must be an interpreter,” Senok told Amjambo Africa, explaining that the interpreters in question do their job in person and “translate everything to make sure everything is understood between a doctor and a patient.” 

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The salary is not enough at all. Here in Portland, life has become very expensive. Even though we work in a very professional field, we don’t feel respected by MaineHealth.

— Silvia Senok

However, Senok feels strongly that healthcare interpreters in Maine do not receive sufficient remuneration for their work. And Senok is not alone. In fact, interpreters at MaineHealth created a union in June 2023. 

“The salary is not enough at all. Here in Portland, life has become very expensive. Even though we work in a very professional field, we don’t feel respected by MaineHealth,” said Senok. Since the union brought attention to the issue, Senok said there has been a slight improvement in interpreter salaries, but the rate is still unacceptable, which is why the interpreters held a protest on January 29 outside the offices of MaineHealth. They said they had requested a meeting with administrators, but that request was denied. A few days after the protest, MaineHealth officials told News Center Maine that “there is progress and that interpreters are going to have a fair contract.” 
 
According to Senok, some interpreters have been forced to work in other fields, and others have moved to cities considered cheaper, far from Portland. Silvia herself had to find roommates to be able to bear the cost of her rental.   

At MaineHealth, there are interpreters for 20 languages. The most sought after by patients are Arabic, French, Portuguese, Somali, and Spanish. “We’re going to keep fighting until MaineHealth offers more money,” said Senok, who has wanted to work in the medical world since she was a child.