The Babel Factor

This is the second of a three-part series observing the role foreign language plays in the lives of people caught up in conflict. From civil war in the Balkans, the international invasion of Iraq to the very personal struggle for identity confronting displaced persons and refugees from any conflict, the authors draw on their own military experiences and published accounts from health care and social services professionals world-wide. Language may serve as a window into the lives of others or a mirror for looking at ourselves if we first understand the perspective created by our own need to know what is being said to us and about us.