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Translation - art & business » Translators Associations »
Genuine or a hoax? AWATAI (Association of West Africa Translators and Interpreters) event in Benin.
Thread poster: Margit Pehrsson (X)
Margit Pehrsson (X)
Margit Pehrsson (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 13:13
Danish to English
+ ...
Aug 5, 2004

I have been invited to the above conference to take place 14-16 October in Cotonou, Republic of Benin.

Does anybody know if this is genuine or a hoax? It is supposedly an annual conference and this year a certain number of freelance interpreters are being sponsored to participate.

I would appreciate hearing other opinions of this.
 
Steffen Walter
Steffen Walter  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 05:43
Member (2002)
English to German
+ ...
Google search yields zero hits Aug 5, 2004

Hi Margit,

Nothing's come up in two quick Google searches using
a) AWATAI Benin (as two independent terms) and
b) "Association of West Africa Translators and Interpreters" resp. "Association of West African Translators and Interpreters" (set in inverted commas to search for the entire phrase).

Don't really know if that's anything to go by ...

(IMHO, there should be at least a few web traces if they are genuine and contacted you by email... See more
Hi Margit,

Nothing's come up in two quick Google searches using
a) AWATAI Benin (as two independent terms) and
b) "Association of West Africa Translators and Interpreters" resp. "Association of West African Translators and Interpreters" (set in inverted commas to search for the entire phrase).

Don't really know if that's anything to go by ...

(IMHO, there should be at least a few web traces if they are genuine and contacted you by email.)

Best,

Steffen

[Edited at 2004-08-05 12:57] ▲ Collapse
 
Michele Johnson
Michele Johnson  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 05:43
German to English
+ ...
Something's rotten in Denmark... Aug 5, 2004

Margit, you are right to be suspicious. I have to concur with Steffen. I have found the following African translator associations online:

http://www.notisnet.org/links/orgs.html#Africa

Namibian Association of Translators and Interpreters (NATI)...

Nigerian Association of Translators and Interpreters (NATI)...

South African Tra... See more
Margit, you are right to be suspicious. I have to concur with Steffen. I have found the following African translator associations online:

http://www.notisnet.org/links/orgs.html#Africa

Namibian Association of Translators and Interpreters (NATI)...

Nigerian Association of Translators and Interpreters (NATI)...

South African Translators' Institute/Suid-Afrikaanse ...

Tanzanian Translators' Association/Chama cha Wafasari wa ...

OK, sure, they might be a new association. But why would they be interested in *you*, someone who translates out of Danish? Moreover, why would *you* be interested? Hmmm, do they want your bank account info, so they can transfer the "sponsorship"? Can you trace the headers? Feel free to forward the email privately.

I personally would be inclined to simply delete this to the junk mail. Good luck! MJ ▲ Collapse
 
Sarah Downing
Sarah Downing  Identity Verified
Local time: 23:43
German to English
+ ...
I agree with both of you - Don't fall for it Aug 5, 2004

Hmmm, do they want your bank account info, so they can transfer the "sponsorship"? Can you trace the headers? Feel free to forward the email privately.

I personally would be inclined to simply delete this to the junk mail. Good luck! MJ[/quote]

I did a web search and couldn't find them either. And what you said, Michele, is exactly what occurred to me - I wouldn't mind betting that these people want to charge you a fee that has to be paid before you can attend ... Don'... See more
Hmmm, do they want your bank account info, so they can transfer the "sponsorship"? Can you trace the headers? Feel free to forward the email privately.

I personally would be inclined to simply delete this to the junk mail. Good luck! MJ[/quote]

I did a web search and couldn't find them either. And what you said, Michele, is exactly what occurred to me - I wouldn't mind betting that these people want to charge you a fee that has to be paid before you can attend ... Don't fall for it whatever you do. I mean if this conference takes place annually, that leaves me to believe that this supposed association should have been around for quite a while, so why aren't they mentioned even once on the net? ▲ Collapse
 
ejike
ejike
Local time: 05:43
English to Italian
+ ...
very likely to be fraudsters Oct 13, 2004

According to me it is very likely to be a hoax.
I lived in Nigeria for about 8 years and incidentally I lived inthe area where the so called "Nigerian Association of Translators and Interpreters" (as indicated by our colleague) is supposed to be located. I never heard of it, as I am not aware of the existence of a great number of translators in Nigeria.
What you di din not specify is the rest of the request.
Did they ask you for money as "registratin fees" or any request of mon... See more
According to me it is very likely to be a hoax.
I lived in Nigeria for about 8 years and incidentally I lived inthe area where the so called "Nigerian Association of Translators and Interpreters" (as indicated by our colleague) is supposed to be located. I never heard of it, as I am not aware of the existence of a great number of translators in Nigeria.
What you di din not specify is the rest of the request.
Did they ask you for money as "registratin fees" or any request of money for any reason whatever?
Well, in this case it is certainly a fraud. If you pay, you will never see your money again and will never know about the conference any more.
Nigerians are very well known tricksters and fraudster and the ways to extort money (sometimes big money) are too many to be narrated. Many of the operate from neighbouring countries as Republic of Benin, Ivory Coast, Cameroon ecc. (The web site of the Italian Consulate General in Lagos has a very good report on these people)
This method is a new one, in any case I would disregard the whole affair. ▲ Collapse
 
rogerw
rogerw
English
UK's african specialist interpreters site thinks it's not genuine Aug 3, 2005

African-interpreters.net, which is a UK-based free database of African language specialists, considers this association and its activities as not genuine.

Further information, contact [email protected]
 


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Genuine or a hoax? AWATAI (Association of West Africa Translators and Interpreters) event in Benin.


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