Language issues
The City of Toronto wants residents to know they should always call
9-1-1 in an emergency situation even if they do not speak English.
Toronto's emergency call receivers have instant access to interpreters
through Language Line Services who are available to assist with calls
in more than 150 languages 24 hours a day.
—City of Toronto Emergancy Services
We need
to be
able to talk to and listen to all of our fellow owners if we are going
to be successful.
Building a political opposition to the incumbent board can be difficult
in the best of times but living in a condominium community consisting
of people from different nationalities and languages creates extra
challenges.
Ethnic
groups
In some condos, the owners may be split into two or more ethnic groups.
There may be a large Chinese, Indian, Arab, Korean or Vietnamese
population
living in your condo. You need to be able to communicate with them if
you want to prevail in your battle against the board.
Natural leaders
People who do not speak English or more common, have limited verbal and
written English skills, tend to rely on trusted neighbours or relatives
to help them understand what is being asked of them.
Your group needs to win the active support of at least one person that
can speak and write in each minority language group that is represented
in the condo or are absentee owners whenever these owners are
uncomfortable speaking and listening in English.
You need this "natural leader" to talk to the owners in the language
they understand and are comfortable with so they can understand why
they should support your group.
It is ideal if all leaflets, handouts and posters that your group hands
out can
be written in the languages that are understood by the residents.
Your group is the weaker side so you need all the support that you can
muster.
When we were organizing in a condo with a large Italian population, we
printed our
literature in both languages and we had supporters who talked to the
elderly Italians explaining what we needed them to do and why.
One Chinese couple invited a friend and I over to their home so they
would have a translator help them understand why I was asking for
their support.
It is important to listen to their problems and issues. This could
possibly be the first time anyone in the building asked them what their
needs were and if so, you have a good chance of winning over owners
that you need.
Printed material
When you print material use different coloured paper for the different
languages. It makes it easier to give the owner the correct sheet. If
you regularly use a colour-code for your leaflets, everyone will soon
know which sheet is for them.
I helped the owners at one Scarborough condo over-throw their board and
drive out a dreadful property management company. Having all of our
written material translated into Chinese and distributed to the Chinese
owners (who made up half of the resident-owners) and distributed
simultaneously with the English written material gave us a huge
advantage over the property management company.
It showed that we cared about them and that we would be different. This
was the first time they had any information about their condo written
in a language they could read.
Now all notices from the new board is bilingual. A new standard has
been set that all future boards and management companies will need to
follow.
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