I TRANSLATED MY SON’S REPORT CARD WITH A GROCERY APP

Dear Delyara, The school sent my son’s report home today. I cannot read German well enough yet, so I used the translation camera on my phone. I held it over each sentence while my son watched my face. The app translated one line as: He does not participate and appears socially disconnected. My son asked, “Is it good?” I said yes. I told him the teacher said he was quiet and intelligent. He smiled and went to his room. The truth is, he barely speaks at school because he is ashamed of his accent. Last week, boys called him “refugee” and threw his lunch in the trash. He begged me not to tell the teacher because he said it would make everything worse. Back home, he was the child who talked the most. Here, people think silence is his personality. I signed the report with the careful signature I practiced for official documents and wrote, in bad German, Thank you for helping my son. Then I sat at the kitchen table and wondered whether bringing him somewhere safe has made him lonely in a language I cannot protect him in.