Who is at Fault?

After the discussion we held in class on Thursday, it is becoming more and more apparent that communication has a major influence on the relationship between the Hmong and the doctors. This barrier can ultimately be considered a major factor in Lia's treatment or lack thereof. For instance, as is seen in the book, the "best" translators as those individuals who are patient. Although there may be many duties of a translator at a given time, those that take a moment to thoroughly explain what the status of the treatment is are the ones who are successful. This problem in communication not only stems from the fact that the two group of people speak different languages, but more so because they have different traditions and backgrounds. What is seem respectful to the Hmong people may not have the same affect for the American doctors.

When speaking of translators, how much influence do they really have in the treatment process? For example, in any culture, terming a person as "government property" may be viewed as disrespectful. For the Hmong people, for instance, when Sue the translator uses this term in explaining what is about to happen to Lia, she is seen as a sellout for not sticking to her Hmong beliefs. Is the translator really the traitor in this instance? What about when the life support is pulled out from Lia? I feel as if it is extremely difficult to put the blame on one person in such a situation. More so, I think that the system in general could be at fault; if the communication between the two groups was improved, perhaps this incident would never have occurred. However, I feel like it is difficult to make changes in the system when it already seems to be so standardized and fixed. What do you guys think?