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FEATURES local administrations, which are normally part of the society they are from. Despite recognising the value of interpreters to their operations, military and political institutions do not grant them equal status within their ranks, as they are not military personnel, trained by them and applying their same codes. 4 Vicente rafael states that the interpreter is "unsettled and unsettling inasmuch as [their] presence generates both relief and suspicion among soldiers". 5 In conflict zones, interpreters work for different people, including locals, the military and administration personnel, and this may create suspicions. translators are used by governments to deal with the 'enemy' and in some cases, this enemy is the country of origin of the translator, who has been exiled. although there are a few initiatives to support interpreters (through aIIc, InZone and IraP for instance), when their services are no longer needed, they are usually left to fend for themselves without a visa or successful asylum application, even if this is the only way to guarantee their safety. many afghan interpreters have had to apply for refugee status in the uk and hundreds are in similar situations relating to other conflicts. Creating mutual understanding In conclusion, I would like to vindicate the role of translation as a political project. although translators are limited by their own culture and by the narratives that have surrounded them, translation is a means to renew and increase cultural horizons. In order to combat international terrorism it is a strategic priority to include people of different backgrounds in measures to delegitimise extremist narratives. there ought to be greater inclusion of vulnerable groups in society in order to avoid extremist radicalisation, while the development of initiatives in strategic languages can help to create a society that is better equipped to deal with crisis communication. Priority must be given to the creation of a more intercultural society in which linguistic experts help to renew and increase cultural horizons based on a dialogue that allows them to approach conflict-zone communication from an interdisciplinary perspective. This article is based on Carmen Pena-Díaz's chapter on 'The Role of the Translator and Interpreter in Terrorist Conflicts' in Intercultural Crisis Communication: Translation, interpreting and languages in local crises (2020, Bloomsbury). Notes 1 see, e.g, seeger, mW (2006) 'Best Practices in crisis communication: an expert panel process'. In Journal of Applied Communication Research, 34(3), 232-244 2 Nsiah-kumi, Pa (2008) 'communicating effectively with Vulnerable Populations during Water contamination events'. In Journal of Water and Health, 6, 63-75 3 Navarro, BD (2004) 'Introducción. estudios sobre Inteligencia: Fundamentos para la seguridad internacional'. In Cuadernos de Estrategia 127, Instituto español de estudios estratégicos (Ieee) 4 Inghilleri, m (2010) 'You Don't make War without knowing Why: the decision to interpret in Iraq'. In The Translator, 16(2), 179 5 rafael VL (2007). 'translation in Wartime'. In Public Culture, 19(2), 239-246