From Berji to Kristin: Discussing the concept of the ‘translated being’ within the context of migration

This paper seeks to explore the concept of translated being within the context of migration and the migrant in Berji Kristin: Tales from the Garbage Hills. Berji Kristin tells the story of rural migrants who move to a big city in search of a livelihood, building a shantytown on a garbage hill on the outskirts of the city, and settling in their makeshift huts. In the light of the transformation of the rural migrants from innocence to decline, as symbolized by the change in the names “Berji” and “Kristin,” the study focuses on the nature of the relation between translation and migration and explores the conceptual and symbolic meanings that translation offers. The study also points out that the translated beings in Berji Kristin are represented through female attributions. Focusing on the theoretical implications of the relationship between translation and migration and exploring how postcolonial approaches brought insight into contextualizing the concept of the translated being, the study highlights that translation, in the context of migration, firstly refers to the movement from one culture to another. Translation, secondly, refers to the transformation of the migrants and their endeavors to survive in an unfamiliar environment.