Bridging linguistic and cultural divides: institutional and interpersonal trust in interpreting the humanitarian crisis in Malawi

Translators and interpreters serve as critical nodes of communication in crises, tasked with conveying crucial information across linguistic and cultural barriers in challenging scenarios. In these contexts, trust forms the cornerstone of effective communication, influencing public response and shaping the overall effectiveness of crisis management and relief distribution. Despite the vital role of trust in crisis communication, there is a scarcity of empirical research investigating its dynamics in multilingual crisis contexts, and few studies focus on the needs of community members who are the beneficiaries of humanitarian aid. Against this backdrop, we carried out a quantitative and qualitative study exploring the perceptions of beneficiaries of humanitarian aid in the aftermath of the cyclone in Malawi in March 2023. The objective of the study is to shed light on the role of trust in high-stakes, multilingual crisis contexts, investigating how trust is built, maintained, and potentially eroded during crises. We also consider how trust influences the interlocutors’ attitudes towards each other and their perception of the communicative situation.