Census Bureau Releases Language Assistance Guide in Persian for 2010 Census

August 14, 2009, Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Census Bureau recently published a language assistance guide for the 2010 Census in Persian (Farsi). This guide, which is an exact replica of the short form every household will receive for the 2010 Census, is translated into Persian (Farsi) to assist those who have more familiarity with the Persian language. The guide in Persian will be made available at all local Questionnaire Assistance Centers of the Census Bureau. Likewise, PAAIA will make it readily available to community members and encourages other Iranian American organizations to do the same. The language assistance guide however is not a substitute for the official English version of the 2010 Census short form which will have to be completed and mailed to the Census Bureau.

With the goal of securing an accurate count of Iranian Americans, the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA) helped launch the Iranian American 2010 Census Project Coalition, which to date includes the Iranian American Bar Association (IABA), Bay Area Iranian American Voter Association (BAIVOTER), National Iranian American Council (NIAC), Network of Iranian American Professionals in Orange County (NIPOC), PARSA Community Foundation, Shabeh Jomeh, and the U.S. Census Bureau. The specific goals of this Project are to reach every Iranian American household in the country to educate them about the importance of participating in the 2010 Census, to assure them that the information provided to the Census Bureau will be confidential, and to urge them to respond to questions relating to race, ethnicity or national origin in a consistent manner.

Click here to view the Census Bureau Language Assistance Guide in Farsi

Click here to read the joint statement of the Iranian American 2010 Census Project Coalition

Click here to read the IABA Legal and Political Effects of the 2010 U.S. Census