Today let s talk about how selfish we are, how we have failed humanity. How many deaf people do you know? I ll go first. None. ok, maybe one but he s not really deaf coz he wasnt born deaf. his condition came about the other day and he communicates like non- deaf people. Yesterday was childrens Sunday in Church. Dhawabu School had kids who DANCED. yes, you heard me. Kids who have no idea what music sounds like DANCED. And would you believe they have better sense of rhythm than most of us? Now the problem came in when we had to show appreciation. We clapped. They looked puzzled. Then we were told , thats not how you clap for them, coz they dont understand that. You raise your hands in the air. Imagine that. something as simple as clapping for the deaf, only 10% knew. I dont even know how to say hi to a deaf person. A smile counts, but thats not really it. After the kids danced they went and sat quietly in their seats for the rest of the service. They might as well have gone home coz service didnt have a translator. It s like watching a movie on mute. What do you really gain from it? My church- and most other churches- have failed humanity. Do we have any local TV station that has a translator, if not fulltime, but atleast during News? so how come we suddenly feel the need to include the deaf during elections? so we recognize their value when we need their votes? Dont you think they also want to hear about a girl in coast excreting spoons, or Central farmers under siege from twilight girls after getting their boom...why deny them the chance to hear about naija pastors coming to hand out husbands? My Country has failed humanity. Other than my newly deaf friend, I dont have other deaf friends. so dont my friends have deaf friends and/or relatives? where do we hide them? My friends have failed humanity. If we can enrol for French German, Mongolian, etc classes so as to be able to communicate in more than one language with people who can communicate in more than one language, surely we can learn some basic sign language to accomodate the deaf. This is not just about the deaf people. It s about people with disabilities. What have we done to step out of our comfort zones and experience their world? They are busy dancing to our music so as to fit in our world, but what have we done?
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 05:25:38 +0000
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