Deaf people want to be heard

Deaf people want to be heard

Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

For a deaf person like Aletta (not her real name), leading a full
life has not been an option.

Until two years ago, Aletta, 32, was still unemployed. Back
then, she said, life was difficult.

"I lived with my parents as I could not support myself
financially," Aletta told The Jakarta Post through mobile phone
short messaging service (SMS) on Thursday.

So, when a shoe manufacturer in West Java offered her a job in
2002, she did not think twice. "I needed the income. I was very
ashamed about being a burden on my parents for 32 years."

Soon, however, Aletta had to face another bitter reality.
Being deaf, she has to be content with a monthly salary amounting
to two-thirds of the salary her fellow workers received.

"My supervisor said I might miss commands or make mistakes
because I was deaf. I had no choice," she said.

Aletta is not alone. According to Dita Rukmini, managing
director of the Indonesian Movement for Deaf People's Welfare
(Gerkatin), some 1.8 million deaf people have registered as
members of the group.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 16th meeting of the World
Federation of the Deaf Regional Secretariat in the Asia Pacific
(WFD RSA/P), Dita demanded that the deaf receive equal treatment
with those who have normal hearing.

"Despite our hearing problem, we can concentrate as well as
other people can. The same applies to our learning ability.
Please give us a chance," Dita said on Thursday.

She said deaf people actually can use facsimile, e-mail and
short messaging system (SMS) to communicate.

Many deaf people here are not able to get a job of their
choice or one that has any connection with their study, said
Dita, who is able to lip-read to communicate.

She also highlighted the shortage of interpreters of sign
language here. "That might be one of the main reasons why most
people think that deaf people are isolated."

Even for sign language, Dita said different languages were
being taught in each school, making it difficult for deaf people
here to communicate with one other.

"We need to have a standard sign language that can be
understood by all deaf people here, so that communication will be
easier among us," said Dita.

Separately, director of the WFD RSA/P, Takeo Ogura, told the
Post through his interpreter that in Japan there was a national
certification system for sign language interpreters.

"There are about 1,335 interpreters (at the national level) in
Japan now and besides that each city has its own certification
system. There are a total of between 11,000 and 12,000
interpreters in all cities in Japan," said Ogura.

He also said that Japan had a sign language study group for
people who wanted to communicate with deaf people.

"There are a total of 100,000 people who can (use and
understand) sign language in Japan, at different levels (of
competency) of course," said Ogura.

Ogura also deplored the situation here, saying that there was
no sign language book in Indonesia, making it almost impossible
to make a standard sign language.