Hello everyone! I am Hala Somo and was born and raised in Batnaya, small farming village, in northern Iraq. I did not have a formal education because there was no deaf programs in my hometown. When I was twelve, I moved from Iraq to America, where I picked up basic American Sign Language (ASL) and English vocabulary terms in middle school. But, in high school, I quickly got better at ASL and English. ASL makes my life better because it exposes me to Deaf community and culture. I am always willing to learn, socially and involved well with Deaf people because I want to explore my identity as a deaf person more. Also, I am highly motivated and enthusiastic to educate hearing people about deaf people’s preferred education methods which is ASL.
I realized my purpose to educate hearing and deaf people about audism, that means deaf people face oppression. In junior high school, I tend to go to Deaf starbucks in Mission Valley, San Diego on every Friday. On one Friday, I got flyer from somebody hand out of the flyer about Audism Unveiled and I did not know what was Audism meant. Several people stated, “it was great watching the film and it influenced me.” My oldest sister and I decided to go to buy a ticket and watched Audism Unveiled movie event in University of California, San Diego (UCSD). This film of Deaf people discussing audism, and shared their experience growing up Deaf community in a hearing world. I just sat and watched the film impacted me much, and helped me understand how the whole of Deaf people’s experience hard time through with hearing family. I did not realize how deaf people have experienced audism. For instance, over the years I did not know that my family oppressed me as a deaf person, however now I wake up and realize their ignorant actions. I realized that I felt sub-human for many years. I understood the word “audism” thanks to this movie. Deaf people often face the negative perspectives from hearing people, who look at us Deaf people with sorrow and pity. Hearing people think the Deaf life, or the Deaf experience is pitiful, and those who are deaf are no good, if they speak and hear. The hearing people thought that would better off if ‘deaf could hear and talk’ and forced judge deaf people’s on our ability read lips so that they should fit the hearing society. Because hearing people belief had forced those who don’t speak that means D/deaf people are sub-human. I learned this impactful message from watching the video. Please take a look at the video I just posted.
Video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCnyt2Ag1cw
This video shows that all D/deaf people have experienced audism of no signing allowed. Due to the fact that those who were deaf did not use their hands and used force oral school, their hands were swatted with rulers. In many difference ways throughout human history, with things like religion, medicine/science and others, there was constantly attempts being made to cure deafness and support oral for deaf people. This video exposed learning purpose to education parents and hearing people have to acknowledge that they need to less audism. They need to let deaf people enjoy their life, and that means being allowed to use their hands, and sign all the time. Sign language is very special and beautiful because they let us connect with deaf people. We need more hearing people to support ASL.
Hearing people tend to pity deaf people, however they should imagine living as a deaf individual without acknowledge their use of sign language, or their struggles with equal access communicate. How does this make Deaf people feel? They sometimes feel a struggle to express themselves. Although, hearing people can become involved in the Deaf community and become allies for the Deaf community and show support, and learn not to think that deaf people are sub-human. My blog will talk about the deaf people’s experience of oppressions and educate to power that acknowledgement to stop audism by hearing people.
For the stop audism,
Hala Somo
i wish this had caption on it
ReplyDelete