“Sign language is the noblest gift God has given to deaf people.” ~ George Veditz

Over a thousand years, many D/deaf people use to communicate with their hands if they were signing to another D/deaf people. Other people thought they were signing oddly even they do not realise they (D/deaf people) can not hear any sounds, let alone to feel vibrant and the ability to understand in physical sights.

Today I have been reflecting back in February 2020, in New Zealand, we were in the brink of preparing the plan to avoid the contagious “COVID19” in the greater communities. People are learning about COVID19 and the greater danger impact on their families, friends and workers in the communities. What about D/deaf people and children? Do they understand what COVID is, how can they communicate when other people wear the full cover mask and what kind of barriers that stopping D/deaf people even elderly Deaf people? I have not forgotten about D/deaf with multi disabilities such as elderly and chronic. Do they need help as well?

Horror, frustrated and anger from the D/deaf people and D/deaf with multi disabilities people as well clueless about the safety risk to their families, lack of information for the D/deaf people such as when the bank open, their bills overdue for two months or more, the loss of their jobs. Are they allowed to go to the supermarket for their groceries or not? Can they visit their friends in the cafe or at the shopping mall? Can they understand by watching the media on television without an interpreter?

As a deaf essential worker, work through tirelessly from March to October, and I delivered simple information on where to contact Food Bank Service, keeping in touch with the Civil Defence Team, City Council, Hospital team, to the Facebook Page – Deaf Positive, and to the D/deaf elderly with multi disabilities and other people. I collected many groceries from supermarkets and dropped off at the house where people lives, collected bills from them, so I paid their bills via online banking. Even to pick up the prescriptions for their needs. There are many other essential workers out there working tirelessly like me.

The Government staff and the media teams starting to realise that there is an important need to get the message out to the people with disabilities including D/deaf people via Television and radio even social media like Facebook, Twitters. The important tool is to get an interpreter (sign language) and to have an interpreter available throughout live news and breaking news. What about the mask? It has got a full cover over lip and mouth which it was no use for us – D/deaf people/with disabilities to lipread and facial expressions. Finally, some of the people made or ordered transparent mask/clear mask so we can lip read and see the facial expressions.

You may be wondering how I manage to go through when I met a person who wears a cover mask. I tell them by saying I am deaf and need to lipread or write down if you can remove the mask or not. I used one of the apps from my mobile, which able to use ‘speech to text’, and I read the text from my mobile. Two staff at the Path Lab refused to pull down their mask, but they wrote down and showed me to check the identity. The most wonderful staff are the most helpful and respect all essential workers to let us go in and do the groceries. Two supermarkets I went frequently, and the staff recognised me for they understand I am deaf essential worker and communicate as gestures.

What about social media? There has been slowly increasing in having interpreters on television and more subtitles/captioning on video clips through Facebook, Twitters, and other media pages. There is a new technology which brings wonderful for everyone who stays home and to have meetings with their managers, employers and interpreters. I know several elderly D/deaf people, including people with disabilities, does not have technologies at their homes. I arranged my time to meet with them or to send faxes they have at their homes. Most of the D/deaf people/multi disabilities do not have wifi for their computers/laptops. I was told by one of the Internet Providers and willing to help many people who are living with low income, to set up a Wifi during the lockdown. I arranged three D/deaf people for the WiFi with a free modem which benefit their needs to communicate with their families and Deaf friends as video chatting.

I was going through my paperwork as my holiday break is coming soon. I came across the lovely quote from George Veditz who he was a deaf activist and educator and he dedicated to celebrating the wealth of sign language with literary poetry and stories.

Without sign language – many D/deaf people/with multi disabilities will be lost to understand other people’s saying, or to have trouble understanding in oral. They will be struggling, finding it difficult to follow, or feeling let down. This means it is a barrier in communicating. So it is IMPORTANT to have sign language because it is their first language – sign language. Over a thousand years ago, God gave us the skill to communicate by using our hands. Why can not other people who have no idea to communicate with us? Please consider learning to use sign language and get involve working/making friends with many D/deaf people/with disabilities in your communities. We are equal as you people in the communities. We are thankful to have wonderful technologies, but more works need tweaking to improve visual and accessible anywhere in the world. Let look at George Veditz’s clip, and he is talking about preservation our sign language. It is wonderful to see him signing in 1913. The link is under the quote below.

“As long as we have deaf people on earth, we will have signs. And as long as we have our films, we can preserve signs in their old purity. It is my hope that we will all love and guard our beautiful sign language as the noblest gift God has given to deaf people.”—George Veditz, 1913 .https://youtu.be/rMyz5J9NopE