Interview with the Deaf and her Mother

MC REYNALD S. BANDERLIPE II MY INTERVIEW WITH TWO DEAF CHILDREN AND A MOTHER OF A DEAF CHILD I conducted the interview last Wednesday, June 30, 2010, at a pizza restaurant near the Antipolo church. Initially, it was to be held in the morning; but the mother, Mrs. Nikki Salajog, requested me to move it in the afternoon so that she and her family can watch the inauguration of President Benigno Aquino III. I agreed to her request because I am also interested to know what will be the agenda of the new President for our country. Thus, we met at the pizza restaurant that afternoon. Mrs. Salajog went with her Deaf daughter, Charmaine, and Charmaine’s Deaf friend, Aurell. Over pizza, pasta, and drinks, we found ourselves comfortable enough for the task. After an hour of pep talks, I finally conducted this interview. Interview with the Deaf Charmaine Salajog is an 18-year old student of Applied Deaf Studies with specialization in Multimedia Arts at the De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde. Born on October 17, 1991, she currently resides at Antipolo City. Charmaine belongs to a family with five children, of which she is the second and the only Deaf. The fourth child of the family is a brother, while the rest are sisters. She is not new to CSB because she has been studying ballet at CSB while she was still in high school. Charmaine intends to join Silent Steps, the dance organization of the Deaf in CSB, next term. She learned sign language when she studied in Bacolod for some time. Charmaine loves to play volleyball, to dance, and to work with computers. Aurell Jam is a 16-year old fourth year high school student at the Philippine School for the Deaf. Born on October 23, 1993, she currently resides in the area of Taguig City near the City of Pasig. Aurell belongs to a family with three children: an elder brother, Aurell, and a younger sister. Both of her siblings are Hearing. She is an active member of various varsity clubs because she plays volleyball, basketball, and badminton. Aurell is also a member of the high school cheering squad. She was still a young student at a school in Pasig City when she learned sign language, although she knows lip reading. She is always present at the monthly activities of Talking Hands, an organization for the Deaf in Pasig City. When asked about whom in their family has already communicating to them using sign language, Charmaine told me that her siblings and her father already communicate to her using sign language. Tita Nikki honestly said that she has not studied sign language because she wants her daughter to read her lips when she talks. Aurell, on the other hand, informed me that none of the members of her family know sign language, knowing that she can lip read. Her mother’s cousin studied sign language as well, so Aurell and her mother’s cousin communicate using sign language. I asked them about how they feel when they still do not know sign language; both of them told me that they were very shy. They were even the subject of some jokes and teasing by their playmates. Despite being ridiculed, they always feel the love and support from their parents. It was their parents that encouraged them to study sign language. From then on, their shyness was gone forever. Their families are also helping them to tell people that they should respect, understand, and love the Deaf. I raised a question regarding their bad experiences as Deaf. Charmaine recalled the time when a Hearing friend invited her to come to a party. She did not know that the party has full of alcoholic drinks like beer. She came home with some sermons from her mother because her mother does not trust her friend. She did not went to those kinds of parties after that. Aurell laughingly told about someone who is saying bad words to her. Because she can lip read, she understood what was being said. Soon, they challenged each other to a fight. I made an inquiry as to how they can survive as Deaf in dealing with everyday situations. Charmaine told me that she normally sits near the driver when riding a jeep alone. Holding her cell phone, she will show a text to the driver where she will wants to be dropped off. She then taps a passenger and through simple signs, asks how much the fare is; or before riding, she has already known the fare by asking her friends. Aurell, on the other hand, communicates with her friends using text messages or Facebook. She uses this as a medium to express her thoughts, feelings, and ideas. She agrees with Charmaine as well when she rides a jeep going to another place. In addition, she sits near the driver so when she asks for change, the driver can give it right away. I asked them about how they feel when they meet new people or friends who can use sign language. Both of them told me that they were very, very happy because they meet people who can understand them. They added that learning sign language is the key for the Hearing to immerse in their culture as Deaf. They want people to understand them using their language. And they are happy to know that many Hearing people are starting to learn sign language and to study more about the Deaf culture. Just in time for President Aquino III’s inauguration, I solicited their insights as to what they would tell to the new President regarding the status of the Deaf in our country, they told me that they want the President to provide the Deaf so many work opportunities here in our country. They want President Aquino to provide decent jobs for the Deaf after graduation because they can also do many things that the Hearing does. They also summoned the new President to build more schools for the Deaf. In this way, more Deaf can be given access to quality education to prepare themselves for their future. More scholarships should be given to the Deaf because there are many intelligent Deaf students. They also request the President to enact a law persuading more Hearing people to learn Filipino Sign Language. Passing such bill will encourage more Hearing people to understand the language of the Deaf as well as their culture. This will be an instrument towards fostering good relationships with one another. Towards the end, the two encouraged me to continue studying the Filipino Sign Language, hoping that after I graduate from CSB with the Diploma, I will then proceed to the interpreters’ course and become one of the new sign language interpreters here in our country. Interview with the Mother of a Deaf During the course of the interview, I got to ask Tita Nikki about her experience as a mother of a Deaf child. She told me that she was very ecstatic when Charmaine was born because upon her birth, Tita Nikki was approached by some people who want her baby to star in a series of TV commercials showcasing baby products because she was seen as very cute and has a fair complexion. But during December, she noticed why despite the loud sound of firecrackers in front of their house, Charmaine does not even cry in shock because of those loud sounds. She was disheartened upon knowing that Charmaine is Deaf. According to their doctor, Charmaine is 90% Deaf in both ears, so she can hardly hear anything. Sadness and depression was the feeling of Tita Nikki. Many times, she would question God for allowing this to happen. She would even curse her officemate for having contacted German measles, which would probably contribute to the present condition of Charmaine. Such feeling continued until she was invited to attend counseling sessions and seminars for the parents of the Deaf, where she finally realized that she was still blessed to have a Deaf child after suffering from that illness because other mothers who had German measles during pregnancy delivered children with more severe illnesses and even physical deformities. Convinced of her role as a mother of a Deaf, she immediately enrolled Charmaine in a school, where Charmaine was taught how to lip read. But because of the high costs of tuition, she was pulled out from the school after a few years and was brought to Bacolod, where she studied sign language. Soon, after coming back to Manila, she can already use the language. Charmaine even taught her father and siblings sign language. Only her mother does not know sign language. Charmaine was indeed a blessing to her family. Tita Nikki would be asked by their community to let Charmaine become a Reyna Elena in the Santacruzan at their village. She would even be invited to join the Santacruzan in other places. Because of her talent in dancing, Charmaine was even selected by the Cultural Center of the Philippines to participate in a musical play to be held at PAGCOR in Parañaque, but Charmaine’s hospitalization last April 2010 because of urinary tract infection and kidney stones prevented her to continue, although she will be given the chance to perform next time. She was even a source of joy to the hospital where she was confined. Tita Nikki was surprised because many nurses and doctors would go to Charmaine’s bed just to learn sign language. These doctors and nurses were convinced to study sign language in the future. Her cousin also learned sign language from Charmaine in a span of two months as she takes care of Charmaine during her hospitalization. But as Charmaine grows older, Tita Nikki becomes worried and thus, she admitted that she was strict on her, afraid of so many people who might abuse her. Charmaine would somehow throw tantrums because she always received so many texts from her mother and advising her always to text Tita Nikki wherever she may go. But Charmaine can assure her mother that she is safe, because she has so many Deaf friends. She even invited more than 200 Deaf friends during her 18th birthday last year. Tita Nikki does want to keep her family intact, so I told her that maybe learning sign language will be the answer to her concern. Charmaine becomes very happy when she sees her mother try to learn the alphabet signs, and other signs. Charmaine told me that she really loves her mother, and she hopes that someday, her mother will learn to use sign language. Known as the “language of love,” I told Tita Nikki that this might be the way towards understanding her daughter better and giving her a greater love that Charmaine needs from her. In the end, though she has not yet promised to enroll in the FSL class at CSB, I fervently hope that she will start her journey in learning the language of her child. I hope to see Tita Nikki at CSB come next trimester. My Personal Insights The interview was a meaningful one for me, because I learned so many things about the Deaf, their culture, and how can we deal with them in a better way. I was very inspired to hear their stories about their struggles, and how they stood up and became better persons after facing their challenges. Sign language has become a powerful instrument for them to be heard. It may be silent, but it conveys sensible thoughts and ideas to everybody that only those who understand the language would know. My decision to further my studies at CSB has convinced me to go deeper towards understanding the Deaf culture and using their language to communicate to them. Studying and practicing the use of this language constitutes a big role in carrying my advocacy to promote the equality between the Deaf and the Hearing. I will try my best to seek help from other people and to our government to support the needs of the Deaf, especially with what Charmaine and Aurell wants to tell to our new President. Through this simple act, I hope to have shown my support and love for the Deaf community who has been very nice, friendly, and loving to me. It is my hope that this interview will not only be filed within the confines of CSB, but would be spread out to many people to make themselves more aware about the Deaf community here in our country. All Deaf, like the Hearing, are God’s children; we should love, respect, and care for them. To bridge our differences, we must take responsibility in learning the language of love, the Filipino Sign Language.