DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Last week, we learned about a 13-year project between the Deaf Communities of Denmark and Uganda. Deaf Ugandans learned about how to fight for equality, assessing their sign language, establishing a strong Deaf Association and so on. In 13 years, much was accomplished. For example, their sign language has been recognized by the government and a sign language book will be published next year. They also opened an interpreting training program and have interpreted news on two national television channels. It is clear that this kind of long-term project between a developed country and a developing/third-world country can be very successful. We discussed about having more projects such as this one and the timeframe (we agreed 13 years was too long because of dependency, etc). We also discussed the experiences of our own countries and if our Deaf Association has projects with developing countries. Many participants in Frontrunners are interested in helping their own communities and achieving more equality but we feel it is important to work with third-world/developing countries as well.
My personal viewpoint…
As a traveler who has worked in third-world/developing countries, I find myself belonging to a minority. Many Americans, both deaf and hearing, are simply not interested in working overseas or helping those less fortunate. Often, people ask me why I travel so much- why I don’t just stay home and work there. They wonder why I don’t own a house, a car or have a steady job (for more than a few years at least). Many Americans have the view that even though they live in the richest nation in the world, they do not need to help people in other countries- or that sending money overseas is sufficient. Don’t take me wrong, there are many, many Americans who help other countries and communities through organizations and churches. But again, we are a minority. Why is this?
To understand the perspective of Americans, we must take a look at our history and see how that affects us today. Since people from England immigrated to America and established colonies, we have had the mindset of possessing property and gaining wealth, as well as independence. We focused on gaining wealth through land ownership and becoming successful living in America to prove England that we could. You must remember that America was new to the western world (white people) and to establish something from scratch so recently was quite an accomplishment. Ever since, we’ve been stuck in the mentality that we must own things or land to be successful. This is why many Americans feel that they must own more than one car, a huge house, different “toys” such as boats, snowmobiles, riding lawn mower, outdoor bar, and so on. Americans also live in a very individualistic society. We are not raised as a community like the African people are- we do not focus on the equality and social good of everyone like the Scandinavians do. We need to become successful, and in order to do so, we focus on the self and “climbing the ladder” with the minimal support of family and friends. Naturally, this conflicts with the nature of helping others, especially in developing countries.
Another issue is the “two Americas” that we have in the USA. There are a huge number of people who belong to the lower-class; so many people are homeless and poor in America. How can they contribute to helping other developing countries? Should this obligation be reserved for the upper-class Americans? What about members in the middle-class who work very hard to have a comfortable life?
Now, with the Deaf community, it gets more complicated. We as a minority or as an oppressed culture have “problems” of our own that we need to focus on. Many of us are barely surviving the daily life and can’t meet our basic needs. How can we help other Deaf communities that are struggling to achieve equality in their societies? However, the USA and Scandinavian countries in general have achieved so much and their citizens enjoy a relatively “normal” life with various services, employment opportunities and adequate education. (of course, we can argue that but that’s for another time!) Shouldn’t these Deaf citizens help the Deaf in third-world or developing countries? Do they have an obligation to these less fortunate and to share their knowledge and experiences with them? Naturally, there are different views and opinions about this issue. Many would say that it is never enough- we have not achieved equality in our society and that we need to focus on improving conditions within our own communities before helping others. But I ask- will we ever achieve complete equality? Will we ever reach the kind of world where we are completely equal, able to get any job we want, have FULL communication access (which means everyone is able to sign very well, everything is printed out for us and so on), enjoy acceptance by everyone… Is that possible for ANY minority or oppressed group? I am not trying to be a pessimistic- but I AM realistic. The goal of equality is a very good one that is worth reaching for- but also very difficult. That’s why I believe that while we are fighting for more equality in our own community, we can still help others in developing countries achieve the most basic rights that we (in developed or first-world countries) take for granted everyday.

TWO WEEKS ALREADY!?

The first two weeks I’ve been here in Castberggaard and participating in Frontrunners has flown by so quickly! So much information has been shared and consumed by myself and everyone in the program. We are constantly learning about one another and the Deaf Communities where we come from. We like to compare the different services and what is provided in each country- not to see who’s “better” but because we want to know- awareness is the key to improving and changing things! Here, we discuss and ponder many different issues- culture, identity, Deaf Associations, world organizations, etc. We also question about who belongs in the Deaf World, and if we belong to a culture or are part of a minority.
Discussing culture and how we should “label” ourselves, I learned about two perspectives that I hadn’t heard about before: Diaspora and Deafhood. They are both correct definitions of Deaf people that applies to us in different ways. As a Diaspora, Deaf people do not have our own territory and are often integrated in the capitalistic system. We are “scattered” all over and experience oppression in school, work and social life, thus creating a group identity where we develop our own cultural norms and activities. As a Deafhood, we focus on being part of the Deaf community and accepting Deafness as our identity. This is a much more positive perspective that focuses on us accepting our Deafness as a culture and identity and the desire to belong in the Deaf Community.
Last week, we had several guest speakers who had so much information to share with us. I learned about the World Federation of the Deaf and their Youth Section. They offer camps for international Deaf youth in specific age groups every year in different countries. I also learned about different international organizations (World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations), what they specifically focus on and the services they provide all over the world. One speaker described a project that the Danish Deaf Association has been involved in for the past 13 years in Uganda. See DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (next entry) for more information and my thoughts.
Also, the first week we were here, we focused on developing our Frontrunners blog website (www.frontblog.dk). That in itself was a great experience- we made a website from scratch! We divided responsibilities according to everyone’s skills or expertise- photographing, web making, interviews, writing reports, etc. We will also learn from one another so we don’t have to keep the same responsibilities while maintaining the website.
Although my brain sometimes feels that it’s running on overload, it has been an amazing experience participating in Frontrunners and working with Deaf leaders from other countries! I am enjoying the experience tremendously and look forward to all I will learn and experience the next three months!

A NEW JOURNAL!

Hey everyone! In this journal, I will share my experiences in Frontrunners and discuss the different topics that we address every week. I will also tell you about the events we attend and our travels to other countries!
Enjoy! Sarah