United in the fight for the recognition of sign language

Deaf and hard-of-hearing people in Montenegro are discriminated against, is the conclusion of the discussion "Sign language rights: The path to equal communication" which was held at the American Corner in Podgorica, on the occasion of the International Week of the Deaf

2454 views 0 comment(s)
Address by Rojba, Photo: Anastasija Orlandić
Address by Rojba, Photo: Anastasija Orlandić
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

That the Government discriminates an entire part of the population, does not assume but transfers responsibility, is the conclusion of the discussion "Sign Language Rights: The Path to Equal Communication" which was held in the American Corner in Podgorica, and whose message is that it is necessary to adopt sign language as official, because this is a key step towards progress and equality for the deaf and hard of hearing.

The president of the Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing of Montenegro presented his opinions and observations on that occasion Darko Mijuskovic, as well as Anida Avdic Kracar i Tijana Mijušković from the Association, a representative of part of the deaf and hard of hearing population Svetlana Pajković, director of the Albanian Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Florjan Rojba who is on the board of directors of the World Federation of the Deaf and Leonora Pajković which had the role of interpreting the sign language of the speakers, while, as Mijušković pointed out, the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation of Montenegro did not respond to the call.

Avdić Kračar, Mijušković, Pajković, Rojba
Avdić Kračar, Mijušković, Pajković, Rojbaphoto: Anastasija Orlandić

International Deaf Sunday was the reason for this discussion, with the aim of drawing attention to the challenges faced by deaf and hard of hearing people. The main points that were repeated during the discussion were the importance of recognizing sign language as official and uniting deaf and hard of hearing people in the fight for their rights. The problem of the lack of interpreters in institutions, which makes daily life difficult, was highlighted several times, and the experiences of the deaf and hard of hearing were also shared, such as going to institutions and institutions where employees only turn their heads to the deaf and hard of hearing, said one of the visitors in the audience. One of the conclusions of the discussion participants is that the state is not doing enough in terms of equality between the deaf and the hard of hearing with the hearing. The alliance, once together with Rojbom, submitted various requests to the ministries, but in vain, because they were left without feedback.

Mijušković recalled the school in Kotor where sign language has been taught for ten years, but he assessed that there is no progress, that there are a lot of deaf people who are looking for an interpreter, even though there are formally a lot of them in the system.

He, his daughter Tijana and Avdić Kračar, he says, set out to change some things through various projects, some of which received support from the Ministry of Social Welfare and Child Protection. He is satisfied with the number of young people who have joined, he sees progress and knows that in the future there will be more sign language interpreters.

"There are five court interpreters, and no one pays attention to the other interpreters, that is irrelevant. To this day, we do not have an adequate interpreter at all, and they are the most discriminated against (deaf and hard of hearing) at this moment. All other organizations are treated better," said Mijušković, thanking the United Nations (UN) and the Embassy of the United States of America in Montenegro.

Great support is provided by Rojba, who during the discussion emphasized the importance of gathering, joint struggle, protest every year, called for persistence, which are his suggestions for activities to improve the situation and to have sign language recognized as official.

"Deaf people should be on par with hearing people, sign language should be improved, it should be made aware and accepted. The entire Government, the system, must respect sign language. Montenegro already submits requests to the Ministry, but the Ministry does not give any call back. Montenegro must address the World Federation of the Deaf because it deals with world problems. Montenegro should complain and say that the deaf people are being discriminated against, that there is no progress, that discrimination against the deaf in Montenegro should be reported to the UN, that sign language is not respected, that the ministry is not doing anything about it," said Rojba.

He also pointed out that they have proof that they sent the request, and that both he and the Federation want to join and help. He says that by 2025 the situation will change and he hopes for positive change and support.

"Sign language comes first. As soon as he accepts it, other things will easily fall into place. A class should be introduced in schools where children will gain awareness of this," adds Rojba.

He said that Albania also has similar problems. But in 2014, they found a way to deal with these problems, he adds, and that's when the voice language was adopted in Albania.

"We were very persistent, we had to open a lot of doors. "Sign language has already started to be taught at the universities where 12 deaf people work," he said.

Avdić Kračar said that deaf and hard-of-hearing people have a lot of problems in Montenegro and that they encounter a lot of problems every day, and that they struggle a lot and that the only thing they want is to adopt sign language, so that everything would be easier. He points out that there are no official interpreters, and that they cannot go to institutions on their own. They always have to take a family member with them, and they can't do the basic things that, he says, people without disabilities do on a daily basis.

Address by Avdić Kračar
Address by Avdić Kračarphoto: Anastasija Orlandić

Pajković says that they do not have any help or support, that no one asks if there are people with disabilities, if they need some kind of help, if they need an interpreter, and she also emphasized the importance of sign language training and that the deaf and the hard of hearing do not get along. with a sign language learning system in the resource center. As he says, these classes are only forced, that there are a lot of diplomas, but that there is no help. He states that nothing changes and that these diplomas should be earned.

"I hope to help. Everyone has it except me. Montenegro is a small country, beautiful, it has beautiful cities, nature, great possibilities, interesting, but we cannot express ourselves. It's like there's nothing. We don't feel seen. I want harmony between the hearing and non-hearing world," said Pajković.

Mijušković pointed out that there is a law in the Social and Child Protection Act according to which the deaf and hard of hearing have the right to the services of an interpreter, that is, a translator.

"However, in practice this is not the case", she stated and gave a personal example.

Namely, when her father asked one of the officials from the Ministry of Education what was going to be done about sign language, the answer was that they first had to agree with the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare about who would take responsibility.

Address by Tijana Mijušković
Address by Tijana Mijuškovićphoto: Anastasija Orlandić

"Therefore, I think it is very important that we fight together on this issue if you want sign language to be recognized and introduced into official use. We believe, as Florjan said, that it will open your doors for the future. Jobs for translators and interpreters will be systematized, it will be possible to hold regular sign language courses...", Mijušković said, and explained that anyone from the deaf and hard of hearing can start working for the Association, receive a salary and fight for their rights.

Part of the audience
Part of the audiencephoto: Anastasija Orlandić

The discussion ended with the wish for the deaf and hard of hearing to unite, to encourage changes that will be important to them through their activities, in which they will have the support of the representatives of the two associations...

Bonus video: