A World Without Barriers...

I have come across this video few days ago. This video is a commercial ad filmed by Samsung and it is based on a true story. *Disclaimer: im not promoting on behalf of Samsung!* This video shows a deaf man from Turkey named Muharrem, who was moved to tears after learning that his neighbourhood had learned sign language just for him to promote the heartwarming message: 'A world without barriers is our dream.'

He was out with his sister and unaware that he was being filmed. He first encountered a stranger who signed 'good morning' to him, you could see the astonished look on his face. Later, he was offered 'hot bagels' through hand signals by a shopkeeper. His next encounter involves a stranger dropping a bag of fruits. When he went up to him and helped him to pick them up, again, the man used sign language to offer him an apple as gratitude. The shock is well written on his face when he said to his sister, "is he hearing impaired?". Later, he bumped in to a lady who apologized to him with sign language. He was also welcomed by a taxi driver into the car with sign language. The stunt, which took a month to prepare, was organized by Samsung to promote its call centre for the hearing impaired.

This is a heartwarming video and it caught me thinking, why would Muharrem think if someone was hearing impaired too when a man used sign language to offer him an apple. I guess, the reason being, deaf people have always been living in a world that is different from others, they have limited ability to express themselves and most people dont seem to comprehend what's on their minds and the only way they could communicate with others is through sign language. And often, when we see someone who communicates with sign language, the first thing that comes into our mind is that 'does he/she has hearing impairment?' A social stigma I would say. If the barrier they face is communication, the bridge to communication will be sign language. 

Using sign language as an alternative communication form is less about the production of sounds and words but more about the expression which involves creativity that enables them to express their inner ideas. 

If you were in their shoes, being less privileged than others, i guess you would wish to understand and to be understood. Not that i have many encounters with them but i think this is just something to ponder upon.

-Pei Li-