By Megan Morgan
UPS’ Camden branch has vowed to support Sign Language Week next year, which is run by the British Deaf Association to increase awareness and understanding between its employees as the company provides employment to those living with an auditory impairment.
The move comes as employees have expressed an interest in learning more about sign language and how to better communicate with one of their colleagues, Demsachew Workie, who was born deaf and moved to London from Ethiopia in 2014 with a knowledge of both Ethiopian Sign Language and BSL.
In describing sign language, Workie said: “Sign Language is a visual means of communication using gestures, facial expression and body language. Sign language is used mainly by people who are deaf or have hearing impairments.”
Government recorded statistics shows that 11 million people in the UK are deaf or hard of hearing but only 151,000 people use British Sign Language as 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents. The statistics also showed that up to 50% of those with auditory issues also suffer from poor mental health and 65% of working age deaf people are unemployed.
Eddie Muñoz, a pre-load trainer at UPS who has worked alongside Workie since the beginning, said: “Dem always has a smile on his face and I admire that he has not let his situation get in the way of his aspirations. I believe [sign language] has been overlooked completely, and not just in the UK. It is an amazing thing to see, but there isn’t enough awareness.
“TV is doing its part [of raising awareness of auditory impairments] by making its audiences aware of sign language and showing that people who are deaf are not any different from anybody else and BSL isn’t just used by people who are deaf or hard of hearing,” added Muñoz.
Alongside working at UPS Camden for five years to date, Workie has acted and produced films such as Family Issues: Chapter 1 (2017) and Thirsty (2018).
Showcasing struggles
Coronation Street received praise towards the end of last year for using character Freda Burgess, who is portrayed by deaf actress Ali Briggs, to showcase some of the struggles faced by those who are deaf/hard of hearing.
The show has also recently introduced a storyline where another character has given birth to a baby who is deaf. As the storyline progresses, we get to see how the family adapts and learns more about what it’s like to live as someone where your surroundings are silent.
Despite working in a warehouse and with employees’ knowledge of BSL being very limited, the company has ensured the safety and independence of Workie by taking his situation into ‘serious consideration’.
Muñoz reiterates, “[There are] a few areas of the warehouse that we wouldn’t have Dem working due to him being either alone or at the back of the warehouse. We ensure he works near the front, close to other people and exits in case of an emergency”. Despite this, Muñoz adds: “[Workie] is treated no different to anyone”.
Asked whether he thought BSL should be part of the national curriculum, Muñoz believes “French, Spanish and German should be the main languages, but it would be nice to see BSL included too.” He adds, “[There would be] a huge positive impact if BSL was used more widely. It would make communicating in loud environments easier.”
Sign language varies
At present there are 191 different types of sign language throughout the world, with American Sign Language being the most commonly used.
Some of the difficulties faced by those who are deaf include intercoms and filling in paperwork where despite asking for a telephone number, does not include space for the person filling in the form to specify that texts are preferred to phone calls. Some deaf people also suffer with subtitles on televisions where the text colour isn’t changed between different speakers and also large blocks of texts can provide a challenge.
Islington Council offers a sign language interpreting service to interpret for people at consultation meetings, schools, dentists, health appointments and meetings at Housing Associations or with Islington Members of Parliament. They also provide videophone interpreting.
With a fondness for language and sign himself and with nothing that he would ever think about changing, Workie simply said “I want this life to be continued!”
Sign Language week is celebrated each year in March to coincide with the anniversary of the recognition of BSL by the UK government in 2003.
The yearly event, which is run by the British Deaf Association, promotes campaigns to give legal status to British Sign Language and require the government to put in place guidance for providing public services and information to Deaf people who use BSL, rallies, information packs and aims to educate and raise awareness of BSL and its importance.
Equal access
The British Deaf Association stands for equality, deaf people’s access to information, services and support and the same opportunities to achieve the same life outcomes as anyone else with access to services from government level down to the local shop in their preferred language, as 87,000 deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing British people use BSL as their first or preferred language. They promote a freedom of choice to sign, speak or both ‘without sanctions or obstacles’.
Many people have a false understanding that Sign Language is a worldwide universal language, but this however isn’t true. There are regional variations that exist which can be compared to regional accents in spoken speech, and there exists many colloquialisms as well.
In addition to BSL, SSE (Sign-Supported English) “uses the same signs as BSL but they are used in the same order as spoken English. SSE is used to support spoken English, especially within schools where children with hearing impairments are learning English grammar alongside their signing, or by people who mix mainly with hearing people”, according to livewellsouthwest.co.uk.
The British Deaf Association recommends ‘Signal’ and ‘iBSL’ as the two national award winning bodies for those who wish to study BSL in the UK.
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