Bader Alomary: Deaf Access in Saudi Arabia

My name is Bader Alomary.  I grew up in Al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia, but I now call Riyadh my hometown.  I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Deaf Education and a Master’s Degree in Sign Language Education.  I am very passionate about Saudi Sign Language and it is my dream to see this language that is so central to the deaf community in Saudi Arabia passed down to our younger generations.

I attended a residential school for the deaf, and after my high school graduation in 2001, I aspired to continue my education and go on to university.  However, at the time, deaf students were not allowed in higher education institutes because they were not “equipped to provide support for students with disabilities.”  Frustrated with the lack of access in my native country, I decided to take advantage of the King Abdullah Scholarship and study abroad at Gallaudet University.

While studying at Gallaudet University, I took courses and attended conferences in different countries on sign language and Deaf rights.  This inspired me to focus on supporting the movement toward obtaining official recognition of Saudi Sign Language in Saudi Arabia.  So thus began my journey toward getting involved in the deaf community and preserving Saudi Sign Language.

I am currently the director of legislation for people with disabilities at the Ministry of Labor.  Recently, Saudi Arabia recognized the importance of its citizens with disabilities and is now working toward accessibility.  In fact, I am the first Deaf sign language speaker to hold a position as director in a government office in my country.  My department is working on legislation that is geared towards ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities, including deaf people.  We are also working on changing the mindset of people in both the government and private sector about the abilities of people with disabilities as fully capable employees.

As the director, I face the monumental task of challenging the status quo of deaf people working in the bottom rungs of the workforce.  I am showing that deaf sign language speakers are perfectly capable of contributing to the workforce and are perfectly functioning members of society.  The Ministry of Labor is leading the way in recognizing the importance of accessibility.  My assistant is a sign language interpreter.  I attend meetings, conduct telephone calls, and give presentations with my interpreter.

Access for Deaf People in Saudi Arabia

As previously mentioned, Saudi Arabia has taken the big step of recognizing the importance of accessibility for its citizens with disabilities.  In 2008, Saudi Arabia signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  For deaf people, this means more opportunities although I had to admit there is still a long way to go.  Just now are the Universities opening their doors to deaf students.  Sign language interpreters are provided at public events more frequently.

Despite the progress we have made, there is still a problem with keeping up with the demand for sign language interpreters because there are hardly any fluent sign language interpreters.  There exists no intensive sign language classes here.  In fact, many interpreters come from families with deaf members.

In addition, most Saudis do not recognize sign language as a true language and are under the mistaken belief it is easy to learn sign language.  Adding to my frustration, many teachers for the deaf do not sign.  Part of this problem is sign language awareness is sorely lacking, however there is an increasing interest in this area.  My team and I have been working feverishly on developing a Saudi Sign Language dictionary and teaching curriculum for the past few years.

This project recently won the King Khalid Award for Societal Development through nationwide voting.  This reflects the increasing popularity for deaf awareness, and a high number of people have voiced their interest in learning sign language.  We are working on providing sign language classes that will be open to everyone who wants to learn.

There is a large and vibrant deaf community here in Saudi Arabia.  There are deaf clubs, deaf associations, deaf sports events, and various volunteer teams comprised of young deaf people and their allies.  A popular weekend pastime is to gather out in tents in the desert, attend dawah (religious) classes, dine together at cottages, and so on.  Deaf Saudis also often fly to other gulf countries to attend deaf events there and vice versa.  There is a large gathering annually that is hosted by the Deaf Cultural Group of Saudi Arabia.  About a thousand deaf people from neighbouring gulf countries come to Saudi Arabia to socialize and exchange information through presentations and exhibitions.

Deaf students are considerably lagging behind their hearing counterparts here in Saudi Arabia.  As I have mentioned, most teachers for the Deaf do not sign fluently because of the limited availability of sign language classes, and the ones that exist teach only the very basic vocabularies with no reference to grammar or language structure.  It is no surprise an unacceptable few teachers are fluent signers.  Students who have non-signing teachers have to get by with their residual hearing, oral and lip reading skills, which may be minimal or nonexistent.

This places an unfair burden on them since it is a physical barrier and not all deaf people have fluent oral skills.  This negatively impacts the students’ academic and social development.  Speech skills do not indicate intelligence.  Unfortunately, it appears to be a prerequisite for academic achievement here in Saudi Arabia.  Sign language desperately needs to be accessible to all.  Research has shown that sign language can enhance oral skills and enhance literacy in all written languages.

I firmly believe without an iota of doubt awareness is key.  It was only a few decades ago when most Saudi people didn’t know about deaf people or sign language.  When deaf people applied to jobs, potential employers were too hesitant to hire deaf people because they didn’t know how to work with deaf people.  Higher education institutes rejected deaf applicants because they didn’t know of or make resources available for deaf students.  Deaf people weren’t empowered because there wasn’t anyone knowledgeable that could teach.

Now thanks to social media, international travel, increasing number of deaf students studying abroad, more and more deaf Saudis are now aware of the standards of living of deaf individuals worldwide and they are demanding for better conditions here.

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