Deaf and dumb citizens embark on liberation movement, visit Gov Chime

It was Helen Keller who said “it is not deafness that matters, but people’s attitude towards it”.
That was indeed  the case of over 1,000 deaf and dumb Enugu citizens who recently stormed the state Government House in a peaceful protest.

They had visited Governor Sullivan Chime to register their grievances over what they described as “ maltreatment and grave marginalization by the government”.
Looking depressed but determined, the protesters under the aegis of Enugu Deaf Citizens Rights Movement (EDCRM) gathered at Okpara Square from the 17 Local Government Areas in the state to embark on the “liberation movement” which they said, was not only to register their grouse with the state governor, but also to enter into agreement with Chime over their wellbeing.
Not even their condition was a handicap to their “liberation movement” as they had indeed come to prove that ‘the deaf can do anything except to hear’ as indicated on the shirt they wore.
On their way to the Lion Building seat of government, they displayed placards some of which read: ‘We the deaf are human beings like you; Why treat us like we are no-existent; Deaf representation in Enugu now; Government must secure our deaf citizens rights; Why treat us like animals in our dear state?’
Before they took off, their General President, Raphael Solomon Chukwu, while addressing journalists at the Okpara Square disclosed that they decided to embark upon the protest as their various pleas in the past for equal representation have not yielded any result.
Chukwu, who spoke through the help of a sign language interpreter, Mrs Nwankwo Edith, frowned upon the condition of the deaf and dumb in the state, claiming that Governor Chime’s administration has failed to put their interest into consideration.
He also lamented that the state government has failed to put in place policies that would see to their welfare as “special” persons, adding that they were not benefitting from Chime’s work in the state.
His words: “We have gathered here today to protest before Governor Sullivan Chime, the untold discrimination against deaf citizens by his government and request him to put an end, once and for all, to this many years of discrimination against the rights of the deaf by the state government.
“We appeal to the state House of Assembly to uphold their constitutional responsibilities and ensure that the duty and responsibility of the government is not limited to the hearing citizens alone, but embrace the deaf citizens also. They should also ensure that the ill-treatment against our being deaf citizens be stopped henceforth”.
He said that some areas in which they have been neglected included education, workforce, social infrastructure, and healthcare just as he called on the state government to “put an end to their unlawful discrimination in the state” by putting in place, policies and programmes that would see to their welfare.
“The Enugu State government should from today repent of her neglect attitudes to us and stop discriminating against deaf citizens otherwise, we shall create a situation which the government and society will not like”, he warned.
The group in a communiqué issued after the protest signed by its executives complained that though they stood out among other associations of the deaf in other states due to their comportment, the state government was yet to heed to their humble demands,
They expressed disappointment at the living condition of their members, adding that “we find it difficult to understand why the government of our dear state has kept on making our lives hellish”.
The communiqué reads in part: “More than 1,973 frustrated deaf students who should have been studying in tertiary institutions in Enugu between 2010 and now have lost the hope of furthering their education in tertiary institutions and have been involved in street alms-begging, human trafficking, prostitution and sex trade.
“Whenever the government holds recruitment into the state civil service or other government establishments and corporation, there are no directives in government policy to also accommodate the deaf, doors of employment opportunities have always been shut against deaf citizens”.
They, therefore, called on the government to come to their rescue as physically challenged persons, asking with pains: “Do we deaf citizens have no mouth to eat? What exactly are our sins which justify this maltreatment?”
The association also demanded for “deaf representation in government, recognized sign language policy in the state, TV sign language interpretation service in the state and also sign language interpreter in the law courts, employment scheme to recruit deaf citizens into civil and public service pay roll, scholarship grant to deaf citizens from primary to tertiary level,” among others.
However, on their arrival at the Government House, a little drama ensured between the protesters and the security personnel who were at the gate as they were not allowed to proceed into the Government House.
The protesters had insisted that they would not leave the place unless they see the governor.
In fact, they pressed for this with all they have got: their hands, facial expressions and body movements.
Some of them with Mrs Okonkwo insisted that “we are going to die and be buried here; we are not living until we are allowed to see the governor.”
To demonstrate their insistence of seeing the governor, some of them brought out their mats and sat on them outside while some others brought out the food they had come with and started eating.
This was even as they repelled cars that approached the gate, insisting that no car would enter unless they were allowed to enter first.
After long hours of waiting, the Enugu State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Mr Anthony Ani (SAN) finally came out to address the protesters.
He told them that the governor was not around as he had travelled to Abuja
He thanked them for deciding to table their request peacefully, promising that the state government would do all it could to see that their demands were granted.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to the welfare of all citizens.
According to him, “I will take it upon myself personally and will hold myself responsible with respect to your demand that were contained in that letter. I want to inform you all that the government of Enugu State is fully committed to the welfare of all citizens without discrimination, irrespective of your ability or disability and we are not going back on that.
“We appreciate your request as far as the deaf school in coal camp which is being rehabilitated and about employing real deaf teachers as opposed to people who are deficient in sign language. And I give you my personal promise that it will be fully addressed”.
Mr Ani asked the association to present to the state government a list of some of its members that are qualified teachers, adding that “henceforth, there will be constant and permanent consultations between the association and the state government”.
Some of the protesters  who spoke to Oriental News through the help of another interpreter, Gift Nweke, had insisted on not leaving the premises of the Government House till they see the governor, stressing that “this will not be like other promises in the past that have not yielded any result”.
One of them, Doris Agudogu, lamented the hardship most of them were passing through, regretting that it was unfortunate that their needs have not been catered for all this while in the state.
Agudogu, who is also pregnant, complained that although she learnt some skills like sewing and hair plaiting, she has no money to set up a business of her own, adding that “there is no money to even send my children to school”.
She called for interpreters in the law courts and television stations to enable them listen to news and other broadcast programmes.
Another protester, Sylvester Ezeagu, who is able to speak but cannot hear, expressed sadness with the way they were being treated in the state, pointing out that the deaf could do anything except to hear.
Mr Ezeagu, who said he graduated from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) with a BSc in Education, revealed that some of them are graduates but their education seems to be a waste as they are not being accepted in the civil service.
“People don’t believe the deaf can do anything but I am able to teach what I learnt in school. Wherever I go to look for work, the people there will think I have come to beg for money and they have refused to give me work. No one is in a position to help me, my father died a long time ago while my mother is very old, she can’t offer any help”, he said.
On how he was able to scale through the hurdles of acquiring education in a school where there is no special provision for the deaf, he said: “I will sit in the class with my mates and whatever the teacher is saying, as the person is writing it down, I will sit beside the person and be reading what the person is writing. Immediately after that, I will go and photocopy the person’s notes and read them because there are a lot of things being copied which I cannot just read then.”
However, unlike Mr Ezeagu who had to make extra effort in other to meet up with his mates, Uche Onah, revealed that he had to go all the way to Ondo State Polytechnic where there is a sign language interpreter in other to acquire tertiary education.
Onah, who had studied Business Education, noted that even with the presence of sign language interpreter in the school, it still was not easy for him to finish from there, adding that “since I graduated in 2012, I have not been able to find any work to do”.
Also speaking, Emeka Udeh, who said he had come all the way from Nsukka, lamented that out of frustration as a result of non-provision for the deaf in the state, he left school after his secondary education to find something else doing.
According to him, “I am a carpenter and can tell you that most of my handworks are far better than the ones produced by other people that are not physically challenged”, adding that he, however, “feels angry and frustrated sometimes because I can’t speak or hear”.
He complained that since the inception of Chime’s administration in 2007, he has been writing letters to the Government House but has not gotten any reply since then.
He, therefore, pleaded with Governor Chime to give the deaf in the state a good foundation outside what they have been going through, adding that “we cannot continue to be rejected in our own state”.

The Sun Oriental