The State of Kuwait along with states of the globe and organizations celebrate on September 23 the International Day of Sign Languages simultaneously with the International Week of the Deaf.
The United Nations, aware of the necessity of the sign languages as part of cultural diversification, issued on September 19, 2017, a resolution proclaiming that it would celebrate, as of September 23, 2018, the International Day of Sign Languages to serve some of the deaf basic rights. It had chosen this date because it was simultaneous with the establishment of the Global Union for the Deaf in 1951.
Dr. Mohammad Al-Ramzi, the head of Kuwait Sign Languages Interpreters Association and sign languages instructor, said in an interview with KUNA that the annual event has developed into a global movement aimed at unifying ranks of the deaf and promoting awareness of issues they face on daily basis.
The sign language is the normal and master language for the deaf, making expressions through movement of the hands, the face
and the body in addition to some gestures. It has turned into a complete language, he said, noting that the deaf use more than 300 sign sign languages worldwide.
The State of Kuwait dedicates special concern for this segment of the society, providing them with educational, health, cultural, sports and religious services. It was the first Arab state that issued a special law for the handicapped and the second one that opened a school for the deaf — Al-Amal School in 1959.
Moreover, Kuwait has been sending deaf students abroad for academic education, said Dr. Al-Ramzi, noting that the Kuwaiti female student Reem Anwa Sultan was the first deaf student to earn a chemical engineering bachelor at the Arab level.
In Kuwait, there are 3,398 cases of this impairment, with 15 percent among children, he said.
Each sign language is different from another for each one mimics the community traditions and conducts, he said, adding that the sign language in the Arab world had been unified upon a resolution by the Arab L
eague and the Arab Union of Organizations Working with the Deaf — including 3,600 symbols.
For his part, the Deputy Chairman of the Deaf International Football Federation and sign language instructor Jaber Al-Kandari said the international day aims at promoting this language and encouraging people to learn it to facilitate communications with this special needs’ segment.
Maha Al-Hamdan, a guide in the deaf impairment and member of the Handicapped Team, told KUNA that there is an international sign language for the dead, used at international events and during trips.
She has revealed that autistic children can use the sign language to help them in communicating with others.
According to the International Federation of the Deaf, there are 70 million deaf people throughout the world — 80 percent of whom live in developing countries and use the sign language.
Source: Kuwait News Agency