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- Muneeb Gardezi
Muneeb Gardezi - Trainee Report
Training Report
The objective of my training was to visit and experience Japanese schools for the deaf and centers for vocational rehabilitation. When I arrived in Japan, I had difficulties getting used to the different mannerisms and sign language. It was especially hard for me not to be able to communicate very well. But this in turn, doubled my pleasure when I finally started to manage communication by sign language.
Throughout the individual training after September, what surprised me most was that deaf Japanese people were living independently and actively participating in the society. I would like to think about why this was possible, based on my training experiences.
First, in Japan, welfare devices and communication tools are in abundance. In Pakistan, there are many deaf people who cannot live independently because they cannot hear. In Japan, I felt that technology was supporting the independent living of the deaf. Of welfare devices, I was especially interested in indoor light signal systems and vibrating wristwatches. With such devices, even if you cannot hear, you can wake without help. You are also prompted about the visitor by light, not a bell. I thought it extremely convenient
Even faxes or cell phones are not readily available in Pakistan, making it harder to get in touch with deaf people. The deaf people have to be visited at home for communication, where it would actually take only one phonecall for those with no disabilities to convey the message. It will be difficult to introduce cell phones in Pakistan, but I would at least like to make FAX available. When I return to Pakistan, I would like to tell my deaf friends about how convenient FAX can be.
I also want to tell them about subtitled broadcast. I feel that deaf people in Pakistan are not as active as Japanese deaf people, partly because they lack information. When I watched the TV in Japan, there were subtitles in the bottom of the screen and the deaf people were reading them. I was wondering what they were; my question was answered when I trained at the information & culture center. The subtitles were audio signals, transcribed into characters and displayed on the screen. The center was producing subtitled tapes and I saw them in the making. When a deaf person watches the TV, they rely on visual information. But that is obviously not enough information and the person could often feel bored. If there are subtitles, deaf people too can enjoy the television. I feel the great need for subtitles especially for news programs and other factual programs where it is important to obtain accurate information in a speedy manner. If such equipment or services can be common in Pakistan, deaf people will be able to live independently, without depending on their parents.
Next, there are many professions in Japan that deaf people are engaged in. To live in dependently, it is important to get a job and income. In order to do this, deaf schools have many special courses to master special skills. I attended a training program in the suburb of Tokyo at one of these schools, and was stunned to see how many special skill courses they had. In Pakistan, maybe there would be only three courses, at the most. I felt that this was the reason why there was a difference between Japanese and Pakistani deaf people’s range of professions. Wood carpentry is probably not suited to Pakistan as buildings are mostly made with rocks, but other special skill courses in Japan were easily adaptable to Pakistani deaf schools. If the range of job skills can be broadened, more deaf people will be employable, giving a rise to the number of independent deaf people.
Also Japan has many sign language translators. There is a great shortage of sign language translators in Pakistan, limiting activities of deaf people. Even if deaf people want to collectively work on the government, communication will most likely not go well without sign language translators. I felt a great envy when I learned that in Japan, sign languages are assigned to deaf people when they attend seminars and conferences, or go to hospitals and banks. If there are many sign language translators in Pakistan, activities of deaf people will undoubtedly be broadened.
As such, there are many things in which Pakistan in falling behind when compared to Japan. After I go back to my country, I would like to start activities to improve these things. First, I would like to communicate to deaf people in Pakistan what I learned about in Japan. Before coming to Japan I did not know much about the deaf people from other countries, so I was not even questioning the situations in Pakistan. It would be excellent if deaf people in Pakistan could be stimulated in one way or another by listening to me.
I also want to start changing the sign language clubs. In Pakistan, only deaf people participate in sign language clubs, but I believe it is better if both non-deaf and deaf people participated together, because it will help nurture sign language translators. Right now, non-deaf people in Pakistan hardly ever come in contact with sign languages. If they learn sign languages in sign language clubs, more people will become motivated to become sign language translators. To deaf people, I would like to teach Japanese sign language, because it will be useful for deaf people in Pakistan when they come to Japan, receive technical training or participate in international conferences. It might be difficult to do this in reality, but in future, I would like to gather deaf people and run a foodservice or laundry company. I attended many skill courses in Japan, but I chose these two for a reason. I want to develop a foodservice company that can also offer school dinners. In Pakistan, there are no school dinners so people either bring their own lunch, or put up with hunger pain. I saw that in Japan, students gathered in the school dining room and enjoyed school dinners together. If this can be done in Pakistan, there will be no need to prepare lunch boxes, or more importantly, there will be no hungry students, improving their nutritional intake. As for laundry, I received training at the National Vocational rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities and also saw deaf people working for real at laundry outlets, and strongly wanted to do it myself. There are many things that need to be resolved in terms of facility and equipment, but it would be nice if the issues can be solved one by one.
It will take quite a while however to nurture deaf cleaning specialists, because right now Pakistan only focuses on developing non-disabled specialists, offering no training system for deaf people. It will be ideal if deaf specialists could give lectures in sign language, but this will take even longer to materialize.
I was not aware of the problems surrounding deaf people in Pakistan, so the one year in Japan for me was extremely invaluable. If I did not come to Japan, I would probably not have had chances to think about the above issues. It was also a great experience to work together with four other trainees. At the beginning, it was a bit lonesome as we could communicate only very little, by greeting each other, but as we managed to communicate better over time, it was extremely rewarding. After the individual training started we saw less of each other and it was regrettable. I would like to stay in touch with these friends even after the training.