by Mark Schaaf
Daily Lobo
Hend Al-Showaier faced difficulties as a woman growing up deaf in Saudi Arabia.
In a lecture Thursday at the Humanities building to 66 people, Al-Showaier discussed problems that came her way as she went through public school in the Middle East. She said, through a sign language interpreter, there were few resources available for deaf children and few schools were equipped to handle her.
"There were no note takers, there was nothing for me there," she said. "But I knew I had to take the challenge for myself."
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She was able to learn Arabic, English and French, but many problems, such as a lack of written lectures, continued as she moved through the university system.
After college she joined the Saudi Arabia Association for the Deaf. Through her skill in Arabic, she could communicate through writing - something that was almost unheard of at the time, she said.
Now, the Saudi government has begun to provide better services for the deaf, she said, and the lives of deaf people have improved in the country. The 2002 enrollment in deaf schools nearly doubled from 1994, and deaf students get special benefits, such as free enrollment, a bonus of more than $100 per month to each student, free tutoring for two hours in the evening and other services.
A 2001 decree allowed the deaf to enroll in colleges and universities. There, she said they receive services such as free computer labs.
Erin Wilkinson, a teaching assistant in linguistics who is deaf, said it was interesting to learn about the different culture. She said even though there are many differences between the way deaf people are treated in the United States and Saudi Arabia, there are also similarities.
"Most of our knowledge has to do with American and European perspectives on things," Wilkinson said. "It was a great chance to be exposed to this and to see the process that (the Saudis) are going through of developing this whole program."
Al-Showaier is the coordinator for the deaf and sign language program at the Prince Salman Centre for Disability Research in Saudi Arabia. She and her colleagues are working on documenting Saudi sign language, spreading awareness and setting up an interpreter training program, she said.
In addition, she is also researching the current count of 88,000 deaf Saudi Arabians, because she said she believes there are many more.
Al-Showaier said she had full hearing until the third grade. She became sick and eventually went completely deaf, she said, and the transition was tough.
"It was very hard for a hearing person," she said. "There was no time to prepare for it."
Graduate student Marty Carlson, who is also deaf, said many areas of the United States school system are the same as in Saudi Arabia.
"I thought it was really interesting and I really enjoyed finding out about this different culture," Carlson said. "I know that they're setting up interpreter services; that they have note takers. That's impressive."
