allisonfanara's Xanga

Jane Must Be A Voodoo Practitioner

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 11:00:46 GMT

Ever since I ran into our very own Tayler Mayer of Deaf Read blogsite last Sunday, I have been thinking about our conversation and how others joined in. We were discussing how strange it was that many of us are suffering headaches, lack of sleep and even back pains that we never had before. We all concurred these symptoms can be dated back to the start of the Gallaudet protests. Last night, I remembered something that I learned in my cultural anthropology class a few years back, and I had to go back to my old files to look it up. Here we go:

Certain syndromes (illnesses) has a phenomenology resembling many culture-bound (culture-specific) syndromes described in the anthropological literature. Syndromes can be an appropriate symbolic representation of conflicting societal expectations of certain peoples within a society. By simultaneously denying certain peoples' right OR alternative, syndromes translates role conflict into a standardized cultural illness. Thus, despite obvious biopsychological determinants, certain syndromes can be best understood as a sociocultural phenomenon illustrating both the special status of certain peoples and culture-specific in its own backyard.

Huh? I know. Let's put our headaches, lack of sleep and backaches into a new term: Deaf Tension Syndrome (DTS). Let's re-write the paragraph above and see how it comes out:

Deaf Tension Syndrome (DTS) has a phenomenology resembling many culture-bound (culture-specific) syndromes described in the anthropological literature. DTS is an appriopriate symbolic representation of conflicting societal expectations of Deaf people within a society. By simultaneously denying Deaf peoples' rights, DTS translates role conflict into a standardized cultural illness. Thus, despite obvious biopsychological determinants, DTS can be best understood as sociocultural phenomenon illustrating the special status of Deaf people and their culture.

How's this now? I say that Jane stuck a pin into a very special Voodoo Doll called the Deaf World. That is why most of us are suffering from DTS. We have to find a way to undo that pin, or we're stuck with DTS from now on...I shudder from the very thought.

From The Unseen Supporters....

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 02:36:06 GMT

I am writing for those who are unable to participate in the Gallaudet protest or aid Gallaudet protestors: there are many, many more of us Deaf who support the protests wholeheartedly. We are the single parents, the health-afflicted, hard-working folks who cannot leave their jobs and so forth.

I am a CSUN grad student and a single parent of two children. While I never attended Gallaudet, I have come to love and cherish Gallaudet for what it stands for. In fact, when I was 15 years old and a senior at Delaware School for the Deaf, I got to know the late Roy Holcomb (yes, the father of Tom Holcomb and grandfather of the Holcomb girls involved in the protest!) when he was the superintendent. He encouraged me to try MSSD, so I took the test. Unfortunately, the results of the test said I was ready to enter Gallaudet as a freshman. I was stunned! My mother and I went to visit Gallaudet, and it was the first time I ever saw Gallaudet College (as it was called in those days) - I cannot tell you what magic that was, that day - October 10th, 1975.....for some reason, Gallaudet snuck into my heart, and I was in love forever. Sadly, because of my age, my family did not want to let me attend.

However, over the years, I'd go to Gallaudet and see friends, even illegally stayed in Peet Hall with friends, danced at Ole Jim and had drinks in the Rathskellar. I'd attend plays and conferences. The most recent visit was to attend the sign language studies conference on campus last March. For some reason, I was startled to see a change. Gallaudet wasn't entirely what it was before. I talked with some grad students and old friends there, who told me of changes at Gallaudet that had to do with a certain individual. I thought that was bad news, as if it was an omen of things to come.

Sigh.....the omen came true in May. I could not believe my eyes, and I was so torn apart because I couldn't just pull stakes and GO! Still cannot. A friend of mine, who is seriously health-afflicted, despairs of not being able to fly out and be a part of the protests. Another has a big family to support and barely makes ends meet, he almost cries out for the protestors and their safety. My Deaf neighbor, who is from Mexico, recently asks me about what is this, the mess - I tell her, and she says: Of course! We must help! I ask her how? She looks at me sadly - she cannot help, for she takes care of her son's children while her son and his wife work every day. She can't read and write very much, either. Sigh.....

So, there are really many more supporters like us. Our hearts bleed for Gallaudet and what it stands for. Go, Gallaudet FSSA, go!

The Magical Gala

Sun, 10 Sep 2006 20:08:53 GMT

By the time I was ready for the Gala, I walked towards the Rotes Rathaus. There had been a terrible accident the night before, in which a crane toppled over and damaged four or five cars - this was next door to the hotel. I stopped by, fascinated by the work men were doing to get the crane off the cars and clean up the mess. I wasn't the only one, there were many along with me. However, I did feel silly being one of the few in a fancy dress! Soon I caught up with two Deaf Japanese, and we three arrived at the Rotes Rathaus, a huge 1869 red-brick architecture. This building had a very interesting history: from 1869 to 1948, it was for the Berlin City Government. In 1948 it was used for the East Berlin government, and after the reunification of Germany in 1991, it went back to its original use: the Berlin City Government.

There were two guards outside the front, massive doors. They allowed us to enter, and oh my.....its grand splendor hits you like a fan. There was a huge staircase right in the center leading up to where the Gala was being held - gold paint everywhere, paintings, statues - almost like the Versailles splendor, but less bright. We walked up, our eyes absorbing the splendor in. There were more of us there already, where they had the bar and the buffet table. The main hall where the Gala was being held wasn't ready yet, and in about 10 minutes we were allowed in. Such a fascinating room of the past: beautiful rust colored walls with off cream borders, along with touches of gold. On one wall, there was a huge painting - beautiful painting of soliders, probably early 19th century.

Many of us looked for our names, and I sat at a table at the very end of room. I realized I wouldn't be able to see the speakers or the magician show very clearly, but I was fortunate to meet some very interesting people at the table. I knew this Deaf Iranian from Canada, Ali Behmanesh, who is involved with the Deaf History International group and had seen him all week with another fellow. Well, much to my shock, it turned out we all had assumed that this fellow hanging out with Ali was also Iranian like Ali. Ooops, we were wrong! This very nice fellow was actually from Saudi Arabia!!!

Mark Zaurov came on stage and gave a short speech - he did mention the importance of the painting, but I did not have pen and paper handy! Shoot! He also thanked everybody and wanted us to enjoy our meal....so, we had our dinner. Meanwhile, there was an incredible magic show going on - unfortunately I could not see clearly enough. Uzi Bazgalo went on stage to say thank you to Zaurov for his work with Deaf Jews on the behalf of the Deaf survivors, and handed Zaurov an original Uzi Bazgalo painting. One could see that Zaurov was touched.

Meanwhile, I truly enjoyed my evening with thanks to the Saudi Arabian fellow. We discussed a great many things: culture differences, religious differences, college life and all that. I learned much more about his culture - Saudi Arabia, and even his religion - Islam. Fascinating! Also, I realized how important it was to learn the culture and ways of another: when he mentioned how much he wanted a cup of hot tea, I could see in his face that he was serious. His culture did not allow for the wine and beer being served freely at the Gala, and I realized that next time there was a conference; we need to respect others' cultures by adding one or two more items if their culture doesn't allow for them to have certain items. We encouraged him to think about having a DHI conference in Saudi Arabia, because we do need to include more Deaf people of color. He smiled big. That was great to see.

Thus ended the DHI conference week, on a very high mark! I was truly happy that this conference ended with an almost-magical like evening, that lasted into the wee hours of the morning.

A Heartfelt Apology

Sun, 10 Sep 2006 19:27:27 GMT

Bernard Mottez n'est pas mort ! Je dois m'excuser auprès de Bernard Mottez : Je suis très désolé que j'ai pensé vous étiez mort. C'est mon défaut. Je suis très heureux que vous êtes bon.

In translation: Bernard Mottez is not dead! I must apologize to Bernard Mottez: I am very sorry that I thought you were dead. It is my fault. I am very happy you are okay.

I recieved word from a very reputable source that people were surprised to hear about Mottez on my blog, and because Paddy had a candle, I assumed he meant that the person was gone. Bonk me on my head for that, and I did not realize it was a cultural difference that caused me to think otherwise.

A Trip to the Israelitische Taubstummenanstalt

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 13:27:51 GMT

Soon after lunch it was time to board the double-decker bus, two of them in fact, for the trip to Israelitische Taubstummenanstalt, the Jewish school for the Deaf they had been talking about in the lectures - known as ITA - Berlin. Many of us excitedly boarded and chatted away on what seemed like a long trip towards the East Berlin area. We noticed the drab, tall apartment buildings and even noticed some logos of Lenin still on the walls. It was a strange feeling, especially when this afternoon turned cloudy and misty. We went wow when the bus drivers expertly navigated their way on those itty bitty streets. At one navigating point Mark Zaurov got out of the bus and made a speech - he was showing us what buildings we would see very soon.

Finally we reached the building that housed ITA - Berlin - a gorgeous, red-brick four story architecture. From the bus everyone could see this beautiful red-marble plaque honoring the 146 Jewish Deaf who were murdered in camps. I wished I videotaped what happened next: many of us made a beeline for that plaque like a herd of cattle, and Deaf German Harald Weickert told wonderful stories about the plaque as well as something about the old farm across the street. Mark Zaurov rushed in, with a big smile - he told Harald we can come back, but we need to start the tour now in the back of the school.

We went around the back to see this lovely playground, grassy area and a gazebo. There were chairs and benches set up for us to sit on, and Zaurov started by introducing this nice hearing German woman, who is currently the director of a school for children who are mentally retarded and other disabilities. She started by telling us the history about ITA - Berlin, when the East German government gave her this building for her school. She did not know the building's history, but knew it was a school a long time ago. She smiled, looking at Israel Savir - she said she was so excited when Israel Savir came to visit three years ago and told her all about ITA - Berlin. She said it was like the walls came alive! She said this building serves a very important reminder, and that after Israel finishes his speech we would be allowed to tour this school.

Israel Savir stood up and came forward for his speech. He came to this school in 1927 and stayed there until 1936. He explained that the school was missing a wing, destroyed by the bombing of Berlin in 1945 - but fortunately the major part of the school was still there. It was as if Israel was there yesterday: he pointed out where the dining hall was, along with the boys and girls dorms, the classrooms, the washrooms, the principal's office, the carpentry room and so forth. When Israel talked about the carpentry room, he talked about this Deaf German who taught carpentry because he was not Jewish. The Deaf Germans got excited because they knew who Israel was talking about! Israel explained about the school so methodically: going from the basement to the very top floor, which only had three rooms. I could visualize the Deaf children going to classes, eating and playing. Israel went on about the back of the school: where they played, what they did including Physical Education. One participant asked Israel what the regular schedule was like, and Israel answered: "We'd get up at six o'clock, get ready by washing our faces and brushing our teeth. We'd make our beds, and put on our clothes. Breakfast was at eight o'clock, and our school started at nine o'clock. We had lunch break at one, and I remember our lunches were very small - just a glass of milk and a slice of bread. Then we'd play and return to classes. We'd play more, and have dinner at 6. We went to bed at 9:00 p.m." There were more questions for Israel about the school, and someone asked him how old he was - he didn't want to say, but then someone else knew his age - 85 years old! Israel added that the Deaf children who went to this school came from all over Europe, not just Germany, which was why there were so many Deaf Jewish children at this particular school.

Then Zaurov told us it was time to tour the school, but in three groups. We formed in three groups, and the first one went in. I was in the second, and we went in this narrow stairway towards the second floor. It was quite beautiful inside, and obviously the school has been renovated, but its classrooms and other rooms remain the same in size - tall ceilings as well as having wood floors. I could imagine what it was like in the past, with darker walls - the walls now were cream-colored, and the desks are all modern. It was such an odd feeling for me walking along its halls, because I suddenly realized this was where the 146 Deaf Jewish children were, all taken away by Nazis to be put in camps. I shivered.

After we finished the tour, we were now going to the Holocaust memorial, where I had gone with Jochen's group the previous Monday. This time we visited the museum beneath the blocks and the uneven sidewalks - this museum is very much like the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, but much smaller in scale. After we finished going through the museum, we came up for Zaurov's short speech explaining about the blocks, just as Jochen had explained the previous Monday. Then he gave the floor to Rabbi Fred Friedman, who said a prayer that was quite fitting for this moment.

We made it just on time, at six o'clock as there was a contract with the buses to return us by six! We only had a hour and half to get ready for the Gala, the "black tie" dinner at the Rotes Rathaus (The Red House) - we had seen this building on the way to ITA - Berlin. The Gala will be the "more to come" next in this continuing report of the DHI conference.

DHI Conference, Day 5

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 18:32:09 GMT

August 4th, 2006 - today was the last day of lectures at the DHI conference. I went down to the Heat cafe, deep in thought. I wondered what today's lectures would bring, and I was very excited about the upcoming tour to the ITA - Berlin (the Jewish school for the Deaf) which still stands today, and it would be led by none other than Israel Savir, one of its only remaining survivors. When talking to others in the cafe, I noticed most folks were looking forward to the tour as well! I also got some exciting news, the results of last night's meeting: Douglas Bahl was voted the DHI Board President, and the 2012 DHI conference will be held in Toronto, Canada (in the month of May).

The first of today's five speakers was a hearing German named Professor Klaus B. Gunther, who works in Sign Language Education for Humboldt University - the very university we were at. His keynote address was about the history of Deaf education in Germany, which was similar to our own history of Deaf education in America. He began with how Deaf education was before the 1880 Milan congress took place: there were two very influential Deaf German teachers, Otto Friedrich Kruse and one other, who promoted sign language to teach Deaf children. Sadly, both died before 1880. So, when the Milan congress voted to teach oralism, this vote took root in Germany and oralism was everywhere in Germany. However, in 1918 when the Kaiser left Germany, a new era of Deaf education was born. There was a Deaf movement in1921, and in 1922 there was a national meeting of teachers of the Deaf who insisted on the use of sign language to teach Deaf children, but they hit a brick wall. The government turned them down. In fact, Gunther mentioned Felix Reich as well - remember him? The principal of the ITA - Berlin who was arrested in England? Well, Reich was one of those who promoted the use of sign language, and because the ITA schools were based on donations, he had a very "hard sell". But still he supported the teachers of the Deaf across Germany! By 1933, the goals of these teachers were half-met, but then Hitler became chancellor and all "hell broke loose" - no sign language was allowed between 1933 and 1945. Gulp. Gunther added a fascinating fact about the city of Berlin - between 1945 and 1982, West Berlin still did not allow sign language, while East Berlin promoted sign language. Between 1945 and 1982, language patterns of oral Deaf Germans were noted to have severe language problems, and finally the reality of oralism set in. A paper was written in 1982 called "The Munich Signing Paper", which led to a bi-bi Deaf German school in 1993, which still exists today.

The second speaker was a Deaf Finnish woman, Eeva Salmi , who is one of the authors of a beautiful, thick book called "From Deaf Mutes to Sign Language Users", to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Finnish Association of the Deaf . Her lecture was based on this book, which tells the history of sign language use in Finland from 1800 onward. In 1800, the first census was recorded, and they found 10 Deaf all close by in the town of Turkku, which was the largest city at that time. Salmi wished she knew what communication methods those 10 Deaf used, though. Carl Oscar Malm, before he established the first school for the Deaf in Finland, went to the school for the Deaf in Sweden. He signed Swedish sign language, but when he established the school for the Deaf in 1846, the Swedish sign language system became more Finnish and became the Finnish sign language system that was used today. Thus, after 1846 Turkku's Deaf community grew. In 1886, the first Deaf club was established in Turkku. Sadly by 1924 the attitude of Finns changed towards the Deaf, and established an Act in which Deaf were banned from marrying another Deaf, and Deaf women were not allowed to have babies. They were mandated to have sterilizations, and this went on till 1969! This did not happen to all Deaf women. By then, a Deaf Awareness policy was set in place. Deaf Finns now use a new identity: rather than call themselves Deaf, they call themselves sign language users because they want to change the focus from the ear to the hands.

Note: I met a very nice Deaf Finnish woman on Saturday's tour of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, who told me her story that fits with this lecture: "My mother knew about the sterilization law. She got pregnant, but did not tell until she was too far along. They were upset with her, but let her have the baby - that's ME! - then sterilized her. Can you imagine? I was shocked when she told me this recently."

The third speaker was a hearing woman from Sweden, Ylma Soderfeldt Garmland, who was there to discuss about "to be secluded - the image of Swedish Deaf in periodicals in the 1920's". Her discussion about the history of senses was utterly fascinating. She was saying that there is a hierarchy of senses, of which sight is considered the first, hearing the second. However, over time hearing people have considered sight to be the sense for superficial and the sense of hearing to be for communication - ignoring the fact sight is the FIRST in the line! She raised a very good point here. Anyhow, she was clarifying the history of senses first before raising the issue of Swedish Deaf in the 1920's - the reason why she concentrated on the 1920's is because at that time mandatory oral education took place, and there were periodicals discussing Deafness. She pointed out how the belief in hearing overtook the true first sense, sight, affected the Deaf badly - especially in the image of Deaf. Because of their belief in hearing as the first, the nature of the Deaf are constantly analyzed - the image of Deaf is often negative - make the Deaf adjust to the hearing norm. And so on and on. Garmland found this intriguing statement about the Deaf, which was quite untrue: "To the Deaf, our world of sound and chime is the cold kingdom of eternal silence." Gee, eh? However, Garmland stated, the reality is that the Deaf are not an uniform group, and it can be blamed on the advance of oral education which caused the deep divide between the signing Deaf and oral Deaf, as well as this belief that hearing is the first in line which is totally untrue.

The fourth speaker, which was more of a team consisting of Gallaudet's Lois Bragg and Diana Gates, chose to show the history of Lydia Huntley Sigourney, who may have been the first teacher of the Deaf before Gallaudet and Clerc in America. Bragg and Gates based this information on Lydia Sigourney's journal, of which amazingly had notes written by Alice Cogswell's sister in it. They researched Sigourney and found that she was also from Hartford, Connecticut and knew all the major players of Deaf American education: Dr. Mason Cogswell, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc. However, her journal proves that she had been "teaching" Alice Cogswell long before Clerc came to America. They even found this beautiful poem that Sigourney had written, about Alice Cogswell titled "Alice"! Bragg and Gates managed to weave the history of Lydia Huntley Sigourney's life to that of Gallaudet, Clerc and American School of the Deaf. They are onto something here, and I would love to see this become a book.

In closing, Mark Zaurov, Professor Klaus B. Gunther and Carol Padden were going to be in discussion about the week's lectures. When Padden could not be found, a Deaf German, a most delightful charming fellow, grabbed the opportunity to introduce the Deaf German students who helped with the conference, and he gave one of the most heartfelt speeches that dealt with the week's lectures, and how they moved us to tears. He closed with: "We must never forget." With that closing line, he had the students give flowers to all the Deaf survivors. As a result, there wasn't much time left for the closing discussion. I later asked Padden what happened, and she was embarrassed to say she simply forgot! We went for our lunch break before going on the afternoon tour on the bus.

Postscript: Know how a Deaf master storyteller can sway you? Well, during one of the lectures that day, a Deaf German was telling the most incredible story (in DGS, which is German Sign Language, but he was certainly understandable!) in the aisle - I couldn't help but watch him instead of the lecturer! I later asked him why he wasn't on the stage and tell his story, and the poor fellow blushed and was flattered! I told him I was serious, because he was indeed 100 percent more exciting than the lecturer I was watching! I wish I could tell his story, but then I wouldn't want this poor sweet fellow in trouble!

DHI Conference, Day Four continued....

Sat, 19 Aug 2006 18:25:34 GMT

After Zaurov's lecture on Deaf Holocaust, Zaurov proceeded to introduce to us four Deaf Holocaust survivors: Lea Huysmans Halpern, Anna Vos Van Dam, Abraham Neumann and Jacob Ehrenfeld. These four told stories that had the most emotional impact on us, the participants of the conference - as soon they were finished, we were all either sniffling or had tears pouring out of our eyes. First up on the stage was Lea Huysmans Halpern, a Deaf Dutch Jew who managed to escape the Gestapo by hiding in the country, constantly on the move. As soon the war was over, she discovered that her whole family perished in the Nazi camps. This was very hard on her.

Next Zaurov introduced us to another Deaf Dutch Jew, Anna Vos Van Dam, who was a pretty 81 year old woman with a bright personality. She had never told her story on stage before, and seemed to have a hard time to begin her story. Once she started, she was on a roll and had all of us in tears at the end. Here's what she basically said: when the Germans occupied the Netherlands in 1941, her family went into hiding. Life was very hard because it was usually dark where they hid. However, someone found out about them in 1944, so they were sent to the Mechelen camp. Before they were sent there, the Nazis slapped a sticker labeled "Taubstumm" on her and another Deaf girl that she knew. "Taubstumm" was like "deaf and dumb" in German. As they were nearing the Nazi desks at the camp, a prisoner on the other side looked around and told Anna and the other girl to take off the sticker in gestures. That prisoner looked terrified. The other Deaf girl said don't worry, but Anna at the very last minute took off her sticker. Well, right at that moment they were at the front of the Nazi desks. This Nazi officer told the Deaf girl who still had the sticker to go that way (where the smoking chimney was, Anna said she couldn't help but stare at it and wonder about the strange smell), and told Anna to go the other way to the work station. The Deaf girl waved good-bye and said "see you later". Anna had a strange feeling. When she got to the work station, she knew she had to pay attention not to give away the fact she was Deaf. She did the work, all day, for 10 to 12 hours a day. Three days later she asked someone by gesturing and pointing to the smoking chimney. That person gestured as if cutting throat. She realized with horror her Deaf friend was dead, and probably her family too. She cried every night, tried to do that quietly but by day worked like mad. She was transferred to two other camps, once at Auschwitz. Once she thought she found a way to escape, and ran for dear life. Unfortunately, the Nazis found her and severely beat her legs. She was sniffling a bit when she said this, and she said because there was no doctor, one of her legs was never set properly - she pulled up her pant leg to show her leg. OMG. It was one of the worst cases one could ever see of a leg that is never set properly. She calmed down, and said it was too bad because very soon after this, the Russians came and freed them. She saw herself in the mirror for the first time in four years, and was so shocked by what she saw: no hair, dirty, so very thin. But alive.

Zaurov went on to introduce us to Abraham Neumann, a Deaf Polish Jew. He and his family experienced the German occupation of Poland, being put in camps only to have the Russian Army take them all back to Siberia just before the war was over, and when it was over, they went back to Poland. He later moved to Israel in 1949, where he has been ever since.

Zaurov introduced us to the last survivor, Jacob Ehrenfeld, a Deaf Hungarian Jew. Jacob and his family were taken to camps in 1944, and he was put to work on farms. He also collected cigarette butts to make new cigarettes, sold these to get food. His father was murdered by Nazis, his mother died in camp in 1945. He was reunited with his brother and sister, and in 1947 moved to Israel. Incredibly, his trip to Israel was just as horrible as being in camps: the ship encountered a storm and capsized, killing many abroad - Jacob survived that one, too!

The fifth speaker was Simon Carmel, of whom most of us Deaf Americans know as a Deaf magician. However, he works at RIT/NTID and wasn't even at the DHI Conference. In fact, before his time came up, I had checked with several Deaf to see if Simon showed up, and they all said no in a puzzled way. I could not believe he would not show nor was there any announcement. Finally someone came on stage and said Simon Carmel could not make it, but he did send a video. Aha. Simon came on the video and apologized for not being at the conference. His lecture was about how he got involved in Deaf Holocaust research, and how this led to his current study of folklore. He opened by saying how shocked he was to meet a Deaf survivor of the Holocaust in 1960's, and from there he decided to do more research by interviewing more survivors. He asked many organizations to help by donating money or even filming. Many turned him down. This was what led him to writing all about Deaf folklore. He raised a very good question: "What about the Deaf in Lebanon? The Deaf in Rwanda? Are they suffering as much? Do we want to hear the same stories as those Deaf Holocaust survivors in the future?"

Lunch break occurred here, and it was interesting to see many run for a different place other than where we ate for lunch. I was one of them, and I joined Michael Marzolf of Virginia, a delightful retired Deaf teacher. We went over the morning's lectures and agreed that the story of Anna Vos Van Dam had the most impact on us - we could not talk much because we were numb, eating our lunch quietly before going back.

The sixth speaker was a Deaf British man named Peter Jackson, the author of several Deaf crime books in England. A strong looking fellow who seems to loom over everyone in the room, Jackson also was also a strong history buff. His lecture was about "Deaf Injustices", where Deaf people are incriminated for crimes they do not commit, or do not have rights during trial. His lecture was fascinating, because he proved that Deaf injustices happen AROUND the world - Australia, Norway, America and so forth. He presented five case studies, and pointed out what was wrong with them: no interpreter present, interpreter misinterpreted, police misconduct and so forth. Scary, indeed. His books can be found on his website.

The seventh speaker was a Deaf Russian - American professor of Deaf Studies at Brown University, named Arkady Belozovsky who is a most engaging gentleman. His lecture on "Deaf Intellectual Purge During the Stalin Era" was eerie, something one would think could never happen. But it happened. Here was what he said in a nutshell: "In 1999, I met a man named David Ginzaburgsky in Russia. He wanted to give me some documents that he hid away. I was puzzled, but he insisted that I have them and research those. He explained a bit. When I got home, I looked at the photos and documents. One of the photos showed a huge Deaf group in St. Petersburg taken in the 1930's - on the back, I was shocked to see some German names. I hoped to go back and interview David some more, but he died in 2004. Here was what I found so far - in 1919, The House of Deaf Cultural Society was formed and had its own building in St. Petersburg. I found old documents, such as The Deaf Mute World Monthly that started in 1916. This newspaper had more information about this society. They believed in promoting friendships with Deaf all over the world. That was how Deaf Germans ended up coming to visit this Society and even moving to St. Petersburg. By 1937, one of Stalin's men named Ezhov / Yezhov did not trust this House of Deaf Cultural Society because.....ummm...they had Deaf Germans in it, and any relations with Germans was a no-no at that time. So, Ezhov had 39 Deaf people from the Society shot and killed. No questions asked. These Deaf included Germans and Jews, and even just all Russian.

Note: Belozovsky mentioned the Deaf History Museum in Leningrad (formerly St. Petersburg), but I am not sure if he said David Gingzburgsky, the man who gave him the papers, founded this museum - I will doublecheck with Belozovsky.

The last speaker of the day was a Deaf Russian woman named Maria Evseeva, who works and edits a Deaf magazine in Russia. She came on stage strong and proud and went on with her lecture, "People and Destiny". The title of her lecture had me puzzled until she finished her lecture, and I wished it was a different one - it was close enough, though. She told the story of two Deaf Russian Jew greats, Emmanuel Slutsky and Ilya Cherches and how fate messed with their lives. She started with Slutsky and his sports career in which he broke world records and recieved much honor and glory. Well, when the USSR became democratic, Slutsky moved to Israel where no one knew him or about his glory days in the USSR. He withered and died in 2002. However, on the other hand, Ilya Cherches, who like Slutsky was a sports great in the wrestling field. Just before he was going in Deafolympics in wrestling, his family emigrated to Israel. Cherches chose to stay in the USSR instead. Much to his shock, USSR officials told him he could not participate because his family moved to Israel! Cherches did not give up and taught wrestling to young ones for 20, 25 years. When USSR fell, Cherches ran for the opportunity to compete in the Deafolympics again - he even managed to win one medal! Today he and his family lives quietly, and he continues to coach wrestling.

Note: As Evseeva was giving her lecture, I could not help but think of the line from the film, "Terminator 3": "Fate is what you make of it." Sigh.

There was an announcement after this speaker that there would be a meeting of Deaf History International, to pick the new president of DHI Board and the new site for the 2012 Deaf History International, to start at 5:30 that evening. Earlier in the day I had noticed Canada's Ali Behmanesh scurrying like mad among the attendees, and Sweden's Tomas Hedberg passing flyers around of which I picked up a copy - it's a beautiful bronchure for the 2009 DHI Conference to be held in Stockholm, Sweden. Its theme? No history, no future. How true!

Postscript: Remember Anna Vos Von Dam? Well, when she finished her speech, Fridolin Wasserkampf came scurrying on stage and said, "I knew this beautiful lady for a long time. Since 1951, I think. I thought she was so beautiful, even back then. I have to tell you (sniffling a bit) I thought she didn't like me at all. Now I know it wasn't me, it was because I am German. I did not know what happened to her, and I am so sorry." He hugged her. Sniffling became worse, let me tell you, across the audience.

DHI Conference, Day Four

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 21:03:55 GMT

As usual, we all went down to Heat cafe for breakfast. This time Flip Delmonte of the Netherlands joined me for breakfast. I told him how much he reminded me of his childhood friend, Gert-Jan de Kleer. Gert-Jan de Kleer was a close friend of mine for many years, and he was a wonderful actor as well as a great artist. Sadly, Gert-Jan died in 1998 - I still missed him. I was delighted to meet Flip, Gert-Jan's childhood friend and got to know him.

We all walked to Humboldt University, but I noticed most of us were tired. Tired not because of late nights or whatever reason, but tired because the subject matter of the conference was getting to us. We were ready for what would come today, now that we knew each day there would be something just as heavy as yesterday's.

The first of today's 9 speakers was John Hay, a Deaf British man who was a senior Lecturer at University of Wolverhampton in England and was a die-hard history buff. His lecture was about the evacuation of Deaf children in England during World War 2, and I certainly looked forward to this speech because I once heard a story that the late Dorothy Miles told in my Deaf Playwright class 29 years ago. Hay presented his lecture beautifully, in conjunction with history. He started with how Poland was invaded by Germany on September 1st, 1939 - a date most of us do know. Well, on September 3rd, 1939 the British government, after being quite alarmed by this invasive action, decided to protect children. One of the first steps they undertook was to move Deaf children in groups to places that they thought Nazis would not know about, but some of their decisions were strange: 1) one place in Scotland was obviously the wrong location, since German planes flew over it - Deaf children even waved at those planes! and 2) the Deaf children of London's ITA (Jewish School for the Deaf) were evacuated to a regular school of the Deaf (whose children were moved to a different location)!? Hay was correct, these decisions were pretty strange. Hay pointed out how funny Deaf children were at creating signs - for example, the location of Deaf children at Goring was signed as "Goering", the Nazi chubby man because these names sounded the same. Another interesting fact Hay presented was the fact Donaldson's School for the Deaf in Edinburgh became a prison camp for German POWs. For many of these Deaf children, life in those relocations was almost like camp: playing solider, swimming and helping out with farming and so forth. These children received nearly no education at all. All these facts fit the story Dot Miles told in my class, except the fact during the war German planes hit the building not too far where she and her Deaf classmates were - they were sleeping and the floors vibrated horribly, causing them to wake up - they looked out the window and saw this amazing blaze. They had no idea this was war, this was a danger to them.

The second speaker was Douglas Bahl, a Deaf American from Minnesota who was also a die-hard history buff. I knew Bahl from before, when he gave this marvelous lecture about Olaf Hanson, a Deaf architect from Minnesota, at Deaf Way II. I looked forward to another marvelous lecture, and indeed he did a great job of giving his lecture in Gestuno. His subject was about the Deaf Kindertransport, and he first became interested in this subject at the 1994 DHI conference. He was curious about what happened to these Deaf Kindertransport, who they were and how did they fare. He was stunned to find out there was almost no information on these Deaf Kindertransport, so he decided to do the research himself. First of all, he explained that there were over 10,000 German Jewish children who were transported out of Germany for safety between 1938 and 1939. However, none of them were Deaf. Deaf Jewish children were not accepted at most places, even in America. The principal of the ITA school in Berlin knew this fact, and his name was Dr. Felix Reich. He was a hearing German Jew who tried to figure a way to move his Deaf students to safety. He contacted the ITA in London, who agreed to take in 10 Deaf children to their school. This was the first step, he thought - unfortunately as soon as he stepped on the ground in England with the 10 Deaf Jewish children, the British government had him arrested immediately because they mistook him for a German spy! At least these 10 children were safe in London, and Dr. Reich was planning to go back to get more Deaf children. Sadly, this did not happen and the rest of the Deaf students at the ITA -Berlin school (all 146 of them) were taken by Nazis and killed in camps. Bahl rolled off the names of these 10 children, and he smiled because one of them was in the audience - an Anne Senchal - he invited her up on the stage. She moved many of us to tears, because she was emotional in her speech. She really wanted to thank Dr. Reich, and she said she felt so badly for him because after his arrest he never returned to teaching or working with Deaf schools out of extreme guilt. He died in England around 1967. Such a lovely lady. Bahl ended his lecture with this: "I will continue researching and interviewing, and when I am done I will put all of this into a book."

The third speaker was a strong-minded Deaf man from the Netherlands named Jan Backer. I had enjoyed meeting him on the first day and had a chance to chat with him each day since we had a mutual friend: Joke Bloem, the sister of my dear late friend, Gert-Jan de Kleer. His lecture was about Deaf Jews in Amsterdam during the World War 2, especially his personal experience with them. Jan Backer explained that he was born Deaf in 1935, in Amsterdam. He went to a school for the Deaf called J. C. Ammans School for the Deaf in the old Jewish quarter of Amsterdam, and that there were 15 Deaf Jewish children and 2 Jewish teachers who were a part of this school. In 1942 for him, it was like they all disappeared. He said it was hard for many children at the school, and they constantly wanted to know where these children were. He never forgot those children - he showed several slides of class photos - marked x were the Jewish Deaf children, gone. He knew as he got older he had to do something about this so that people won't forget. He decided to make this beautiful, beautiful documentary called "Silent Sorrow" - the story of forgotten Deaf Jews of Amsterdam, murdered ones and survivors. He showed clips from the film. The stories that flowed from within the clips blew us away. For me, it was the story of Flip Delmonte, the very fellow I had been chatting with all week. His story is almost surreal: "When I was 9 years old, I went to a Deaf event with my hearing parents. Deaf people there stared at me and said that I was the son of Deaf Jewish parents and that I looked just like my Deaf Jewish brother. My parents were embarrassed and took me away, they said it wasn't true. Well, a few years later, after Deaf people pestered them, my mother told me the truth: I was indeed the son of Deaf Jewish parents who were murdered in camps! My older brother survived, but died years later. Apparently the Nazis came in my house and took everyone away - someone who was watching the house counted and realized the Nazis missed me. That person decided to be brave and go in the house after the Nazis left and looked for me - I was still in the crib, sleeping! That man took me and put me under his shirt and carried me away to a safe house, who later gave me to a childless couple. I was speechless! I am so lucky, though, that I had the most loving parents, and all those Deaf Dutch friends of my parents who were able to tell me stories about my Deaf parents and Deaf brother." Flip was certainly very lucky that he was a Deaf baby, because obviously he slept through all that commotion, and that whoever that fellow was knew how many lived in his house! I have goosebumps crawling all over me now. Jan pointed out some survivors in the audience, other than Flip. Whew.

The fourth speaker was Mark Zaurov himself, who concentrated on Deaf Holocaust and what Deaf Holocaust truly means. He opened his lecture with what Deaf Holocaust truly means, and the history of the word holocaust, which used to be spelled as holokaust. Generally, holocaust as a word / symbol meant total destruction by fire as well as genocide. So, if we added Deaf to holocaust, what does Deaf Holocaust mean? Zaurov asked the audience. He pointed out the previous meaning of just the word holocaust. He said because of this meaning, we cannot include sterlized Deaf victims during the WW2. Deaf Holocaust means all those Deaf Jewish or other Deaf who perished in the camps or on Hitler's orders. Next, Zaurov showed how Deaf Holocaust created a hole in the Deaf community of Europe - many of its Deaf Jews were prominent in sports, education and other related fields. Zaurov showed film clips of interviews he conducted with survivors and had a good question: what is the true number of Deaf Jews killed in the Holocaust - by his estimate, approximately 6,000. But there are no exact numbers. Zaurov's greatest point comes from this, "There are culture concerns about our Deaf. We must look to the history of Holocaust in order to preserve our Deaf history." I believe he means we cannot look the other way if our Deaf peers are being killed, we must do something to unite and help. Look at what happened to certain areas of Europe when Deaf Jews were taken away, where Deaf identity withered to a mere leaf.

Part Two of DHI Conference, Day 4 will be continued with my utmost apology. I forget I have a life: a single parent with two smart children who keeps me very busy! Someone once said to me, "You are blessed to have two smart children." Actually, it's almost a curse to have two smart children!! Even though on some days I bemoan why me, I love my kids dearly!

Clarification, Et Al...

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 17:15:28 GMT

I received an email from Mark Zaurov, who requested clarification on one of the lecture notes - specifically the opening speech of his. He explained that while Fritz Albreghs was indeed Deaf, but Albreghs was not Jewish. Albreghs was a Nazi member and was the president of Regede in 1933 (Regede is the German Union of the Deaf). In those days Nazis passed on rules to them, such as not allowing Deaf Jews to become members and Albreghs / Regede cooperated fully. Sad, eh? Thanks, Mark for letting me know about the error on my part.

I again missed five days worth of the blog, for this simple reason: my mother managed to whisk my children and I for a whirlwind trip to the Channel Islands, right near Oxnard, California - a hour's drive north of Los Angeles. It was so lovely staying at this beach resort that it was hard to leave - but a drama involving our poor dog Peppermint that occurred there had us thinking otherwise...this so-called drama will be told on this blog.

Onward to the next entry, in which Day 4 of DHI Conference will unfold.

DHI Conference, Day Three Cont'd...

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 17:40:08 GMT

Day Three is continued, with the seventh speaker - Iris Groschek, a young hearing German woman, who discussed how the Deaf and the Disabled were torn between joining Hitler Youth OR the Race Court. She probed into how the Deaf in Hamburg were constantly making decisions that never suited them - if they joined the Deaf Hitler Youth, they were forced to peck on others. Or if they joined the Race Court, they had to accept being pecked at about being Deaf. Groschek was hard to follow, because she had so much information in 20 packed minutes - but basically she was talking about Deaf /Disabled life during Nazi Germany.

The eighth speaker was Lothar Scharf, a Deaf German man who wrote the book,"Gehorlose im 3 Reich" (This means "Deaf in the 3rd Reich" in English). Scharf talked about how Deaf became a part of Hitler Youth organization - almost similar to what Wasserkampf said: we thought it was like Boy Scouts - camping, learning outdoor activities and all that. However, Scharf added that those who were Deaf as members of Hitler Youth had to wear a shoulder moniker with the letter "G" to show they were the Deaf Hitler Youth. Deaf Hitler Youth was created in November 1934, began by a teacher of Deaf children, and Scharf showed many photos of Deaf enjoying camping and other activities up to 1940. In 1940 the fun part stopped for Deaf Hitler Youth, and they still supported Hitler. Scary to think they were having a great time not knowing their Jewish counterparts were being killed in camps. I asked Scharf about his book, and he said he hoped that his book will be translated into English.

The ninth speaker and the last one of the day was a Deaf Israeli named Israel Savir - a most lively elderly fellow! I enjoyed chatting with him in between speeches and so forth, but I did not realize he was one of the speakers! Such a nice fellow. Savir told the story of his early years in Berlin: "I attended the ITA (Israelite Institution for the Deaf and Dumb) from 1927 to 1936. I loved my school and my friends. In 1933 the problems for Jews started, and they increased. My family did not like it here in Berlin anymore, so they emigrated to Palestine in 1934. I did not want to go with them because I loved my school so much, but by 1936 I realized my family was right. There were too many problems, so I decided to join my family. Later on I could not believe that everyone was gone - my teachers, my friends and some family members. My school is still here, though. I will give a tour there on Friday." Savir talked more about the other ITA schools, and other things.

Thus ended day three of the DHI conference. However, there was to be a movie night at the auditorium showing Deaf German - Jewish or not - life before 1940's. I went out for a quick bite and rest before coming back to see this so-called film, which consisted of clips of different films. One such interesting clip showed a Deaf German Jewish actor who used to star in German silent films - he was quite good, actually! What I loved about him was his use of facial expression - he was so obviously Deaf! There was another clip showing the ITA in Berlin, where parents of a Deaf Jewish child brought their child to ITA - one big happy family. There were other clips, which was showed Deaf sports events and everybody signing. And so forth.