A Deaf man who is dreaming of a career in politics saw his dreams came true in April when he was able to attend an event with President Obama with sign language interpreters.
Paul Ntulila found himself just yards away from his political hero.
Interpreters Brett Best, (who is qualified as a BSL and ASL Interpreter) and Sharan Thind (a qualified BSL interpreter) covered the event, after meeting Paul and finding out about his desire to pursue a career in Politics. Sharan explained “the Town Hall event with POTUS is unique. The impact that the event had for the [Paul] was monumental.”
Paul said:
“When I found out that I would have an opportunity to attend President Obama’s speech and Q&A with young leaders and ambassadors of the future, I felt very excited. Barack Obama has been a huge inspiration and a very influential role model for me. He exemplifies the breaking down of social barriers in that he is a Black man and was elected to be President of the United States. This has encouraged me to pursue my own political ambitions. Who knows, maybe one day I will become the first Deaf Black Prime Minister of England!”
The event showed a contrast between the access routinely given at US political events and the access given in the UK. This sheds further light on a question Paul wanted to ask, but didn’t get to do so: “Do you think that the U.S. could serve as a role model for facilitating employment opportunities and access to society for Deaf people?”
By Sadaqat Ali, from Lingoing, who “bring together Deaf clients, agencies, commercial organisations and freelance sign language interpreters so they can work together efficiently and ultimately make sure that every voice is heard.” www.lingoing.com
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Roselle
May 10, 2016
No. The U.S.cannot serve as a role model for opening employment to the deaf. There is -SO- much discrimination as to make the question amusing. Sorry to burst your bubble.
Josh
May 13, 2016
Apparently about 75% of Deaf people are out of work. This statistic is extremely shocking. So the examples of inclusion are just distractions from the bigger picture.