The more than 300,000 deaf people who face discrimination on a daily basis called for equal rights on Monday, saying they want an end to the unequal treatment they endure from the government and people without hearing impairments, NGO workers said.
Through meeting directly with deaf people in Phnom Penh and the provinces of Banteay Meanchey, Kampot, Kompong Speu and Svay Rieng, the NGO Deaf Development Program found that deaf people are being discriminated against in schools and for employment, Mao Tsar Medh, program manager for DDP, said on Monday.
Deaf people “have no schooling or jobs because the government closes all chances for them,” Mao Tsar Medh said.
To raise awareness of issues facing deaf people, more than 400 deaf people, DDP and other NGOs working with the deaf held a celebration in Phnom Penh on Sunday observing the International Day of Deaf People. The participants marched around Wat Phnom, calling for equal rights for deaf people.
An estimated 1 percent of the population of the world suffers from deafness, according to DDP. Deafness can be caused by genetic disorders, some early childhood illnesses and accidents; it also often afflicts the elderly, Mao Tsar Medh said.
People outside of Phnom Penh generally suffer from deafness more than those living in the capital because of the lower level of adequate medical services and basic knowledge of illnesses and diseases there, he said.
“There are not enough medical services, especially in remote areas, and people bring their sick children into the hospitals too late,” Mao Tsar Medh said.
Deaf people also are at a higher risk of contracting HIV/AIDS because they often do not have access to information relating to that and other life-threatening diseases, he said, adding that it’s almost impossible to accurately assess how many people are deaf in Cambodia because “many people having deaf children don’t allow the children to go outside because parents are shy of their neighbors’ criticism.”
The primary goal of DDP is to teach basic literacy and mathematics to deaf people. The NGO is developing a Cambodian sign language and has so far come up with more than 1,400 signs.
One of the greatest challenges facing deaf people is the perception that those who suffer from deafness are not intelligent, he said. And because people living with or near deaf people have difficulty communicating with them, they often are not consulted about their own situation and well-being, Mao Tsar Medh said.
“Deaf people are also humans, so they need their legal rights,” he said.
