Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,160
- Reaction score
- 7
The Daily Times - Malawi’s Premier Daily
Many people view disability as something they can easily see, but there are many types of disabilities some of which are invisible.
The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defines disability as a thing that disables, lack of something necessary e.g. disabilities of sight, hearing and speech, and learning disabilities.
It further states that a disability may not be physical, it may exist from birth or caused by an accident or illness. In short disability is loss of function of an organ of the body.
The story of a deaf man, one Preston Maluwa having been assaulted in Chikwawa as reported in the media last month for simply passing by and doing no harm or disturbing peoples peace, cannot go without comment.
Chapter four of the constitution of Malawi calls for the respect of human rights and freedoms. Section 19:6(a) indicate that a person shall have the right to freedom and security while section 39:1 calls for the right to freedoms of movement and residence within the borders of Malawi.
In the case of what happened to Maluwa, he was denied this and his rights violated.
According to him, he was just walking through a shortcut to the rest house where he and his workmates were lodging when he noticed stones being thrown his way from nowhere until he was hit in the face and fell down.
At this, his assailants pounced on him and beat him without mercy or even asking him any question.
The police officer who rescued him made no efforts to get information from the assaulted or at least, since he was severely injured take him to the hospital for treatment instead he locked the victim up in a cell.
Efforts by him to attract the officer’s attention using gestures proved futile until he wrote his identity on a piece of paper and this then was when they thought of finding his friends at the rest house he had indicated on the paper but then rather late as he had bled throughout the night and was swollen all over.
His colleagues could not recognise him when they arrived because he was badly beaten in the face.
Deafness is an invisible disability where one looks perfectly normal but without hearing and it is not easy to identify a deaf person by just looking at him/her. Deafness is unlike blindness where one is seen using a white stick or being led by a guide. It is unlike physical disability where one uses clutches or a wheel chair.
The deaf, especially those born deaf have both hearing and speech problems. Others whose deafness occurred later in life have speech but cannot hear and for both these the biggest problem is communication, as they cannot hear.
Those born deaf communicate through sign language, a language of signs, gestures and body movement. You cannot talk to a deaf person from behind because the deaf use eyes to comprehend signs and speech movements in this case, communication is impossible in the dark and from behind.
It is possible that the people who assaulted Maluwa may have asked ‘where he was going? Or who he was? And upon seeing that Maluwa was just walking on the people did not wonder as to why he could not respond when spoken to and instead they just concluded that he was a cattle rustler and beat him up though he was not caught with any of the cattle. There was no evidence. Maluwa being a thief, as he did not have anything he had stolen.
The police are our protectors as Malawian citizens. It is still not clear how the police could afford to lock up an injured man instead of rushing him to the hospital. If it was true that they feared the mob, they would have had Maluwa taken to the hospital and then put him under guard.
I commend the police for having saved Maluwa from death but then I have to point out that they have to act like human beings who have a heart. Again, the general public should refrain from using their fists and pangas on innocent people whom they just suspect as lawbreakers without finding the hows and whys.
The deaf need sign language to communicate and it is important that the hearing also learn sign language in order to communicate with them easily. It is very unfortunate that people are just interested to learn oral language but then sign language is also important.
In all fairness when this case comes to court, Maluwa should be given a chance to narrate his ordeal through a sign language interpreter not otherwise because it is the information that will come from Maluwa himself that will put to light what actually happened.
In most cases it is noted that parents of deaf children do not want to learn sign language in order to communicate with their children well. But when parents are deaf, children are quick to learn the language to facilitate communication. The deaf need the help of the hearing who would learn sign language in order to facilitate communication to bridge the gap that exists between the deaf and the hearing.
The deaf have been there since the time of Jesus Christ’s life on earth but its surprising that people are still unaware of this invisible disability.
In both cases use texts as though these people are deaf, modern technology has privileged them to use cell phones and communication is always through sms, incase someone calls, an interpreter is used to answer the calls but it should be noted that the deaf are individuals and are not always in the company of an interpreter.
Many deaf people work with the hearing without an interpreter but it is a must to have an interpreter when attending a meeting, workshop or in court.
Here is a disabled man out there to help other disabled people and the able bodied assault him. Is there any sense in this? Malawians, behave sensibly and that the disabled and the able bodied jointly work to develop our country.
Do not disable the disabled further by assaulting them unnecessarily. Is passing by a house law breaking? I should therefore end by praising the police for having arrested the assailants and wish to ask them to see to it that they pay for the pain and trauma Maluwa suffered at their hands.
Many people view disability as something they can easily see, but there are many types of disabilities some of which are invisible.
The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defines disability as a thing that disables, lack of something necessary e.g. disabilities of sight, hearing and speech, and learning disabilities.
It further states that a disability may not be physical, it may exist from birth or caused by an accident or illness. In short disability is loss of function of an organ of the body.
The story of a deaf man, one Preston Maluwa having been assaulted in Chikwawa as reported in the media last month for simply passing by and doing no harm or disturbing peoples peace, cannot go without comment.
Chapter four of the constitution of Malawi calls for the respect of human rights and freedoms. Section 19:6(a) indicate that a person shall have the right to freedom and security while section 39:1 calls for the right to freedoms of movement and residence within the borders of Malawi.
In the case of what happened to Maluwa, he was denied this and his rights violated.
According to him, he was just walking through a shortcut to the rest house where he and his workmates were lodging when he noticed stones being thrown his way from nowhere until he was hit in the face and fell down.
At this, his assailants pounced on him and beat him without mercy or even asking him any question.
The police officer who rescued him made no efforts to get information from the assaulted or at least, since he was severely injured take him to the hospital for treatment instead he locked the victim up in a cell.
Efforts by him to attract the officer’s attention using gestures proved futile until he wrote his identity on a piece of paper and this then was when they thought of finding his friends at the rest house he had indicated on the paper but then rather late as he had bled throughout the night and was swollen all over.
His colleagues could not recognise him when they arrived because he was badly beaten in the face.
Deafness is an invisible disability where one looks perfectly normal but without hearing and it is not easy to identify a deaf person by just looking at him/her. Deafness is unlike blindness where one is seen using a white stick or being led by a guide. It is unlike physical disability where one uses clutches or a wheel chair.
The deaf, especially those born deaf have both hearing and speech problems. Others whose deafness occurred later in life have speech but cannot hear and for both these the biggest problem is communication, as they cannot hear.
Those born deaf communicate through sign language, a language of signs, gestures and body movement. You cannot talk to a deaf person from behind because the deaf use eyes to comprehend signs and speech movements in this case, communication is impossible in the dark and from behind.
It is possible that the people who assaulted Maluwa may have asked ‘where he was going? Or who he was? And upon seeing that Maluwa was just walking on the people did not wonder as to why he could not respond when spoken to and instead they just concluded that he was a cattle rustler and beat him up though he was not caught with any of the cattle. There was no evidence. Maluwa being a thief, as he did not have anything he had stolen.
The police are our protectors as Malawian citizens. It is still not clear how the police could afford to lock up an injured man instead of rushing him to the hospital. If it was true that they feared the mob, they would have had Maluwa taken to the hospital and then put him under guard.
I commend the police for having saved Maluwa from death but then I have to point out that they have to act like human beings who have a heart. Again, the general public should refrain from using their fists and pangas on innocent people whom they just suspect as lawbreakers without finding the hows and whys.
The deaf need sign language to communicate and it is important that the hearing also learn sign language in order to communicate with them easily. It is very unfortunate that people are just interested to learn oral language but then sign language is also important.
In all fairness when this case comes to court, Maluwa should be given a chance to narrate his ordeal through a sign language interpreter not otherwise because it is the information that will come from Maluwa himself that will put to light what actually happened.
In most cases it is noted that parents of deaf children do not want to learn sign language in order to communicate with their children well. But when parents are deaf, children are quick to learn the language to facilitate communication. The deaf need the help of the hearing who would learn sign language in order to facilitate communication to bridge the gap that exists between the deaf and the hearing.
The deaf have been there since the time of Jesus Christ’s life on earth but its surprising that people are still unaware of this invisible disability.
In both cases use texts as though these people are deaf, modern technology has privileged them to use cell phones and communication is always through sms, incase someone calls, an interpreter is used to answer the calls but it should be noted that the deaf are individuals and are not always in the company of an interpreter.
Many deaf people work with the hearing without an interpreter but it is a must to have an interpreter when attending a meeting, workshop or in court.
Here is a disabled man out there to help other disabled people and the able bodied assault him. Is there any sense in this? Malawians, behave sensibly and that the disabled and the able bodied jointly work to develop our country.
Do not disable the disabled further by assaulting them unnecessarily. Is passing by a house law breaking? I should therefore end by praising the police for having arrested the assailants and wish to ask them to see to it that they pay for the pain and trauma Maluwa suffered at their hands.