Silent Voice of ‘Deaf Friends’ in Jambi City

KOMPAS/IRMA TAMBUNAN

Activities at Ketje Coffee Shop amidst the Jambi City Level 4 PPKM Tightening policy, Tuesday (24/8/2021).

Amidst the sluggish economy due to the pandemic, Heny, 36, took the bold decision to open a coffee shop in the city of Jambi. The shop’s establishment has marked a new chapter for a number of young employees, some of whom are deaf.

Most first-time customers who come to Ketje Coffee Shop in the Jelutung area of Jambi might be curious about why some of the employees there do not talk much. After a brief interaction, they will discover that the baristas and waiters are deaf.

The presence of deaf employees even arouses sympathy among customers. Moreover, the baristas and waiters are skilled in providing good services.

“They adapt quickly. Some are skilled in the kitchen, serving orders, or as baristas. There are also those who are talented in decorating the café,” Heny said when met last week.

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The number of customers is growing and the café is expanding. The number of staff it employs has also increased. Six months after it opened, the number of employees increased to 25, seven of whom are deaf.

Some regular customers come for the coffee and also to learn sign language, which has increased their care and concern for teman tuli (deaf friend), a common term for deaf people. Particularly ahead of International Sign Language Day, which falls on 23 Sept., an increasing number of young people have shown interest in learning sign language.

Heny admitted that she was initially sad when she learned about the backgrounds of teman tuli. They were frequently marginalized in society, so it was difficult for them to access the world of work, which spurred her concern.

KOMPAS/IRMA TAMBUNAN

Rafflesia arnoldii flower painting by Rachel Ramadhini, a deaf friend in Jambi City, Friday (3/9/2021).

Before deciding to employ deaf people, Heny faced the question: What if they became an added burden for her business? What if they were unable to operate the sophisticated cafe equipment? However, such worries disappeared quickly.

"Rather than worry, it was better for me to start training them. To my surprise, they learned quickly," she said.

Kopi Ketje Jambi’s effort to employ deaf workers is one of a few stories that illustrate solidarity and humanity. In a webinar titled “The Voices of Teman Tuli and Their Problems” held at the end of August, Angga Nikola, the head of the Jambi provincial branch of the Indonesian Movement for the Welfare of the Deaf (Gerkatin), shared the hardships experienced by deaf people, who were often excluded from accessing various public services.

Bigger burden

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought a double burden for deaf people when communicating. The movements of the mouth that complement sign language are now hidden behind protective masks.

“If the conversation partners cover their mouths with masks, how can a teman tuli understand what is being said? Teman tuli can\'t hear, right?" said Heny.

It was only recently that transparent masks were produced and a number of deaf activists started selling them online. However, supply is still limited and they tend to be more expensive than regular masks. In addition, only a handful of people are interested in wearing transparent masks.

If the conversation partners cover their mouths with masks, how can a teman tuli understand what is being said?

Wearing transparent masks can feel stuffier because it uses plastic for the part covering the mouth.

Care is very much needed to prevent teman tuli from being marginalized in everyday life. One example is their lack of access to various services. In Jambi province, for example, formal education for persons with disabilities is only available at five schools for the disabled in 11 regencies and cities.

KOMPAS/IRMA TAMBUNAN

Most of the shops opened delivery and take-out services during the Jambi City PPKM Level 4 Tightening, 23 to 30 August 2021. An officer was seen serving take-out orders at a shop in Jambi, Tuesday (24/8/2021).

Andam Litasari, who heads the Department of the Deaf at the Prof. Dr. Sri Soedewi School for the Disabled in Jambi, said that students with disabilities required special attention from teachers. The problem was, online learning during the pandemic was not optimal for deaf students compared to in-person learning.

The problem continued after teman tuli graduate from school and find it difficult to find a job. "In fact, teman tuli are usually rather quick at adapting to the world of work," said Angga.

Not only in the world of work, athletes who are deaf or hearing impaired encounter similar problems in the sports industry. Khaidir, deputy chairman of the Jambi province National Paralympic Committee (NPC), said that coaches and deaf or hearing impaired athletes had to adapt when communicating with each other.

“The NPC doesn\'t have a coach who speaks sign language yet. Athletes and coaches struggle on their own to adapt while looking for ways to develop the communication between them," he said.

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> Guaranteeing Rights of Disabled Persons

> The Voice of Disabled People

In line with this, added Jambi city NPC secretary Ika Noor Hidayati, most coaches assigned to athletes with disabilities did not understand the condition of people with disabilities.

“In the end, we just made up [our own] sign language. The important thing is that the athletes can understand what the coaches and supervisors mean," she said.

In social life, Beranda Perempuan director Zubaidah found that many teman tuli were experiencing psychological and economic pressures. The pandemic also had an impact in increasing cases of sexual violence.

According to Syahran Jailani, who heads the Center for Disability Studies at the Sulthan Thaha Saifuddin State Islamic University of Jambi, the world of higher learning was challenged to contribute by providing support for people with disabilities, which resulted in the establishment of the disabilities study center.

If all parties participated in building solidarity, the burden of teman tuli would not be heavy. Their voices must be heard, even in silence.

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.