Establishing a new life in America for the deaf

By RUTH LILJENQUIST

Think for a moment about the challenges new refugees face when they come to the United States—learning a language, adapting to a new culture, figuring out how different systems work, and just finding a way to make a living. Now add deafness to the picture, and the challenges compound, as Community Outreach Program for the Deaf, a program of Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona, is finding out.
With significant communication barriers, refugees with deafness or hearing loss have more needs than most other refugees, and not all communities have resources to assist them. Tucson, however, does have such resources and was recently designated by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) as a community with the resources to assist deaf refugees, particularly those from Nepal and Bhutan, who in most cases have been living in refugee camps for many years.
In partnership with IRC, COPD has recently begun serving a group of Nepalese and Bhutanese Deaf refugees, helping them establish their lives in Tucson and introducing them to a vibrant Deaf community. COPD is providing communication services, assistance in finding employment, life skills education, advocacy, and other services.
Staff from COPD involved with the refugee programs has been working with the group for a few months now, getting to know them and their language capabilities and to understand their culture. One staff member Amy Speer, who is deaf herself, has found that some of the deaf refugees do not have a language at all and have communicated primarily through gestures. She has also found that these deaf refugees are considered by their hearing family members and community as unable to work and care for themselves and others. While they have been taken care of, they have been overprotected and isolated within their families. Generally, their personal development has been neglected.
“People with disabilities are considered ‘invisible’ in their culture,” said Amy. “I’m still trying to understand why that is and what it means exactly, but it’s clear that there is a stigma of some kind.”
These linguistic and cultural factors present interesting challenges for COPD. While the younger refugees are more enthusiastic and are picking up ASL quickly, the older refugees are apprehensive and aren’t sure they need to learn ASL, which makes communication an ongoing challenge. Further, both the hearing and deaf refugees in the community are struggling to adapt to a very different attitude toward deaf people and their abilities.
“We’re working to help these deaf refugees bridge the gap between their original culture and deaf culture here in the United States,” said Anne Levy, head of COPD.  “Both the hearing and the deaf in the refugee community need to see that deaf people in America are functional and independent.”
COPD is making efforts to integrate the deaf refugees into the larger deaf community, not only so they can make friends but to realize what they are capable of. At a recent holiday potluck held at COPD for the deaf community, the deaf refugees were astonished to see a room full of deaf people socializing and enjoying each other’s company. It was both intimidating and exciting for the group.
“They are used to being invisible, being nobody, and all of a sudden, they are somebody,” said Amy. “They are beginning to see the possibilities, that they can do things. We want them to see that they are not alone, that they are not invisible.”
Anne recognizes that the new refugee program will be both challenging and complicated, but the opportunity to improve the quality of life for people who have long been “invisible” makes it worth it. “This group is in need, so there is a need for our work.”