In our last column, Vanessa Migliosi from Italy told us about her activities in the genetic research of deafness, in organizations for the deaf and hard of hearing on both local and international levels, and as a school teacher for hearing kids. Her story continues here...
Karina: How did you get an offer to work with the Italian Deaf Sports Federation?
Vanessa: In Italy, the previously existing organization responsible for deaf sports had lots of internal problems and a large debt. In the "old" organization, the same people were nearly always elected to the board each term. So it was decided to create a new organization that would involve new and young people who could bring about real change. I was contacted and asked to take part in the new Deaf Sports Federation. I agreed to jump into the new experience at an Italian level (I was working mostly for international organizations at the time) and I was elected to the new board! Additionally, while being on the board is a great honor, it is purely a voluntary job and I am not paid for it at all, unlike board members in other countries.
Karina: How were you met in the Italian Deaf Sports Federation after working with, and for, the hard of hearing? Where did you learn sign language, by the way?
Vanessa: A friend of mine knew that they were looking for new people for the "renovated" Deaf Sports Federation and he knew about my experience of working abroad. He introduced me to the Federation members. I learned sign language a while ago, when I was 19 years old. At that time, I used it to communicate with my deaf friends, although I was already involved in organizations that focused on hard of hearing people. I learned Italian Sign Language, because I am very interested in issues relating to deafness and think that it is important to learn it in order to have a full overview.
Karina: Do you think deaf organizations and hard of hearing organizations can work together?
Vanessa: Yes, I think that it is possible, but only if they want to really work with each other. Here in Italy, I see both organizations say to the public that they want to cooperate and lobby together at the Italian parliament, but in all actuality, reality shows that they just don't want to cooperate.
Karina: What was the biggest difference for you between the ways of work of the deaf and hard of hearing? Could you provide some examples?
Vanessa: Well...There are different communication styles, different group dynamics and different work methods between the deaf and hard of hearing. It depends mostly on the level of education of both deaf and hard of hearing people. If they have a good education, being "deaf" or "hard of hearing" doesn't matter so much and doesn't affect the way the group works so much.
Karina: What have been your best political and organizational activities that you took part in or organized yourself, in Italy or abroad?
Vanessa: I still cherish my memories from my experience of working as part of the Advisory Council of Youth in the Council of Europe, because before my service, no other disabled person had been part of it. I was proud to be the first to participate in the Council, and tried to do my best to raise awareness in each project, proposal, or discussion because disability is a transversal issue that must be considered in many aspects of life. While part of the Advisory Council, I represented the European Disability Forum, the body in which I am still active in the youth section.
I am also proud to have organized the 2004 bilateral youth exchange in Rome, because I did most of the work alone (applications, fundraising, organizing, etc.), with some help from a hearing friend. I still remember the feeling of realizing a commonality between the countries involved in the exchange. That brotherhood was appreciated by both countries that took part of the youth exchange.
Karina: What do you consider your biggest achievements in life?
Vanessa: That's a really complicated question. Several times throughout my life, I changed or adapted my goals, and my chosen life path has never been straight. Since I was born hearing impaired at a time when very few deaf people could succeed in obtaining the highest level of education, I had to make short-term plans year by year. I had to re-evaluate how it was going each year, and if it was possible to continue my journey in the same way. I was denied the right to have a big dream to aspire for, plan towards, because I was restricted and couldn't make long-term plans.
When I was a child, I would never have thought I would end up conducting extensive research on the genetics of deafness and that I would discover the third most frequent deafness mutation in the Spanish deaf population. And as a kid, I would never have dreamed of becoming a teacher of mathematics and science! Even now, when I meet new people and I tell them I am a teacher, I see real surprise in their faces. Their first question is always: "Oh sure, you teach deaf children?" and I always answer: "No, hearing children... Why?" Then I see people become a bit embarrassed, because they don't know what to say...
Karina: How do you understand kids at school? Through lip-reading?
Vanessa: I understand the kids at school in the same way I understand you and my friends. I lip-read, of course, but I also use hearing aids and I require silence in the class, otherwise I can't understand anything over the commotion. When two or three kids start talking at the same time, I say that I can't understand all of them at once, and if they want to continue the lesson, they have to be quiet. They know that I have hearing aids.
Sometimes they pronounce some words or new words incorrectly. So I ask them to repeat and usually distinguish the mistake, after which I correct them. Interestingly enough, a hard of hearing person like me can correct hearing children when we speak in a specific way, using the language of mathematics and science. Kids should learn new words every day, and know how to use them correctly.
Karina: What are your plans for the future?
Vanessa: I have a little dream. There are many Italian schools abroad, and in a few years, I would get certification to teach in a foreign language, so that I could teach in one of these schools spread over the world. Then I'd come back to Italy, since I like living here.
I'm content. I'm satisfied with my work in organizations, my travel around the world. I have a good job and a house, so I have a more privately focused plan now, and I would like to start a family and have children.
Karina: What would you like to say to other deaf and hard of hearing activists? What do you think deaf and hard of hearing organizations should -- or must -- work together towards?
Vanessa: I would like to see hard of hearing and deaf representatives begin to become an integral part of any kind of organization, because hearing impairment is, again, a transversal issue. We have to raise public awareness about hearing loss, which is often "invisible." Look at the numbers. One out of a thousand newborn children is born with a severe hearing impairment. This frequency is very high, but hearing loss is often "invisible" in mainstream society, and because of that, people don't feel the weight of the impact of hearing loss. It still seems to be a hidden disability. This way of thinking has very negative consequences and must change. If they work together, both deaf and hard of hearing organizations could eradicate that viewpoint.
These organizations should work together to raise awareness, to make deafness visible, to guarantee adequate education and employment. They also need to promote social acceptance, because deafness can cause isolation.
Karina: Let's end with an inspirational note for our readers. Can you share with us your favorite quote that has kept you pushing through in life?
Vanessa:
"Nobody deserves your tears, but whoever deserves them will not make you cry."
[attributed to Gabriel Garcia Marquez]
© Copyrighted material, used by permission. This article can not be copied, reproduced, or redistributed without the express written consent of the author. Author's views not necessarily those of i711.com.
