A young woman is winning hearts in Egypt with her translations of famous songs into sign language.
Sarrah El'Gohariiy was taken aback by the positive response when she first uploaded a clip of her signing along to a track. She says that, prior to watching her, people thought that sign language was complex and inaccessible, and that learning it was not desirable. Producing video after video for her 57,000 Facebook followers, Sarrah has steadfastly proved that this is not the case.
Her videos include, “Arsam Qalb” by Mustafa Majdi Yacoub, which was an advert in Egypt, and a song about Syria, “‘Aish Sakar Watan” (below).
The child of two deaf parents, the youngster learnt sign language growing up. Tragically, her father died three years ago due to medical neglect, when the hospital treating him failed to provide a translator.
Sarrah was able to defy this adversity to implement an initiative to encourage people to learn sign language, with the purpose of developing communication with deaf people. The “Come Closer to Me I’m Deaf” campaign aims to improve interaction with the deaf community, and push for their integration into wider society.
The young activist has also opened a Youtube channel called Deaf TV, which is the only one of its kind in the Middle East. Here, Sarrah explains the letters of the alphabet in sign language:
Sarrah has become somewhat of a social media star, with many on Facebook expressing support for her initiatives:
This is really beautiful, may God grant her wellness
Really beautiful, may God preserve you.
Over 11 million people in the Middle East are living with disabling hearing loss. In Egypt, many cannot afford support and are constrained to their homes by the shame attached to disability. Inspiring individuals like Sarrah offer them hope and support.
RA
