Annotations for Participant مشارك: Hassan

My name sign is this. My name is Al-Hassan.

I was born in Alexandria.

Where? In Al-Shatby by the university there.

You know by the big dome?

Yes, I was born and grew up there.

But my parents and ancestors are from the Bahari (seaside) neighborhood.

I'm 51. I was born in 1973 during the war in Anwar El-Sadat's presidency.

There are 4 hearing people in my family. No other Deaf people. I'm the only one. No others.

I'm originally Deaf and at first my school was here in the Deaf Association in Mansheyya, but then when I heard that it shut down I moved.

At first, he and I were together [in school], before no. I was new.

Back in high school, all of this (the association) wasn't here. It was new, I was one of the first here.

Of course we benefit from the school. There are good teachers and some not so good. There were two very exacting teachers-- he got a good one, I didn't, and we were in separate classes.

Wait a second, I want to say something more. Now, there are Deaf people who have new teachers and don't learn anything! They don't know how to read and write like us. None of them [the teachers] have experience and all they care about is getting their paycheck.

It's because, there's blame-- the place that has things done right is here in the Association, or in the Asdaa Association too, there's real education there but not at the Al-Amal School for the Deaf.

All they had us do was copy what was on the board into our notebooks without us knowing what any of it meant. There were no questions or anything.

My brain stopped.

When I received the Certificate of Merit I went to a great company but everything was "forbidden, forbidden" and they just ushered me out unceremoniously. Some places are like that.

But Deaf people are skilled and focused workers. That's how we are!

I have a question. So before, I worked as a chef in a hotel.

I was working well but I couldn't write that well.

But I was able to finish tasks quickly and efficiently.

There's differences.

Someone can have no degree but still be a great worker.

His group was good at writing, but my group, we were failures. At 8 years, we got a new guy, I was afraid of being punished by him. He's passed away now, may he rest in peace.

After year 7 I was put into the good class with him.

I was scared switching classes, or we all were, because I was illiterate, but he would help me with writing and with tests.

When I made a mistake, I would get my hand hit 10 times as a punishment.

This demanding teacher was one of a kind, there's no one like her in the whole world.

That's fate.

My family and I, we communicate with kindness and understand each other, but some other deaf people from other associations sign differently and we don't understand it.

I used to sign "heavily" [with difficulty], and then I came to the association and practiced and now I'm strong signer so I thank the Association.