MUSCAT: The Sultanate of Oman joined the countries world over in the celebration of the International Day of Sign Language under the slogan ‘Sign Language unites us’.

Globally, the number of hearing impaired is about 70 million and 80% of them live in developing countries, and they use more than 300 sign languages, according to the statistics of the World Federation of the Deaf.

There is also an international sign language that the deaf use in international meetings and during their travels and social activities. It is a simplified form of sign language with a limited linguistic lexicon, not as complex as natural sign languages.

Yahya bin Muhammad Al Barashdi, Director of the Omani Association for Persons with Hearing Disabilities, said: “Our most important goal is to spread awareness to all of the importance of sign language to support and support persons with hearing disabilities, and language learning is the first way to communicate to create an equal society, and this is reflected significantly on the performance and interaction of persons with disabilities.”

Al-Barashdi added that his Association is keen to highlight people with hearing disabilities in various forums and develop their talents by highlighting them through various programs, and has future plans to highlight them in the media more widely.

The International Day of Sign Language was celebrated for the first time in 2018, and it reminds the government and private institutions to include sign language in their awareness publications, warning instructions, etc., and for individuals to learn the basics of sign language to achieve the easy integration of the deaf into society.

Muhammad bin Khamis Al-Harbi, Director of Al-Amal School for the Deaf, explained that the role of the Ministry of Education in rehabilitating deaf students practically, technically and educationally is to provide educational service and provide deaf students with skills that suit their abilities and level of achievement through the school’s vocational guidance department and integrating deaf students within the social framework of the community. Events and exhibitions in which higher education and the labour market participate, and to enlighten the families of students with hearing disabilities about the programs announced by the government and private institutions related to vocational training and register students according to the appropriate programs.

On the challenges facing the deaf category and how to overcome them, a student Al-Moayad bin Muhammad al-Siyabi stated that the lack of public awareness of the capabilities and abilities of the deaf is an obstacle to understanding the deaf and the lack of acceptance by some of them and contributes significantly to increasing the psychological and social complexes of the student, and the scarcity of the labor market for the deaf category adds to their woes.