Deafroots

About this film

Deafroots brought together a community group for this session whom we met for the first time. The Deaf women shared their experiences of how they had arrived in East London. Most of them were not born there but had lived in the area for many years. They are all part of a deaf community organisation called Deafroots in which they find a sense of belonging, identity, friendship, and a place where they can share their cultural experiences. The Deaf women communicated mostly through BSL but also used signs from their own cultures and languages that they had kept. There are cultural and regional variations within all sign languages, and only when you meet and spend time with one of the many diverse communities can you mould yourself into their world. You need to gain insight into and awareness of the differences and similarities in a culture to understand the people.  

The Deaf ethnic women shared how they have lived in times past, how they grew up, and whether they were educated or not. Most of them had very limited access to education which has resulted in them having limited reading and writing skills. Art, on the other hand, opened up many memories and prompted them to reflect on their journeys. They shared their stories with me, telling me about how things changed for them after marriage, employment, and the impact of the struggle to find work and build social purpose on their wellbeing. Yet they continued to share that being in East London has allowed them to find a community and a safe space to engage in and opportunities to take part in training like this provides them with community and support. They clearly trust each other and enjoy being in a space where there is a likeness of shared experiences. Sharing in this way means they feel less isolated and are given a sense of self-worth. The deaf women made it clear that without a local Deaf community or organisation they would not have been able to find their own voices in the community.