The Deaf of Tunisia
There may be about 32,000,000 deaf people living in the world today, depending on how the term is defined. There are 60,000 deaf people living in the country of Tunisia.
Deaf people live in all provinces in Tunisia. They are not grouped in any particular region or city.
The deaf in Tunisia can be divided into three groups, the slightly deaf, moderately deaf, and severely deaf. Those who are slightly and moderately deaf can use devices that help them hear and speak. As for the severely deaf, they can only communicate with sign language. Sign language is not common to those outside Tunisia’s deaf society.
Associations are emerging in many cities throughout the country that teach sign language. The deaf can find community in these places, though transport can be challenging for those who live very far from the nearest association. The deaf have virtually no career options and it very difficult to find anyone willing to hire them. Most deaf people have no options for marriage.
There is a village in the region of Nabeul (northern Tunisia) that is entirely deaf. About 500 people call this place home. The village became entirely deaf through generations of intermarriage. The former dictator, Ben Ali, took advantage of these people by putting wind turbines on their land and gave them no financial reimbursement for it. As a result, the only way these people have found to survive is through fishing.
Tunisia is virtually all Muslim. Muslims follow the teaching of Muhammad, who lived in the 6-7th centuries in Saudi Arabia. They believe in one God, whom they call Allah (Arabic for “the God”). At judgment day, all people will be judged for their deeds and, if their good works outweigh their bad, then Allah will welcome them into paradise. If not, then they will be sentenced to eternal hell. In order to obtain salvation, they must follow the five pillars of Islam: prayer five times a day, fasting from dawn to dusk during the month of Ramadan, giving to the poor, and, if possible, a pilgrimage to Mecca, to be done at least once in their lifetime (Hajj). Regarding Jesus, they believe that he was a prophet, but that his teachings are inferior to those of Muhammad.
Many hearing people tend to think the deaf are not very intelligent because of the communication barriers, as well as the speech patterns deaf exhibit. Many deaf people feel hearing people oppress them and purposely withhold information from them. There is very little “mixing” of the core deaf community with the hearing community. The difficulty with being deaf is not the inability to hear, but the great barrier to communicating with the surrounding dominant culture, especially as related to acquiring information. The great barrier to communication is also a barrier for the Deaf in Tunisia to gain access to the Gospel. This population especially needs resources that will get the Gospel to them in Tunisian Sign Language.
- Pray that God gives the Deaf in Tunisia dreams and visions leading them to Jesus Christ.
- Pray that Tunisian Christians will find ways of leading the Tunisian Deaf to Jesus Christ.
| Current Engagement | |
|---|---|
| Apostolic Effort in Residence |  |
| Commitment to Work in Local Language | |
| Commitment to Long-term Ministry | |
| Sowing with CPM Vision | |
How can YOU assist the engagement of the Deaf of Tunisia?
| Current Engagement | |
|---|---|
| Apostolic Effort in Residence |
|
| Commitment to Work in Local Language |
|
| Commitment to Long-term Ministry |
|
| Sowing with CPM Vision |
|
How can YOU assist the engagement of the Deaf of Tunisia?
The Deaf of Tunisia
There may be about 32,000,000 deaf people living in the world today, depending on how the term is defined. There are 60,000 deaf people living in the country of Tunisia.
Deaf people live in all provinces in Tunisia. They are not grouped in any particular region or city.
The deaf in Tunisia can be divided into three groups, the slightly deaf, moderately deaf, and severely deaf. Those who are slightly and moderately deaf can use devices that help them hear and speak. As for the severely deaf, they can only communicate with sign language. Sign language is not common to those outside Tunisia’s deaf society.
Associations are emerging in many cities throughout the country that teach sign language. The deaf can find community in these places, though transport can be challenging for those who live very far from the nearest association. The deaf have virtually no career options and it very difficult to find anyone willing to hire them. Most deaf people have no options for marriage.
There is a village in the region of Nabeul (northern Tunisia) that is entirely deaf. About 500 people call this place home. The village became entirely deaf through generations of intermarriage. The former dictator, Ben Ali, took advantage of these people by putting wind turbines on their land and gave them no financial reimbursement for it. As a result, the only way these people have found to survive is through fishing.
Tunisia is virtually all Muslim. Muslims follow the teaching of Muhammad, who lived in the 6-7th centuries in Saudi Arabia. They believe in one God, whom they call Allah (Arabic for “the God”). At judgment day, all people will be judged for their deeds and, if their good works outweigh their bad, then Allah will welcome them into paradise. If not, then they will be sentenced to eternal hell. In order to obtain salvation, they must follow the five pillars of Islam: prayer five times a day, fasting from dawn to dusk during the month of Ramadan, giving to the poor, and, if possible, a pilgrimage to Mecca, to be done at least once in their lifetime (Hajj). Regarding Jesus, they believe that he was a prophet, but that his teachings are inferior to those of Muhammad.
Many hearing people tend to think the deaf are not very intelligent because of the communication barriers, as well as the speech patterns deaf exhibit. Many deaf people feel hearing people oppress them and purposely withhold information from them. There is very little “mixing” of the core deaf community with the hearing community. The difficulty with being deaf is not the inability to hear, but the great barrier to communicating with the surrounding dominant culture, especially as related to acquiring information. The great barrier to communication is also a barrier for the Deaf in Tunisia to gain access to the Gospel. This population especially needs resources that will get the Gospel to them in Tunisian Sign Language.
- Pray that God gives the Deaf in Tunisia dreams and visions leading them to Jesus Christ.
- Pray that Tunisian Christians will find ways of leading the Tunisian Deaf to Jesus Christ.
