Deaf Niche A Refugee’s Integration into the UK
We all hear about the refugees that are trying to get in in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom, and how they are escaping from ISIS. However, we tend to only see them as numbers. We see the number increasing, more people “invading” Europe. What we don’t understand is why they keep going. After all, with so many deaths in the Mediterranean Sea and refugees who are homeless, they just keep going. What’s in their heads?
If you imagine yourself as a refugee from Syria or Iraq, you can easily understand the reason. They just want the best for their sons and daughters. How can they raise a child in the middle of a war? There’s no way they can succeed and have a good life. It doesn’t matter if they lose everything they have, as long as there’s hope for a better life for their children.
This is exactly the story of Lawand, an Iraq refugee who ran with his family – his parents and an older brother – from his country. Lawand’s family is just like all other families, they want the best for their boys. When you take a closer look at Lawand’s history, you’ll understand why.
Lawand is deaf and he has been using a cochlear implant since he was 18 months old. ISIS has been and is continuously ordering that disabled children should be killed since 2015, Lawand’s family knew and decided it was time to go.
They faced many problems during their journey escaping from Iraq. No one can ever imagine what these people go through during this kind of exodus. We tend to only think about adults and forget about the children who are even more scared.
Lawand’s family made it into the United Kingdom, where they managed to sneak in. They currently live in a camp in Dunkirk and they were able to put Lawand in the Royal School for the Deaf.
This 6-year old boy had his first day on a school in a completely different country, with people who couldn’t understand a word he says and other pupils trying to establish a way to communicate with him.
He is working through it with the best he has and is doing much better than he ever would have in Iraq. After all, he had to deal with much more serious problems to enter in the UK.
Lawand had to go through several tests to make sure he was able to start communicating with others and that there were no other disabilities than deafness. The results were finally delivered and there is hope for Lawand and his family: he might be able to communicate in just one year. Even with the good news, Lawand’s family can’t rest. After all, they don’t know if and how they’ll manage to remain in the UK, or for how long.
One thing is for sure: families are all the same, no matter where you are born. And Lawand’s family is definitely proving it.
