00:00No matter what the pandemic is, the deaf community is still connected to news and pop culture
00:06with the help of sign language interpreters.
00:09This is what Darlene Kai is talking about.
00:15In a small box at the corner of the television,
00:17news and information will be delivered with the help of signs.
00:25And sometimes, even a song and dance number will be brought to life.
00:30They are the interpreters of the Filipino Sign Language or FSL,
00:33a big help to the deaf community like Mark and Jessica.
00:37In the past, only places with interpreters like churches were chosen.
00:41Before, I'm very curious about the news but I don't have access.
00:46I would always ask my sister, my mom, what's happening?
00:51And then they would always reply, oh later, just later.
00:54And that would really frustrate me
00:56because I was really curious to what was going on in the world.
00:59There were no interpreters in the news programs.
01:02So when the news is gone, I don't watch it anymore.
01:05When the interpreter is gone, I would not watch TV anymore.
01:07Because of the FSL interpreters in the television and some public spaces,
01:11they are now able to be with the people who know and watch the news.
01:15There were sign language insets in the news because of the pandemic
01:20and they didn't have any access to anything.
01:24So that's when a group of interpreters decided to come together
01:28and started interpreting the news.
01:30There's more engagement.
01:31So I feel that deaf people have now a sense of being included.
01:37They're now part of the, even in the political sphere of what's going on in the Philippines.
01:44Their wish is to have more space on the screen for FSL interpreters
01:49and more public spaces where they can be seen,
01:52such as hospitals and health centers.
01:54Changes can start as well as a change of mindset.
01:58Just having that switch in mindset, in our perception of who they are,
02:04it gives them that opening to get into so many different things,
02:08like in terms of connecting on a personal level
02:10and also giving them opportunities for work and livelihood and access
02:14and all that kind of stuff as well.
02:17Giving a voice to those who can't speak or hear
02:20is a sign of a big change and an equal view of society.
02:26For GMA Integrated News, I'm Darlene Tai,
02:29for Tutok, 24 Hours.
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