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[ Text Only: Homepage ]
[ Graphical: Channel4 Homepage ]
Presenters: Ahmed
| Nikki | Rebecca
Survivor's guide: Ashton
| Elizabeth | Gavin
Researchers: Caroline | Melissa | Lydia | Samantha
What did you have for breakfast this morning?
Not including the five cups of coffee and three cigarettes, I managed to down a cheese-and-ham roll (I was in Sweden and had a plane to catch!).
Tell us a little about your education.
I went to Sir Winston Churchill School in Woodford. After that, I attended Mill Hall and then Mary Hare. I stayed there for five years, then left for Redbridge college to embrace the wonders of sign language in education. After two years I left my London roots for UCLAN (University of Central Lancashire, Preston) where I still am now – a second-year deaf studies student!
What do you like most about VEE-TV?
It gives us the feel that it's cool to be deaf. VEE-TV emphasises the social model of deafness and looks at deaf people for who they are, not for what they are. Also the programme is very broad: it looks at various things linked to deaf people, not just deafness itself.
What do you do when you're not working for VEE-TV – for money and for pleasure?
I sample the delights of university life! I love travelling and meeting people, the international deaf world.
Had you always wanted to work in the media?
Yeah, since school! I studied and loved media studies GCSE at Mary Hare and got an A*. This is my first job in the media.
What do you think is the most important issue facing the Deaf community at the moment?
Normalisation – people try to change deaf people and make them 'hearing'. The containment of sign language and the technological enhancement of hearing are killing Deaf culture slowly. We need to be accepted for who we are: deaf sign-language users.
What are your ambitions?
To get out of England as soon as possible and travel the world! I want to work in the international Deaf world but don't know exactly what kind of job... maybe as a relay interpreter or to work in political/activist environments.
Who's your hero or biggest influence?
My friends are my biggest influence! If I had to pick a hero, I would say anyone who has ever stood up for their rights and pursued them in difficult circumstances and still managed to hold on – Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Jean Francis Mercurio, Greg Hlibok / Tim Raurus / Bridgetta Bourne / Jerry Covell ... the list goes on, there are so many!
Can you recommend something that you really enjoyed recently – book, show, film, website, whatever?
The Harry Potter books, without a doubt!
What's your perfect day?
To stay in bed all day with some beautiful women. Then go to a party.