158 Deaf Epistemologies, Identity, and Learning
Other participants bring up ideas for possible cooperation in the future. A board
member of the Antwerp deaf children's club discusses this further with Elif, a young
deaf migrant educatior:boArd member: I know we now have a lot of deaf children from migrant families
and I would like to provide further information to these parents about our
activities. Perhaps we could organize that on a Wednesday afternoon, in part-
nership with deaf schools.
elif: You talk about language differences and communication barriers. How
would you like to come into contact with these parents?
boArd member: Yes, we would need to use an interpreter. We have no experience
with that, but the school knows how.
youssef (To elif): You know that it would be possible for us to distribute infor-
mation among the community and invite people to come.
Goedele: If you are thinking of doing an activity, perhaps you could also involve
Youssef, since parents may find it easier to relate to him and they would see that
he’s a member of the club.
youssef: Yeah.
I followed up on this topic after Flemish Deaf Parliament with Elif, who is currently
one of the few deaf migrant educators in Flanders and has a lot of experience work-
ing with young deaf migrants and their families:elif: Barriers may be experienced in evening activities as they are currently
organized by Flemish youth clubs, as these include alcohol and mixed gender
groups. It would be great to have afternoon events, for example tea, for young
deaf migrants. It is vital for their families to be able to meet deaf migrant adult
role models and share experiences in raising their children. When I meet fam-
ilies of students, I often receive many questions on how I live, what I am doing
for work, etc. We share the same background, which makes it easier for parents
to open up. Then I am able to explain about deaf clubs in Flanders, their activ-
ities, deaf culture, etc. Many parents are not familiar with this information. It
is also easier for young deaf people to share their experiences; I noticed that,
for example when things happen at home, these may easily be dramatized or
judged by other educators, while it is easy for me to understand and relate to
their home experiences. There is a lot of diversity within migrant communi-
ties, even within the Muslim community. I think it is a drawback that there
are currently no organized initiatives for migrant deaf youth to participate in,
which makes them vulnerable to questionable mainstream organizations or
even gangs. Flemish deaf cultural practice is taught from a Western perspective;
information about different migrant perspectives should be available in the
educational context, and young people should be supported in their identity
formation, which includes diverse worlds.