I have heard of a foregin country named Mongolia little bit. That's where Chinese people living in. It's a small and poor country. It's also the land of Genghis Kahn. The situation there is having a hardship and trying to build up improvements. Otherwise, I learned what happened to the disability culture there. It sounds sad. This i711 online article writer had an interesting interview with a hard of hearing Mongolian woman named Tuya Mijiddorj for discussing disability culture there. She works for organizations as being an officer. See an online article about her below:
December 12, 2007
Let's admit it, for many of us Mongolia is a byword for all things remote. What do you think of when you hear the name of this world's second-largest landlocked country after Kazakhstan? Of the Gobi Desert, steppes, and dinosaurs? Ghengis-Khan's heritage? Its nomadic past and present? Or its communist regime under the Soviet Union and the fall of communism in 1990? I think first of all about the book that I was given in my childhood: it told about adventures of archaeologists in Gobi desert who headed there in search of dinosaur traces. This book was one of my favourites.
Last week, a friend of mine introduced me to Tuya Mijiddorj from Mongolia, young woman with a hearing loss who is active in the country's disability movement. I could not resist my professional and personal curiosity to ask her a few questions - answers to which will provide us with a small window into the world Tuya lives in.
And, let me tell you, after the interview I started looking for more information about Mongolia to connect the pieces of all information I had. Hope you will do the same!
Karina:Please tell us about yourself, your education, age?
Tuya: I am thirty three years old. Since the time that I lost my hearing, I didn't want to study in my high school anymore because I was ashamed of my peers. That's why I entered the Vocational Training Centre and majored as a technologist-tailor. After that, I worked for about 10 years in a sewing factory and its heavy noise worsened my hearing even more. When I quit my job, my chief wanted me to stay there as a designer, but I refused due to my health condition.
Karina:What made you become involved in the disability movement?
Tuya:When I worked in sewing factories I used to think: "What are other people with disabilities like? How do they struggle for living? How can I contact them?" and so on.
After quitting my job I went to learn Chinese because I used to work with Chinese technologists and I can read Chinese a bit. You know that the people like us can receive important information only through text. My Chinese teacher worked in the training centre of the Mongolian National Federation of the Disabled Persons' Organizations and he advised me to get a lesson together with other people with disabilities. Since then, I knew where it was and how it worked, and I was also introduced to its staff while participating in the training.
At that time, the universities used to reject students with disabilities in their curriculum, so I learned English myself. I've always had a strong desire to learn IT and foreign languages, but it was hard because of my hearing loss. Since August 2007, I have been working as an officer of Foreign Relation Division of the Mongolian National Federation of Disabled Persons' Organizations.
And I'm also studying in high school in order to fulfill my old dreams. After I quit my secondary school, I have always dreamed of completing my school education. I really know what the Mongolian hard of hearing youth dream about. That's why I want to help other people with disabilities to achieve their dreams and goals.
Karina:How many people with disabilities are there in Mongolia?
Tuya:There are about 115,000 people with disabilities in Mongolia and it is 4.8% of total population while 80 % of people with disabilities are living below the poverty line. It's sad to say this, but it's true. It shows that there is still a lot of work in front of us.
Karina:What's the attitude of the society to people with disabilities in Mongolia?
Tuya:You know that since ancient times people with disabilities were treated negatively. Most Mongolians used to live with their family members and take care of the elderly and disabled. But the transition from socialism to a market economy has opened up new opportunities in terms of economic, social and cultural rights; on the other hand, it brought hardships for people with disabilities and many families. They have been facing difficulties such as low income and unemployment.
Karina:What state structures are responsible for people with disabilities in Mongolia? How do they work and what do you think of their work?
Tuya:The ministry of Social Welfare & Labor is responsible for persons with disabilities. The National federation collaborated with them on the basis of contract. But I think our future depends only on ourselves. In recent years, we had a lot of success and we have been also facing some difficulties.
Karina:How many organizations are there for disabled people in Mongolia? Are there organizations for the deaf?
Tuya:There are over 60 organizations of disabled people that were registered in the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs in Mongolia. For the deaf, there is the Mongolian Deaf Association and the Mongolian Association of Deaf Youth. But I think there is still no organization to train hard of hearing youth who have difficulties in accessing information adequately and are behind the times. This was the main reason for me to get involved with the disability movement.
Karina: Are there any deaf people who are popular in Mongolia?
Tuya: Yes, there are many popular deaf people, especially women in Mongolia. For example: Mrs. Saranchimeg has a hearing loss and works as sign language translator for Mongolian National Television. She also works as a teacher in the Mongolian National Rehabilitation Centre. Mrs. Otgonbayar is deaf woman and is a good dancer. She graduated from the College of Art and Culture. She is now working as a chairwoman of Mongolian Federation Deaf Culture & Art.
Karina:Does the disability movement have role models with disabilities who they want to follow?
Tuya:I think I surely know him. He's a doctor of technical science and works as the president of Mongolian National Federation of Disabled Persons' Organizations. He had a car accident 15 years ago and injured his back. After the accident, he had not been able to recover fully till now; sometimes he wouldn't sleep because of his illness. I heard this from his daughter who works as a head of our foreign relation division as a volunteer. 44 organizations related to disabled persons joined the Federation and it is the umbrella organization which can influence the government.
Karina:Are deaf/ hard of hearing and disabled people provided benefits by the government? What are the benefits, exactly? How do you get hearing aids? Do you have a hearing aid manufacturer in Mongolia?
Tuya:All types of people with disabilities are provided by benefits from the government. They receive pension from the Social Welfare Agency and it is approx. 30,000-50,000 tug in a month, this is a minimum (US$1.00 is about 1,100tug). It's possible to study in a university free of charge if people with disabilities can pass the entrance exams. Some of us received hearing aids for free from Social Welfare Agency. Mongolia is a developing country and there are no hearing aid or cochlear implant manufacturers in Mongolia. If they want these, they need go to foreign country. As for me, I bought hearing aids on my own. They are Widex brand.
Karina: What would you want to tell people in the US about people with disabilities and deaf people in Mongolia?
Tuya:I always thought that US is symbol of freedom and equality. I never was in the US, so it's kind of a hard question for me. Maybe, I'd participate on behalf of Mongolian hard of hearing youth in Hawaii Pacific Rim Conference in April, 2008. So I'd like to reply to your question then (smiles).
SOME FACTS ABOUT MONGOLIA:
Location: Northern Asia, between China and Russia
Area: 1,564,116 square km
Area-comparative: slightly smaller than Alaska
Climate: desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges)
Natural resources: oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron
Population: 2,9 mln
Ethnic groups: Mongol (mostly Khalkha) 94.9%, Turkic (mostly Kazakh) 5%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 0.1%
Religion: Buddhist Lamaist 50%, Shamanist and Christian 6%, Muslim 4%, none 40%
See a link of an info about this foreign country below:
Mongolia
Last week, a friend of mine introduced me to Tuya Mijiddorj from Mongolia, young woman with a hearing loss who is active in the country's disability movement. I could not resist my professional and personal curiosity to ask her a few questions - answers to which will provide us with a small window into the world Tuya lives in.
And, let me tell you, after the interview I started looking for more information about Mongolia to connect the pieces of all information I had. Hope you will do the same!
Karina:Please tell us about yourself, your education, age?
Tuya: I am thirty three years old. Since the time that I lost my hearing, I didn't want to study in my high school anymore because I was ashamed of my peers. That's why I entered the Vocational Training Centre and majored as a technologist-tailor. After that, I worked for about 10 years in a sewing factory and its heavy noise worsened my hearing even more. When I quit my job, my chief wanted me to stay there as a designer, but I refused due to my health condition.
Karina:What made you become involved in the disability movement?
Tuya:When I worked in sewing factories I used to think: "What are other people with disabilities like? How do they struggle for living? How can I contact them?" and so on.
After quitting my job I went to learn Chinese because I used to work with Chinese technologists and I can read Chinese a bit. You know that the people like us can receive important information only through text. My Chinese teacher worked in the training centre of the Mongolian National Federation of the Disabled Persons' Organizations and he advised me to get a lesson together with other people with disabilities. Since then, I knew where it was and how it worked, and I was also introduced to its staff while participating in the training.
At that time, the universities used to reject students with disabilities in their curriculum, so I learned English myself. I've always had a strong desire to learn IT and foreign languages, but it was hard because of my hearing loss. Since August 2007, I have been working as an officer of Foreign Relation Division of the Mongolian National Federation of Disabled Persons' Organizations.
And I'm also studying in high school in order to fulfill my old dreams. After I quit my secondary school, I have always dreamed of completing my school education. I really know what the Mongolian hard of hearing youth dream about. That's why I want to help other people with disabilities to achieve their dreams and goals.
Karina:How many people with disabilities are there in Mongolia?
Tuya:There are about 115,000 people with disabilities in Mongolia and it is 4.8% of total population while 80 % of people with disabilities are living below the poverty line. It's sad to say this, but it's true. It shows that there is still a lot of work in front of us.
Karina:What's the attitude of the society to people with disabilities in Mongolia?
Tuya:You know that since ancient times people with disabilities were treated negatively. Most Mongolians used to live with their family members and take care of the elderly and disabled. But the transition from socialism to a market economy has opened up new opportunities in terms of economic, social and cultural rights; on the other hand, it brought hardships for people with disabilities and many families. They have been facing difficulties such as low income and unemployment.
Karina:What state structures are responsible for people with disabilities in Mongolia? How do they work and what do you think of their work?
Tuya:The ministry of Social Welfare & Labor is responsible for persons with disabilities. The National federation collaborated with them on the basis of contract. But I think our future depends only on ourselves. In recent years, we had a lot of success and we have been also facing some difficulties.
Karina:How many organizations are there for disabled people in Mongolia? Are there organizations for the deaf?
Tuya:There are over 60 organizations of disabled people that were registered in the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs in Mongolia. For the deaf, there is the Mongolian Deaf Association and the Mongolian Association of Deaf Youth. But I think there is still no organization to train hard of hearing youth who have difficulties in accessing information adequately and are behind the times. This was the main reason for me to get involved with the disability movement.
Karina: Are there any deaf people who are popular in Mongolia?
Tuya: Yes, there are many popular deaf people, especially women in Mongolia. For example: Mrs. Saranchimeg has a hearing loss and works as sign language translator for Mongolian National Television. She also works as a teacher in the Mongolian National Rehabilitation Centre. Mrs. Otgonbayar is deaf woman and is a good dancer. She graduated from the College of Art and Culture. She is now working as a chairwoman of Mongolian Federation Deaf Culture & Art.
Karina:Does the disability movement have role models with disabilities who they want to follow?
Tuya:I think I surely know him. He's a doctor of technical science and works as the president of Mongolian National Federation of Disabled Persons' Organizations. He had a car accident 15 years ago and injured his back. After the accident, he had not been able to recover fully till now; sometimes he wouldn't sleep because of his illness. I heard this from his daughter who works as a head of our foreign relation division as a volunteer. 44 organizations related to disabled persons joined the Federation and it is the umbrella organization which can influence the government.
Karina:Are deaf/ hard of hearing and disabled people provided benefits by the government? What are the benefits, exactly? How do you get hearing aids? Do you have a hearing aid manufacturer in Mongolia?
Tuya:All types of people with disabilities are provided by benefits from the government. They receive pension from the Social Welfare Agency and it is approx. 30,000-50,000 tug in a month, this is a minimum (US$1.00 is about 1,100tug). It's possible to study in a university free of charge if people with disabilities can pass the entrance exams. Some of us received hearing aids for free from Social Welfare Agency. Mongolia is a developing country and there are no hearing aid or cochlear implant manufacturers in Mongolia. If they want these, they need go to foreign country. As for me, I bought hearing aids on my own. They are Widex brand.
Karina: What would you want to tell people in the US about people with disabilities and deaf people in Mongolia?
Tuya:I always thought that US is symbol of freedom and equality. I never was in the US, so it's kind of a hard question for me. Maybe, I'd participate on behalf of Mongolian hard of hearing youth in Hawaii Pacific Rim Conference in April, 2008. So I'd like to reply to your question then (smiles).
SOME FACTS ABOUT MONGOLIA:
Location: Northern Asia, between China and Russia
Area: 1,564,116 square km
Area-comparative: slightly smaller than Alaska
Climate: desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges)
Natural resources: oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron
Population: 2,9 mln
Ethnic groups: Mongol (mostly Khalkha) 94.9%, Turkic (mostly Kazakh) 5%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 0.1%
Religion: Buddhist Lamaist 50%, Shamanist and Christian 6%, Muslim 4%, none 40%
See a link of an info about this foreign country below:
Mongolia
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