A sign language interpreter translates a speech by caretaker Information Minister Ziad Makari during a news broadcast on Tele Liban, May 17, 2024. (Credit: Screenshot Tele Liban)
On Friday evening, Tele Liban, Lebanon's public television channel, launched its first news bulletin in sign language, integrated into the 7:30 p.m. news broadcast.
Developed by caretaker Information Minister Ziad Makari, the initiative was financed by the Makassed Islamic Charity Association, chaired by Fayçal Sinno, with the aim of "supporting public television and the sign language bulletin," the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.
The launch comes after a particularly difficult year for the public broadcaster, which has been plagued by staff strikes to demanded improved salaries against a backdrop of the unprecedented financial crisis in the country which brought with it the record collapse of the Lebanese lira.
The Lebanese Federation for the Deaf lauded the launch of the project on its Facebook page. "Finally, news in sign language for the deaf," the federation wrote, referring the bulletin as "an achievement." It also pointed out that the translators who work with Tele Liban are also deaf people and invited other local channels to introduce sign language translation to their newscasts. Sign language is still not commonplace on local TV channels.
A 2022 scientific study published in the International Journal of Otorhinolarygology found that deaf and hard-of-hearing people in Lebanon suffer from significant difficulties in communicating and accessing information and education, preventing them from participating fully in the various sectors of public life. These obstacles are mainly due to the fact that there is not just one sign language in Lebanon but several, depending on the educational establishment. It was not immediately clear in which sign language Friday evening's news bulletin was given on Tele Liban, and whether it would henceforth be translated on a daily basis.
Launching the project, Makari emphasized "the need for institutions to be more human and closer to people, especially those with special needs such as the deaf." He pointed out that the initiative comes at a time when the country is going through a particularly delicate period. "What we have achieved is a pressing need for part of society, with some 12,000 to 13,000 people now able to follow the news on Tele Liban in sign language," he added.
A 3 percent hiring quota
The minister also paid tribute to "the Makassed association, which helped Tele Liban." This assistance, he added, includes both necessary equipment for the sign-language broadcast and interpreters' salaries. Two non-hearing sign language interpreters will be joining the Tele Liban team. "We hope that more sign language interpreters will join the initiative," the minister added, pointing out that Lebanese law requires companies to uphold a hiring quota of 3 percent people with disabilities. According to the above-mentioned study, this quota is rarely met.
Tele Liban is the country's only public television channel. Since 2019, the start of the economic and financial crisis affecting the country, its employees have repeatedly taken strike action, demanding wage adjustments. Civil service salaries have lost over 90 percent of their value since the collapse of the Lebanese lira against the US dollar began in 2019.
Referring to the Makassed's commitment to the education of people with special needs, the president of the Makassed association, Fayçal Sinno, noted that 10 percent of the team working with each establishment linked to the charity is comprised of people with special needs. He also stressed the need to "develop and improve sign language in Lebanon to facilitate communication with disabled people."
Tele Liban was founded in the late 1950s. Initially, the channel was wholly owned by two private companies, Compagnie libanaise de télévision (CLT) (channels 7 and 9) and Télé-Orient (channels 5 and 11), before merging in 1978 under an agreement that provided for an equal division of ownership between the public and private sectors. In 1996, the state bought out the private sector's shares, and since then the channel has been wholly state-owned.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.