Deaf man moved to tears after entire neighborhood learns sign language to 'talk' to him

'A world without barriers is our dream.'

Muharrem was unwittingly placed at the centre of an elaborate stunt in which he was secretly filmed encountering a host of strangers in a series of staged meetings through Istanbul.

The footage begins with him setting out for the day with his sister Ozlem, who is in on the set-up.

Before long, Muharrem is taken aback when he encounters a stranger who signs 'good morning' to him.

His surprise only intensifies when, on a visit to his local food store, the shopkeeper offers him 'hot bagels' through hand signals.

Another encounter involves a stranger dropping a bag of fruit.

When Muharrem helps pick them up, the man uses sign language to offer him an apple as a thank you.

Yes it is a Samsung idea, but it wondrous! When I was in the 5th grade in California, I went to a Hearing impaired/Hearing school. Half the kids had hearing problems, half the kids had no hearing damage. All children were required to take sign language classes upon entering the school so you could communicate with your classmates without requiring an interpreter. I LOVED that school. I excelled at sign language so much, I even signed up for chorus. Some 30-odd years later, I still remember quite a bit of it and have used it in daily life. When I was a cashier, if someone handed me a note stating they were deaf and needed this, this, this, and that, I would sign to them letting them know the note was unnecessary. The surprise and glee on their face was wonderful to see knowing someone spoke their language. When we thought our daughter would be deaf because of IV antibiotics, I began teaching my daughter lip reading and sign language. She still remembers some words to this day, even though she never went deaf. I am going deaf now, due to Meniere's, but when that happens, I have sign language to fall back on. I, personally, feel everyone should learn sign language because you honestly never know when you may need it. I've used it more times than I care to count. There is a world of deaf community out there waiting to be communicated with, take the time to learn today!

P.S. For those that do not know, the deaf community does not clap in the traditional sense. They raise their hands and shake them. So in the video towards the end, everyone, including the deaf man, raising their hands up by their heads and shaking them, are "clapping".

For anyone interested in learning more

When I was in college years ago I wanted to take a sign language class for my foreign language... School looked at me like I'd grown an arm out of my back.

I've still managed to pick up a little, it's something I always wanted to learn because working at a theme park as a teenager, I always felt badly that I couldn't communicate with deaf people.

Hopefully I'll fulfill that dream soon.

originally posted by: Irishhaf
When I was in college years ago I wanted to take a sign language class for my foreign language... School looked at me like I'd grown an arm out of my back.

I've still managed to pick up a little, it's something I always wanted to learn because working at a theme park as a teenager, I always felt badly that I couldn't communicate with deaf people.

Hopefully I'll fulfill that dream soon.

You can always take a few videos online, at least until you can take a class that is. It's not that hard to learn once you get the hang of it.

a reply to: Anyafaj

Your title should carry a 'wimp' warning
I teared up just reading the subject line..

originally posted by: Borisbanger
a reply to: Anyafaj

Your title should carry a 'wimp' warning
I teared up just reading the subject line..

Aww, thank you.

Wheres the tissues?
Wonderful.

Touching, but remember they're a corporation simply commoditising your feelings. To them, everything is for sale. They don't have feelings, but they will happily trade in yours.

originally posted by: Pinke
Touching, but remember they're a corporation simply commoditising your feelings. To them, everything is for sale. They don't have feelings, but they will happily trade in yours.

Yes that is definitely true, but in the meantime, this one whole town in Istanbul now knows sign language for one deaf individual. I think it's a monumentous occasion and something more towns in the US should do as well! Regardless that it was originally for a commercial, they now know how to speak to their neighbor, using HIS language, rather than he having to write notes to speak to them. I find that uplifting!

a reply to: Pinke

Touching, but remember they're a corporation simply commoditising your feelings. To them, everything is for sale. They don't have feelings, but they will happily trade in yours.

That realization towards the end of the film left me uncomfortable.
In fact I made a mental note to avoid the company and their products in the future.
Cant imagine I am alone -

originally posted by: Pinke
Touching, but remember they're a corporation simply commoditising your feelings. To them, everything is for sale. They don't have feelings, but they will happily trade in yours.

Thanks for now ruining it for the rest of the class! LOL

a reply to: Anyafaj

How beautiful.. there is still hope for mankind Community, caring, friendship, this was great. Thank you for sharing

a reply to: Anyafaj
WHen my daughter had her first child we taught him very simple signs (no he has no hearing problems), Hand to mouth for Hungry, Make a fist for drink, and he created his own sign for a feed from mum! He was just 7 months old when he started using the signs!

I think all expectant parents should be taught about the benefits of teaching a baby to sign! One of the first things we noticed was how often he needed a sip of water when he was introduced to solid food, after every two or three spoons of food he would sign for a sip of water! Had he not been able to communicate that he required water I'm sure he would have cried, and thats something else we noticed, he hardly ever cried!
At nine months old he was starting his first words and we're absolutely certain the signing helped by allowing him to realize that we humans communicate with each other.

a reply to: Anyafaj

Thanks for the video. Things like this are much more preferable than ranting on climate change or government misdoings.

A nice ray of sunshine on this site, even if it was paid for by a corporate sponsor

originally posted by: SlapMonkey
a reply to: Anyafaj

Thanks for the video. Things like this are much more preferable than ranting on climate change or government misdoings.

A nice ray of sunshine on this site, even if it was paid for by a corporate sponsor

Thank you Slap Monkey! I think everyone should learn! It's a great way to communicate with your fellow man.