Sona’s voice for the deaf can’t mind his language
ZAZI Ndebele has arguably one of the most nerve-wracking jobs in South Africa.
He has to translate the insults flung across parliament into sign language for the deaf.
And he found himself walking a tightrope when an ANC MP dropped the F-bomb at the state of the nation address in the National Assembly recently. A split second decision was required. To censor or not? He scowled and raised his middle finger, impeccably conveying the furious delivery of the expletive.
“I had to interpret it as it is, no omission, no altering, no deleting.”
Ndebele, 50, has worked as a translator at parliament since 2009. He can speak seven languages and is a consummate professional.
“I was prepared psychologically and physically for the worst and exactly the worst was [at Sona]. I told myself that I am going to be as professional as I can, because I am serving the deaf people and the deaf people need to understand what is happening and understand the message from the president,” he said.
That middle finger moment, captured on video and shared far and wide has elevated him to near-celebrity status.
“After Thursday, I woke up in the morning and I was bombarded with WhatsApp messages from people I know and people I don’t know and it was specifically the finger up photo,” he said.
He eventually switched off his phone, saddened by his face being plastered all over social media. But he’s pleased at the same time because the whole saga has focussed attention on the deaf community and sign language as a whole.
“I am glad it happened because it has raised awareness in South Africa and abroad on sign language, people are aware now, even the members of parliament they will be aware when they communicate with each other,” he said, sipping an iced coffee.
Thelma Kotze and Natasha Parkins-Maliko translated Sona into sign language for the SABC. “Parkins-Maliko said it was “particularly difficult, because people were speaking over each other and in my work I have to get an entire clause to translate. It was very stressful.”
“We have to translate everything that is being said. When the F-bomb was dropped, deaf people should also know that. I have to translate it,” Kotze said.
Parkins-Maliko was taken aback by the foul language. “When one of the ANC MPs swore at a DA member, I thought I was hallucinating. I had to check with Thelma if I heard correctly,” she said.