Perpetual Silence, Not Silence for Moments: Hearing Loss of Children as Perceived by Hearing Bedouin Mothers
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Perpetual Silence, Not Silence for Moments: Hearing Loss of Children as Perceived by Hearing Bedouin Mothers Nuzha Allassad Alhuzail1 · Miriam Levinger1
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract The Negev Bedouin population in southern Israel, a minority undergoing great social change, has a higher incidence of hearing loss than that reported elsewhere but has hardly been studied. Caring for a child with hearing loss often engenders parental stress because of the many tasks involved. Difficulty in accessing information and services, the lack of public transportation nearby, and other aspects of the living conditions of Negev Bedouin parents present additional challenges. These difficulties are further compounded by the unique socio-demographic and cultural characteristics of this indigenous population. This article presents the parenting experience of 20 hearing Bedouin mothers of children with hearing loss, explored in a qualitative phenomenological study. The findings indicate that the mothers’ perceptions of the child’s hearing loss affect how they cope with the birth and rearing of the child, their view of the child, and their attitude toward medical interventions. These findings, which portray an experience that is unique in many ways, contribute to the understanding of how an underserved, indigenous, and traditional population responds to congenital hearing loss. The findings also reveal the importance of the terminology with which parents describe their child’s hearing loss and the unique meanings it may have. Such knowledge is of particular importance for culturally sensitive and effective provision of social services and therapeutic interventions. Keywords Hearing loss · Bedouin population · Bedouin mothers · Bedouin children
Introduction The treatment of congenital hearing loss has advanced in recent years, but some populations do not benefit equally from this progress. This study considers the case of the Arab Bedouins who are the original inhabitants of the Negev region in southern Israel. They constitute a sub-group of the Arab minority in Israel and have unique historical, cultural, social, and political characteristics that differentiate them from other groups (Meir, 1997). In recent years these Bedouins have been undergoing social and cultural processes— including state-imposed urbanization and modernization— that have profoundly affected their society, including the status and state of the women.
* Nuzha Allassad Alhuzail [email protected] Miriam Levinger [email protected] 1
School of Social Work, Sapir Academic College, 7916500 D.N. Hof Ashkelon, Israel
The Negev Bedouins are a heterogeneous, Arabic-speaking population consisting of three classes. Sumran—viewed by this population as the true Bedouins, the aristocrats— have been in the Negev the longest, own land, and bear weapons (Ginat, 1966). El-Abeid (“dark-skinned”) Bedouins, who originated in Sudan, Egypt, and other parts of Africa, moved to the Negev hundreds of years ago and lived under the pro
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