DawnMarie Fucile
(testifying on behalf of the Bierly family)
Deaf and Deaf Blind Committee on Human Rights (DDBCHR)
Cleveland, OH
Hello, my name is DawnMarie Fucile. I live here in Cleveland, Ohio but am originally from New York. I became Deaf when as a child and I prefer to communicate through both sign language and lip reading.
I would like to share with you about the problem of children being removed from their parents unjustly because the parents are Deaf and are often denied their rights to communication.
I, myself, have a 16 year old son who was taken away from me when he was just a year old. My father went behind my back, taking advantage of my hearing disability, to try to gain custody of my son.
“If an interpreter had been provided during my hearing and if I had know about my human rights, my son would still be with me today”
I was living in New York at the time. I moved into an apartment with just my son and I. My father was upset with me so he called Children's Services and they came to do investigation at my apartment. After doing a full investigation, however, the Children's Services case worker told me that everything was fine and the case had been closed.
The next day I went to my father's house to gather some of my son's belongings. My father called the police on me and my cousin served me with some papers that I did not understand (actually she threw the papers in my face). The police told me that I had to hand my son over to my father or they would arrest me. I did not want my son to be harmed so I handed my son over.
The next day I appeared in court but I really had no idea what was going on. At that time I did not know that I had a right to a sign language interpreter for court hearings. The court did not provide me with an interpreter or an attorney or any legal advice during the hearing.
Without an interpreter I missed a lot of information and didn't really understand what was going on with my case at the hearing. This denial of interpreting services was a violation of my right to information and communication according to article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
After the court hearing I lost the battle to keep my son and custody was given to my father.
In 2004 I joined the Deaf & Deaf-Blind Committee on Human Rights and learned more about the different articles in the UDHR. At the time of loosing my son I didn't know I had the right to a new trial, appeals or to see the transcript of my hearing. I really wish I had known my rights before.
If an interpreter had been provided during my hearing and if I had know about my human rights, my son would still be with me today.
Unfortunately this is a pretty common problem among Deaf parents. Many hearing grandparents try to tell children's services and the courts that Deaf parents are "un-fit" to be parents just because they are Deaf. Sadly, the courts often believe this misinformation, ignoring the fact that Deaf parents are just as capable of raising happy and healthy children as hearing parents are.
I would advise all mothers and mothers-to-be not to let anyone take advantage of you or your disability and to be aware of all of your human rights. Thank you.