There is another world. It is around us, but we do not see it and... we do not hear it.
I drive to work every day. The distance is very short - only 3 km in one direction. This distance is easily covered on foot, but since the entire road is outside the city, there are no convenient or any sidewalks, and walking on the side is not very pleasant.
On the way home, I meet my neighbor almost every day. I stop, he gets into the car and we drive... and we are silent the whole way. This is so unusual. I still can't get used to it.
The reason for this is very simple - my neighbor is deaf and dumb. He is no longer a young man of 55. His whole life has passed in a world that you and I cannot see. He didn't have heart-to-heart conversations, he didn't gossip, he didn't listen to the radio or television.
We go by car for just a few minutes. We are silent. Does he want to ask me how I'm doing? Does he want to tell something? Does he want to know the latest news in the village?
Despite everything, my neighbor lived a normal life. He had a wife, a daughter and a grandson. He takes care of a small farm. He is a skilled metal craftsman and people from all corners of the village come to him to arrange the manufacture or repair of a tool. He works at work, uses a metalworking machine.
And here I have a question about inclusion. What have we as a society done to make my neighbor feel like everyone else? How much do we think about people with special needs? What do we do for them?
My neighbor has a brother who is his bridge between the wordless world and the human world. He hears and speaks, and also knows sign language. I once tried to communicate with my neighbor, but unfortunately I do not understand him. This is frustrating.
A world without words. It is nearby, like many other worlds, the existence of which we do not notice.