1. In 1905, deaf people decided to establish the Finnish Association of the Deaf( Archive of the Finnish Deaf History Society)
and suffered mistreatment. In 2016, the then Minister of Social Affairs and Health issued an official apology. The second process began in 2021 and involved the Sámi people— the only officially recognized Indigenous people in Europe— who launched their own truth and reconciliation process with the Finnish government.
Discussions about a similar process for the deaf and sign language community began in 2016, particularly within the board meetings of the Finnish Association of the Deaf( FAD). In 2018, a seminar brought together several minority groups, including Roma people, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Finnish Sign Language users, and Sámi representatives. Following this event, a deaf panelist was invited by Member of Parliament Timo Harakka— who is himself the child of deaf parents— to attend a meeting of the parliamentary sign language network. Representatives from FAD also participated.
After that meeting, the parliamentary sign language network began working on an initiative for a truth and reconciliation process. Around the same time, in 2019, FAD published a press release calling for an investigation and an official apology for the injustices experienced by deaf people. The Finnish Deaf History Society also voiced similar demands that year. In response, Timo Harakka publicly stated on social media that this issue must be addressed at the governmental level.
Later in 2019, the Finnish government under Prime Minister Antti Rinne announced in its program a commitment to launch a national reconciliation process addressing the human rights violations historically experienced by the deaf in Finland.
In 2020 – 2021, the Finnish government commissioned our research team to carry out a study titled Signed Memories. The aim was to investigate the historical injustices faced by the deaf and sign language community in Finland from 1900 to the present day.
The following sections are based on the findings of that study.
Deep VIEW
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