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THE sign language interpreter at the Mandela funeral who was branded a
"fake" by the deaf community said he suffered a schizophrenic episode
during the service.
In an interview with the South African newspaper The Star , interpreter
Thamsanqa Jantjie said he suddenly lost concentration, started hearing
voices and hallucinating during the service - but he could not leave.
"There was nothing I could do. I was alone in a very dangerous
situation. I tried to control myself and not show the world what was
going on," the 34-year-old said.
He said he did not know what caused the attack. It may have been the magnitude of the occasion, he said, or how happy he felt.
At the service Mr Jantjie stood signing alongside world leaders, including US President Barack Obama.
But multiple sign language experts said he was a fraud and his gestures signified nothing.
"I am very sorry, it's the situation I found myself in," he told the
newspaper. "Life is unfair. This illness is unfair. Anyone who doesn't
understand this illness will think that I'm just making this up."
Last night Bruno Druchen, the national director of the Deaf Federation
of South Africa, told the Associated Press the interpreter "was moving
his hands around but there was no meaning in what he used his hands
for."
Multiple sign language experts agreed. "He's a complete fraud," said
Cara Loening, director of Sign Language Education and Development in
Cape Town.
"He wasn't even doing anything, There was not one sign there. Nothing. He was literally flapping his arms around."
Mr Jantjie did describe his qualifications for being a sign language
interpreter, but told The Star he works for an interpreting company that
paid him $85 for interpreting Tuesday's event.
Nicole Du Toit, another official sign language interpreter who also
watched the broadcast, said in a telephone interview that the man on
stage purporting to sign was an embarrassment.
"It was horrible, an absolute circus, really really bad," she said. "Only he can understand those gestures."
South African parliamentarian Wilma Newhoudt-Druchen, a deaf member of
the ruling party, also said the man communicated nothing with his hand
and arm movements.
Loening said her organisation was getting mail from around the world "wondering what on earth this man was doing there".
"It's a real embarrassment. It's complete disrespect for the deaf
community and for what Nelson Mandela stood for and the support which he
gave toward the deaf community."
Mr Jantijie told South African media today he is currently receiving
treatment for schizophrenia. The South African government said it is
investigating the incident.
Source: AP
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