Lilly Simon and Jonathan Bia have lived completely separate lives, until now. There are two things that connect them – one being that they published the first known children's book to be translated into three languages – Solomon Islands Sign Language, English and Pijin; and the second thing is they both belong to the deaf community in the Solomon Islands.
Together, Lilly and Jonathan share their story with the help of Jen Blyth to tell others about their experiences of being part of the deaf community – at times they can experience discrimination because people do not know how to communicate with them. Their hope is by sharing their story and creating more resources for people to engage with that their future communities can be more inclusive.
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Bobby Macumber: Hello and welcome to Stories from the Pacific on ABC Radio Australia.
I’m Bobby Macumber.
Today we are sharing the story of Lily and Jonathan. This story came into my Producer’s inbox during one of our “call outs” for stories posts.
You are about to hear more about why this story is slightly different to the way we usually tell stories.
In this episode I am acting as a voice actor for ‘Jen Blyth’, who you are about to learn a bit more about.
If you would like to watch this interview in AUSLAN, please go to ABC Pacific and search up Stories from the Pacific, where you will be able to see and read Lily and Jonathan’s story.
This episode will be a word for word translation from AUSLAN to spoken English.
And I would like to introduce you to: Tamara who is our voice actor for Lily and Ivan who is our voice actor for Jonathan.
So let us get started, with all of us in these roles.
Jen Blyth:
Hello and welcome to stories from the Pacific. I’m helping ABC Pacific Radio today.
Normally you would see Bobby Macumber, she [Note: in the AUSLAN video interview, Bobby is referred to as ‘he’ – this is incorrect and has been amended in the spoken transcript and radio/podcast segment] is the face and voice of ABC Pacific Radio but today I am helping out because I am here interviewing two Deaf people and facilitating this conversation in sign language for you.
My name is Jen Blyth from Australia, and I am here in the Solomon Islands. In Australia I work as the CEO of Deaf Australia. Deaf Australia is the lead advocacy body for all Deaf, Deafblind, Hard of Hearing and Deaf and disabled people in Australia who used Auslan. Now I am here working in the Solomon Islands for Australia Assist in a Disabled People’s organization. I have brought my experience and background of advocacy into this work.
Here in the Solomon Islands, I have met the Deaf community and today I’m talking with Lily Simon and Jonathan Bia. Lily and Jonathan have made a book and their hope in creating this book is twofold. One, that hearing people who read this book would learn some sign language so they can communicate with Deaf people.
The second reason for creating this book is to fundraise for Deaf Solomon Islanders to attend the Australian Deaf Games in 2026. So, Lily and Jonathan, welcome!
Lily Simon: Hi
Jen Blyth: I want to ask you both a question, alright? Firstly, Lily, how did you get your sign name?
Lily Simon: This is my sign name (with a bend ring finger). Each finger represents a letter of my name and I also used to do this hand action like a rapper so that is why I have this sign name.
Jen Blyth: Great. And Jonathan how did you get your sign name?
Jonathan Bia: My sign name is the sign for dolphins that jump like this in the sea.
Jen Blyth: Great. Thank you both. How did your family find out that you were deaf?
Lily Simon: I was born premature, at 7 months old. My mum stayed in the hospital with me and looked after me and I stayed in an incubator for maybe 1 month until I was well enough to go home. At this time, I had a problem with my head, and it made me very sick, and I became deaf.
Jen Blyth: How did you parents know that you were deaf?
Lily Simon: My parents thought I was hearing and then they called my name Lily, Lily, call it over and over and but I wouldn’t respond. They were surprised to realize I must be deaf because they couldn’t get my attention by speaking to me, they could only get my attention in a visual way. That’s how they realized I was deaf.
Jen Blyth: Thank you, and Jonathan how did your parents find out you were deaf?
Jonathan Bia: When I was 11 months old, I was with my parents, and we went to the sea, and I started to have a problem with my ears. My grandparents talked to my parents about my deafness and my parents decided they didn’t want to keep me; it would be too hard. So, my grandparents adopted me and supported me. That’s the story about my deafness.
Jen Blyth: Thanks. Where did you go to school and how did you start school?
Jonathan Bia: I first started class 0 with hearing kids. I think I stayed at that school for a year but then my grandparents sent me to school at Aruligo (Deaf school) in 2017
Jen Blyth: Cool and did you learn to sign at Aruligo, at that school?
Jonathan Bia: At Aruligo, yes.
Jen Blyth: So that was the first time you learnt how to sign?
Jonathan Bia: Yes
Jen Blyth: Thank you. And you, Lily, tell me about your schooling.
Lily Simon: I first went to school in Malaita, a hearing school. The teacher would talk to the class, and I couldn’t hear what they were saying and there was no interpreter, so it was hard. When I moved to Honiara, I went to the Red Cross Disability school, and I joined in class with other deaf students, and I was really happy. I was there 2009 and 2010 and then I moved on to Aruglio to the Deaf school in 2011 and was there until 2014 and I graduated.
Jen Blyth: You learnt to sign at the Red Cross school?
Lily Simon: Yes, I learnt to sign with the other deaf there.
Jen Blyth: So, Lily you are from Malaita. Jonathan where are you from?
Jonathan Bia: Makira
Jen Blyth: Oh Makira, cool.
When you first learnt sign language did you learn Solomon Islands Sign Language?
Lily Simon: I learnt Australian sign language.
Jen Blyth: Do you use another country’s sign language now or do you use Solomon Islands Sign Language?
Lily Simon: Now we use the same, Australian Sign Language
Jen Blyth: Jonathan, do you agree?
Jonathan Bia: Yes, agree.
Jen Blyth: When you were younger, what did you hope for your future?
Lily Simon: For me, I hope in the future I can teach deaf children and teach them sign language. I want to focus on teaching deaf children, not hearing children. That’s what I’m thinking.
Jen Blyth: And are there any barriers to you becoming a teacher?
Lily Simon: Yeah, I would really like to become a teacher, but the problem is if I ask to teach the Deaf school in Aruligo for example, I will be told no I can’t work there. Deaf people are the right people to teach deaf students. The deaf students are told to get work outside of the school when they graduate and can’t stay on and teach
Jen Blyth: Jonathan, what do you dream of doing for your future?
Jonathan Bia: I’ve graduated from Aruligo and have a certificate and I’ve applied for jobs in Honiara and shown this certificate but still the boss won’t employ me, it’s hard.
Jen Blyth: Why is it hard?
Jonathan Bia: Because I have my certificate and I show it to lots of employers and they still won’t employ me.
Jen Blyth: Is that because you are deaf? Or do they not accept your qualifications? Can you explain it more?
Jonathan Bia: It’s hard to get a job because I apply and ask, and I don’t get a job. The companies say they are fully staffed- all the staff are hearing people. So, I just stay home.
Jen Blyth: Alright, thank you.
Tell me, what is it like to be deaf? Do you like being a deaf person?
Lily Simon: I like being deaf because I can communicate with other deaf people using my hands and eyes. I prefer to be around other deaf people because if I am with hearing people and they are all speaking to each other I cannot understand them, and I am left out of the conversations. With other deaf people I can have full conversations.
Jonathan Bia: I feel the same. Around hearing people, you can get lonely but with Deaf people you are both the same and can chat.
Jen Blyth: How did you two meet?
Lily Simon: We didn’t meet at Aruligo. Jonathan was a student there but after I had left. I first met him at our Deaf Association gathering and he told me his name and sign name. That’s where we first met, at the Deaf Association.
Jen Blyth: How did you come up with the idea to make a book?
Lily Simon: The idea with the book is that we would make it and sell it to fundraise for Deaf women to go to a mixed Deaf Sports tournament.
Jen Blyth: Where did the idea to make this book come from?
Lily Simon: Jen had the idea. She showed us what we as Deaf Solomon Islanders could do. It was my first time seeing something like this. I learnt a lot from Jen Blyth teaching me the process of making a book
Jen Blyth: Why did you ask Jonathan Bia to be involved?
Lily Simon: I knew that Jonathan Bia was an excellent artist and really knew how to draw so I asked him to draw the pictures for the book
Jen Blyth: Why did you decide to be involved Jonathan Bia?
Jonathan Bia: Well, I used to draw things for hearing people. They would give me paper and a pencil, and I would try out different things. I would practice drawing things like trees, fish and flowers. As I got older my skills got better and I really enjoyed drawing.
Jen Blyth: Ok but why did you say yes to drawing for this book when Lily asked you?
Jonathan Bia: Well, my Deaf friend Eric told me about a book that Lily and Jen were making, and they needed someone to draw the pictures, so I accepted the job, and the rest is history.
Jen Blyth: How did you come up with the story for the book?
Lily Simon: The idea with a book about the market was so we could show the signs for Solomon Island fruit and vegetables and then people could learn the signs for these. Like taro. The sign for taro is scratching your throat because when you cook it and eat it you feel a tingling in your throat. So that’s the sign for taro. The sign for cassava shows how you get the cassava and take off the bark off it to prepare it. So that’s the sign for cassava.
Jen Blyth: And the signs in the book are they Solomon Islands Sign Language or Australian Sign Language?
Lily Simon: They are true Solomon Islands signs
Jen Blyth: The whole book is in Solomon Is Sign Language?
Lily Simon: Yes.
Jen Blyth: Jonathan how did you draw the pictures? Like did you just know how to draw the fruit and vegetables? What was your process?
Jonathan Bia: I drew taro and banana like how I draw other things like faces or trees and flowers or the sea. The book is all my drawings
Jen Blyth: For the market book did you look at photos or did you draw it all from memory?
Jonathan Bia: I drew the same as I draw people’s faces or the sea or flowers.
Jen Blyth: Ok, thank you. Lily, do you want to make more books in the future?
Lily Simon: Yes. I’ll think about doing a book about the home, like cleaning. Different from the market book. Or a book about going to work. I’ve got some options for a future book.
Jen Blyth: Would you work with Jonathan as the illustrator again?
Lily Simon: Yes
Jen Blyth: Good. Recently we had a party to launch the book and announce it was on sale.
Jen Blyth: Tell me about the book launch.
Lily Simon: Jonathan and I held the book launch at Woodford International School because we knew that the white parents who have children at that school would be interested to buy the book and Woodford was very supportive of it. We wanted the parents to buy the book and read it with their children and learn some Solomon Islands Sign Language. The parents and children can learn to sign all the signs related to going to the market like cassava and taro and at the same time they are supporting the Deaf community with their fundraising.
Jen Blyth: Do you face discrimination as a deaf person in the Solomon Islands?
Lily Simon: Yes, lots of people here in the Solomon Islands do not understand about deafness and a Deaf person’s life. Deaf people are called stupid or dumb and people laugh at us or ridicule us for the way we sign. This makes us as a deaf person not feel good. And it can create more problems with mental health, like feelings of shame and anxiety, feeling sad, especially if family support is far away. Deaf people can question their deaf identity feel ashamed because hearing people don’t respect them
Jen Blyth: What do you do about this?
Lily Simon: Some deaf people are ashamed; some get cross and then tell off or advise hearing people about the right way to behave. We teach hearing people that they must respect Deaf people and Deaf culture.
Jen Blyth: Can you tell me about Deaf culture, what is it?
Lily Simon: In Deaf culture it is disrespectful to throw something at a deaf person to get their attention. Deaf people will get a shock and not be happy if people do this. Also laughing or teasing a deaf person is disrespectful. If you are getting their attention by tapping them hard on their shoulder this can give them a fright, so its important people respect Deaf culture.
Jen Blyth: Are there a lot of deaf people in the Solomon Islands?
Lily Simon: Yes, there are lots of deaf people here
Jen Blyth: All over the Solomon Islands?
Lily Simon: Yes, there are many. There are lots of deaf people at the Red Cross school, at Aruligo school, at the Deaf Association here in Honiara and there are deaf people at home out in the provinces like Malaita and Western Province. There will be many deaf people who have not been to school and just stay at home in their villages isolated. On this island we have gatherings of deaf people at the Deaf Association and the Deaf schools.
Jen Blyth: I want to ask you about the barriers deaf people face in the Solomon Islands. You said before that some hearing people ridicule deaf people and are disrespectful. What are some other problems or barriers you might have as a deaf person?
Lily Simon: One barrier is communication. When people don’t know how to communicate with a deaf person it means that the deaf person is isolated and left out of friendships and it makes the deaf person feel very lonely.
Jen Blyth: Jonathan, do you want to add anything? Do you agree?
Jonathan Bia: Yes, I agree
Jen Blyth: If a Deaf person was watching this radio program from overseas, like New Zealand, Australia or Fiji were. And they saw you Lily and Jonathan, what would you want to say to them about Deaf people in the Solomon Islands?
Maybe you would want to welcome them to come and visit Deaf people in the Solomon Islands. Or maybe you’d want to give them some advice or ask them a question. What would you want to say to them?
Lily Simon: If deaf people were to meet our deaf group here in the Solomon Islands, we would talk to them and get to know them.
Jen Blyth: So, you would like to tell any deaf person from around the world that they are welcome to come and meet the Deaf community of the Solomon Islands?
Lily Simon: Yes, definitely. Deaf people from Australia or other countries are very welcome to come because we know we can learn a lot from them. We haven’t always had a Deaf Association. We do now but we are still new and learning how to run the organization, so we want overseas Deaf people to come and help us improve. Our Deaf community can learn from them.
Jen Blyth: Thank you both so much for letting me ask you so many questions! Are there any last thoughts or comments you want to say? No? Ok, that’s a wrap.
Thank you all for watching Stories from the Pacific on ABC Pacific Radio. You’ve been watching Lily and Jonathan who are the author and illustrator of the book Going to the Market. Thank you both so much for sharing your story with us.
Lily Simon: & Jonathan Bia: You’re welcome
Jen Blyth: My name is Jen Blyth and I’ve been here sharing their story from here in the Solomon Islands. Thank you.
Lily Simon: & Jonathan Bia: Thanks, bye *wave goodbye*
Bobby Macumber: That was the story of Lily and Jonathan, based in the Solomon Islands.
Thank you to Lily and Jonathan for creating these stories and for the work you are doing for your community.
A big thank you to Jen Blyth and Angela for bringing this story to our producer and this program. And thank you also to Dreamcast Theatre and our voice actors – Ivan and Tamara for being on the show!
You have been listening to stories from the pacific and to watch this interview with Jen, Lily and Jonathan you can search up Stories from the Pacific on ABC Pacific to see the video and transcript.
If you or someone you know has an interesting story to share you can email us at ABC Pacific Radio at abc dot net dot au
This story was produced on the lands of the Yuggera and Turrbal people.
I am hosting this story on the lands of the Kaurna people.