Author: Marina S.
Co-Founder of the Stray Sheep company, 25-year-old Boris Bandev, stole the hearts of the judges and the audience of “Bulgaria is looking for talent”.
If you google “sign language translators Bulgaria”, the majority of the results include, in one way or another, the following: “There are not enough sign language interpreters in Bulgaria; people with hearing loss are about 130,000; sign language users are around 40,000; according to licensing data in Bulgaria there must be 200 translators, but in reality not more than 30 of them are active practitioners ”. In short, the statistics are discouraging and, at first glance, it seems not much is done to make life easier for deaf people, as well as for their access to primary and secondary education and their opportunities for professional development.
Unfortunately, in our society, to address this issue, it takes someone to jump on the stage of a reality show and share their personal story about being different – from everybody, but also from those who are ‘different’. Boris Bandev is the man who did just that with his emotionally revealing performance in “Bulgaria is looking for talent”.
I have known Boris for almost 10 years – he took acting classes with my younger brother. Back then I thought of him as a bright teenager, always the soul of the company, always full of surprises. Observing him over the years I would notice the changes he was going through – his desire to discuss all the serious and bizarre worldly things, his frequent frustration that he didn’t meet as much response as he wished to the ideas he was so passionate about. However, his desire to improve himself, his environment, and his skills never ceased.
If I had to describe Boris in one word, it would be “courage.” Although we lost touch for long periods of time, I looked forward to hearing about his next project, or seemingly wild idea. I often thought that “if all of us were as energetic and unstoppable as Boris, the world would be such an incredibly exciting place!”.
But while I was watching “Bulgaria is looking for talent” I actually realized, for the first time, how difficult it must have been to be Boris Bandev, the only one who could hear in a family of deaf people. I wish I had known earlier about the trials he had to go through to become the man he is today – now 25. However, the overwhelming feeling – seeing his life’s story, translated into sign language and intertwined with songs, as his family watched with tears in their eyes behind the scenes – was not pity; it was of indescribable pride.
I managed to steal Boris for half an hour so that he could tell me about his plans, his company Stray Sheep, and his dreams regarding the future of sign language translation in Bulgaria.
Stray Sheep happened as a joke … I started the company together with my friend after a very odd period for me – in short, I was lost “- he began, adding that in the beginning, he tried to create videos on various topics, without dealing specifically with sign language. He tried to “escape” this side of his life, describing his Bulgarian Sign Language skills as a “gift and a curse.” “My life took me there,” Boris said, “in time … we came to the moment of revelation.”
As a child, it was a struggle for him to find a common language with other children. He was often bullied – something that in Bulgaria, until recently, was considered completely normal – until in 5th grade, he took matters into his own hands. “I decided I would not be a victim anymore. Then I bought my first book … by Edward De Bono “Six Thinking Hats” – from a very early age, I became interested in psychology, relationships, and my place in the world … how I could solve my problems, as well as those of others. ”
According to Boris, children today are much more sensitive and accommodating. Many new and interesting things have been happening in Bulgaria in the last 5-10 years; there are a lot more conversations about tolerance; “It’s a matter of more dialogue, more work with these children, and mostly showing the good examples.” His goal is to make his campaign commercial – because everyone feels good about what is perceived as normal, and at the moment sign language is not seen as such. Boris says he has spent too much energy trying to convince the “wrong” people of what he believes in, but he feels he is finally on the right track. “It is scary … because you really have to break away from everything you know, to get to know yourself so much that it aches.” but he believes that there is no one on earth who does not feel this way when there is a new challenge ahead of them – “… in my opinion, humans are incredibly powerful beings who can handle anything; … we need to make the most of this ability. ”
Boris’ family’s first reaction to his endeavours is not what we would expect – “for so long nothing has been done (in this direction), and so many have “given up” on the mere idea of success… I understand them”. His niece Dani, who is the first deaf person to enrol in BA Finance at The Plovdiv University, was left to her own devices and still managed to get to the final state exam. There are only 3 specialized secondary schools for children with hearing loss in the country; in Plovdiv, for example, the three options for a major subject are woodcarver, cook, and shoemaker. It is, needless to say, ridiculous and nowhere near to the opportunities that all other children have. Stray Sheep is currently working really hard to train and provide more Sign Language Interpreters, as well as to support deaf students in universities. It must be noted here that a law has been adopted on January 24, 2021, by which it is going to be mandatory for educational institutions to have a Sign Language interpreter. According to Boris, on an institutional level things are happening very slowly – that’s why first they start working with private companies, as they already have partnerships with Coca-Cola and Mondelis.
Boris’s role in Highstreet, which we look forward to, has the working title “City Taboos” and will be a series of shows, including “normal” guests, facing the “man who is a” taboo subject”- deaf, blind, LGBTI + people and others.
Since he has always wanted to be involved in film directing, Boris hopes to realize one of his ambitious projects in future – a film production that presents precisely the topics mentioned above. He says that his success in “Bulgaria is looking for talent” is a great win. He shares that everything he has achieved in his life so far has been so hard, with a lot of efforts and battles. And that no matter what happens in the show, he hopes that through the platform Sign Language is going to be used more often in the media and that this is just the beginning. “A lot of people would avoid such an experiment … I’m glad I challenged myself, that I’m alive and here today, and that I’m able to do everything I do – I’m extremely grateful … to myself, especially.”
You can find out more about Boris and Stray Sheep can be found at:
https://m.facebook.com/StraySheepOfficial/
Photos: Hristo Papazov