That’s because Dane is Deaf, and the attendees at the National Employment Services Association annual award ceremony were applauding her in Australian sign language, Auslan.
Dane struggled to find a job as a hairdresser in Australia, despite having the qualifications and more than a decade of experience in Turkey. Source: Supplied / MatchWorks
Dane studied to become a hairdresser and worked as a professional stylist for 11 years in Turkey. But it took her the same length of time to find an employer in Australia who would give her a chance.
After learning Auslan, taking English classes, getting another hairdressing diploma, working odd jobs and being turned away from 30 salons – she’s finally found her feet in a local salon in Melbourne’s north-west.
What I didn’t want to do was let my disability define me.
Dane Eralp
Now, her resilience is being recognised through a national award, shining a light on barriers to employment for Deaf and hard-of-hearing migrants.
The triple language barrier
Since her family’s move to Turkey, Dane battled the problem of communicating in silence.
Dane (centre) grew up with her supportive family in Turkey. Source: Supplied / Lutifye Ulugun
“I was the only Deaf person in my class and school, which was difficult and required a lot of perseverance,” she told SBS News through an Auslan interpreter.
“In a school environment, with people using spoken language at such a fast pace, it was difficult for me and I needed a lot of extra help from the teaching staff at the school to work with me on developing my Turkish spoken language,” she said.
Dane (bottom left) with her classmates at school in Turkey. Source: Supplied / Lutifye Ulugun
Dane decided to leave school at 14 to pursue her dream of becoming a hairdresser.
Yet only 16,000 people speak Auslan in Australia, according to the 2021 Census. Advocates fear that the existing national shortage of Auslan interpreters will only grow without active intervention to increase opportunities for people to learn the language.
“Across the country, there are very accomplished and successful Deaf Australians working in a variety of fields – many of whom have faced barriers to employment, but all of whom can thrive when given equal access to information and opportunities,” he said.
‘I couldn’t be happier’
It was then she found Turkish migrant Eddie Akbulut who is the director of Essendon hair salon Endless Hair. He employed Dane in 2021.
Danie has been working with Eddie at Endless Hair, a local hair salon in Essendon, Melbourne. They use Turkish spoken language and lip-reading to communicate. Source: Supplied / MatchWorks
Dane said she communicates with Eddie by-lipreading and speaking Turkish. Her clients are “very open-minded”, working out ways to communicate, like writing notes down.
“What I didn’t want to do was let my disability define me. I really wanted to get out there and find a meaningful job.”
“There are many hearing people with below-average English skills, yet their competency in English is not questioned in the same way Deaf and hard of hearing people’s are,” the spokesperson said.
Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott wants employers to hire people with disabilities. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
“Nearly 4.5 million people in this country have some form of physical or non-physical disability, visible or invisible, and only 54 per cent of them are enrolled in the workforce,” he said.
Earlier this month, Dane’s resilience was celebrated at the NESA (National Employment Services Association) awards for excellence gala dinner in Sydney, where she was awarded the Achiever of the Year award. The award recognises a “former job seeker who has overcome extraordinary disadvantage to achieve employment”.
I noticed that my mum was crying and I asked my mum if she was OK. She said that they were tears of joy.
Dane Eralp
Social services minister Amanda Rishworth, who presented the national award to Dane, told SBS News in a statement that her success in her journey was a testament to her skills and persistence.
Social services minister Amanda Rishworth presented the award to Dane, describing her journey as “incredibly moving”. Source: Facebook / Amanda Rishworth
“Dane’s story and her tenacity in following her dreams in spite of the barriers that she faced was incredibly moving,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
“I hope that Dane’s story will lift the expectations of employers. With so many businesses crying out for skilled workers there is no better time than now to hire someone living with a disability.”
