VietNamNet Bridge - The expressive and complicated gestures used by deaf and mute people to communicate with each other are always an arresting sight.

The advent of the cell phone, in particular the facility to SMS (Short Messaging Service), also known as text messaging, or texting, has changed that in a big way.

This is clearly evident when we get an opportunity to get close to their community.

A coffee shop on Ton Duc Thang Street in Ha Noi offers that opportunity. The shop has become a popular gathering place for many deaf and mute people. They have tea and talk with each other using just their thumb. Every night around 20 people communicate in silence except for the sound of the thumbs hitting the keys on the cell phone.

It goes without mentioning that while people without hearing disabilities choose cell phones with a variety of functions and good sound quality, such criteria do not mean much for the deaf and mute community.

Pham Van Binh, a motorbike washer on Tran Quang Khai Street in HCM City, says for him having a mobile phone is not a hobby or a fashion, but a gadget to communicate with family and friends.

However, Nguyen Thi Hoa, an electronic equipment seller in Ha Noi, is different. Hoa says she has changed her mobile phone five times so far. She acknowledges that is an extravagance of sorts, but she loves using them and cannot leave them even for a few minutes.

Hoa is now a self-confessed addict, not of drugs or cigarettes, but of cell phones. This differently-abled person says she feels sad if the number of messages she receives on her phone each day falls below 60.

Deafening noise, muted revelry

In direct contrast to the silent communication revolution described above, the noise was deafening as many young people flooded the streets following the national football teams historic, dream win at the AFF Suzuki Cup that put them on top in Southeast Asia. The din created by the full-throated screaming, shouting, banging of paint-box drums, pots and pans, as well as the incessant honking of motorbike horns kept many city residents awake until next morning.

But there were many other equally ecstatic fans who vented their feelings online as soon as victory was snatched at the last minute. The cables were abuzz with online revelry that broke out in a rash of emotional outpourings and mass replacement of avatars with the national flags. (Avatar refers to the pictorial identification posted online – a photograph of the person or some other picture chosen by her or him).

Many bloggers changed their interface with lines expressing unending emotions. On a blog called Hoa – tulip, the author raved about living "a happy day of a hundred years", while others posted congratulatory messages and many video clips of cheerful scenes on the city’s streets.

Photos of the Vietnamese football players were posted and updated by the minute and the hour.

Le Cong Vinh, the striker who headed the decisive goal against Thailand, received more than 7,000 congratulatory messages on his blog. "Vinh, you are a hero!"; "How wonderful, Vinh!" and similar praise continue to be posted on the footballer’s private blog. Though mid-fielder Phan Thanh Binh’s blog was closed, more than 3,000 messages were sent to the site.

(Source: VNS)