Deaf-mute Moroccan baker satisfies sweet tooth

(25 Dec 2019) LEAD IN:
Running a pastry shop as a deaf and mute baker is no easy task. But 27-year-old Hanane Harrata is keen on following her dreams.

STORY-LINE:
Hanane Harrata has always dreamt of becoming a baker. Born deaf and mute, she did not let her disability get in the way. She opened a pastry shop in Tangier in 2015 and has since been baking sweet delights.
These almond cookies are on the menu for today. “I love pastry and I have always wanted to be a baker, since childhood. That’s why I decided to work as a baker, because I love creativity, colors, and shapes. I also love creating new sweets,” says Harrata.
But doing what she loves does not come easy.
Communicating with customers is one of Harrata’s main challenges. “I receive many customers here, but not all of them understand sign language and that annoys them,” she explains. Harrata does her job with a lot of love and pride and is adamant on overcoming the obstacles. “I am trying to create ways to communicate with them (customers) for example, by writing,” Harrata adds.
Her business has also managed to help other people with a similar disability. Abdelali was struggling with work for a while before he met Harrata. “In the past, I worked in many places, unfortunately, they did not understand me well, but when I started working with Hanane, we managed to understand each other,” Abdelali says. In addition to the shop, Harrata also receives demands by phone and through social media. “The demands vary from person to person, I also prepare orders for events and ceremonies,” Harrata says. “For example, last week, I prepared sweets for a wedding in Germany, the bride and the groom are also deaf and mute,” she adds. Harrata’s greatest supporter is her sister Sara. “The sign language is a difficult language, but because of my relationship with my sister, I decided to learn this language to help her in her daily life and in her work as well,” Sara says.
Sara is the only one who can communicate with Harrata, other family members cannot, not even her mother. Harrata’s journey has been difficult. Her integration, challenging.
“When I was young, I had many problems, especially at school from students and teachers, because I was deaf and mute.I suffered from bullying, this made me change schools and I moved to the Spanish school, where they helped me a lot,” she says.
Initiatives in favor of the integration of people who are deaf and mute are quite rare in Morocco, she adds. One in four families in the country are affected by the disability, according to the Moroccan Ministry of Solidarity, Women, Family and Social Development. Harrata hopes people like her don’t get discouraged by their disability and wants to encourage them to keep going.

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