To have eyes and not to see...

SK, a visually impaired colleague recently had to go to Delhi for a workshop organised by the National Trust and would be returning alone. I had left instructions at both Delhi and Kolkata Airport for assistance to complete all the formalities. He sailed through Delhi Airport. When the flight landed at Kolkata, the Airlines ground staff met him with a wheelchair and insisted that he sit in it.

“Main admi hoon ya saaman”? SK said. “Kya Sir, bathiye…hum aapko aaram say le jayenge”, they said. He protested vehemently saying he was perfectly capable of walking. The staff very good humouredly ignored all his protests and wheeled him to the terminal and through all the procedures and outside to where his brother was waiting.

A funny story? Maybe to us, the so called “non-disabled.” Not, to SK and million others who face similar situations daily. Buses don’t stop for them, an occasional airlines have offloaded them, people don’t have the patience to stop and listen to them, don’t see them, don’t want to see them, pity them and dismiss them with at best, a “poor thing”. Them being Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). So many such discriminatory incidents from the highly offensive and insensitive to the downright ridiculous.

The ground staff just took it for granted that being disabled, he wasn’t capable. Of anything, at all. He felt very humiliated at being forcefully made to feel “incapable”.

For the vast majority of the non disabled, who normally don’t face PWDs very often, don’t know what to do or how to behave when they meet one. Either they leave it at “Poor thing” or lend a “helping hand” – one which is more disabling than enabling.

It’s Ok if one feels awkward with some one’s disability, if faced with it for the first time. What is not OK is the disregard or unawareness of the fact that a PWD is a person first – who can do some things and can’t do others, just like all of us. SK manages our NGO’s Braille printing unit along with working with visually impaired children in the villages of South 24 Parganas. He is perfectly capable of walking and negotiating his way through the crowded streets of Kolkata, using public transport and goes on frequent out station trips. He can speak, walk, talk, feel, hear and has emotions like all of us. And like all of us, he has a list of cannots. He also can't see.

While it is true that the ground staff meant no disrespect, and out of ignorance, equated disability with a wheelchair, which was of course taking things to ridiculous heights, this behaviour is indicative of the general apathy regarding PWDs and their dignity, their rights who are aftarall like us, citizens of an Independent Democratic Nation.

Louis Braille birth bicentennary

January 4th 2009 was the birth centennary of Louis Braille.

Another anniversary which would have come and gone for visually un-impaired (In light of this post, "sighted" sounds incorrect) people like me. I saw it on the news and read about it. And my visually impaired (VI) colleague had mentioned that he would be taking part in a procession which would incidentally start quite close to my home, on Sunday. I did toy with the idea of joining it. But then what with the now on- now off auto ban and Hazra more being the nerve centre (a huge auto depot and close proximity to TMC chief Ms. Bannerjee's home), I decided against. The rally did happen, peacefully and some 700 people had participated and the procession ended at Rabindra Sadan.

This morning, I saw him standing near the large room usually used for training and workshops. "Can I help you with something?". I have this urge to help him although he is very self sufficient and makes the long commute from home and back alone, everyday. Infact, it's me who needs frequent help in navigating the crazy traffic on Kolkata roads.

"Actually, I am telling everyone (who passes by) that we - he and RS the other VI collegue - are holding a small exhibition of our Braille Unit (the NGO where I work is probably the only NGO with a braille printing unit, atleast in this part of India) on the ocassion of Louis Braille's bicentennary. The exhibition consisted of a variety of tools and equipments, a good majority of which he had made himeself and now are available in the market were laid out on tables. The rest of the staff went around and asked questions about each equipment and its usage. Most of them were teaching materials. Braille alphabet in bengali and english using bindis; Set squares, protractor and even a compass, clock, abacus etc adapted for the VI. There was a set of braille playing cards. Identical to normal ones except the card - say four of hearts written in braille in a corner. We had great fun taking out cards at random and showing them to S and each time, he answered correctly: he is fluent in braille! One of the older staff told me to stop testing him. Afterall, he made the set. "We needed S to make a fourth for playing 29 (a game quite similar to bridge)!!

The exhibition was an eye-opener, literally. Not very different from other people am I? I didn't even remember. And that despite spending the best part of the last two months helping to develop various materials which talk about Inclusion of PWDs (people with disabilities) all the time. Inclusion and not assistance.