World White Cane Day: Lack of sight but not vision

With the world set to celebrate World White Cane Day on Monday, how has Goa fared on the whole with regard to sensitivity towards the differently-abled? There are reservations for persons with disabilities in educational institutions and for jobs in theory. But are these being implemented in reality?

| OCTOBER 14, 2018, 04:49 AM IST

Aliya Abreu

By law, of the three percent reservation that used to be mandatory for persons with disabilities, one percent was for the visually challenged. Yet, parents of children who are visually challenged in Goa have been struggling over the years to get authorities and institutions to adhere to this rule. Frustrated with the lack of sensitivity and adherence to rules shown by authorities, it has been parents who have been forced to knock on the doors of courts, before the court could intervene and get institutions to abide by the law. 

Today, it is an ordinance of the Goa University to provide not only a writer for the visually impaired, but to allow 50% extra time to candidates with visual impairment. But this came after a long struggle by parents who would not give up, and fought hard for their children, when no one else would stand by them. 

In theory, we are aware that children with special needs are an integral part of our world. But in reality, we know nothing of what they and their parents are made to face. Said a parent talking to TG Life, “I was even told to send my visually-impaired child to a special school.” This was at a time when inclusive education was unheard of, and definitely not the norm. The child in question, had absolutely no mental disability and was ‘normal’ in every other sense of the term. “The only thing my child couldn’t do in class was submit her notebook for correction to the teacher like all other children,” said the parent. This same child eventually went on to pass her SSC exam in flying colours with a score of 86.5%, her HSSC exam in Arts with a score of 81%, and went on to study Law. Today, she dreams of practising law for a couple of years, before teaching the subject. Yet, her brilliance was undermined by the authorities simply because she lacked the ability to see. She didn’t choose to be born with a lack of eyesight, but she has chosen to live with a vision. 

While, sensitivity of authorities is a must, it must start with the top. It is a shame, and was to the horror of all those present at the international blind cricket series that concluded on Saturday that the Governor said, “God also makes mistakes,” while referring to the visually impaired. This World White Cane Day, let us not only remember the visually impaired, but spare a thought for all those who have sight and take it for granted, and above all, those who have sight, but live with no vision. 

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