[Ohio-talk] Jamaica

[meandthedog at oberlin.net]

Thank you of that report. Kathy. It is so good to hear from many of you
who  serve other blind
folks out side of  the U.S.







> Hi all,
>
> I've just returned from Jamaica, where I spent 10 days learning about west
> Indies drumming and doing music therapy volunteer work in an infirmary and
> a school for students with special needs. It was a great experience, but
> one that made me reflect a lot.
>
> There are not a lot of resources for people with disabilities in Jamaica,
> including the blind. People with disabilities in Jamaica or cared for by
> their families, or send to one of the government operated infirmaries, one
> per parish. I did come across people who are blind and appeared to have no
> other disabilities in the infirmary. If you at the infirmary were deaf
> blind as well. When I walked through the streets of Boston Bay with my
> classmates the locals selling jerk would tell them to watch out for me.
> The idea of a blind person being capable of looking after herself was
> unheard of to them. My classmates would say things like, "she's okay,
> she's got it, "but they would have to assure the locals several times. A
> lot of times this was done discreetly out of my earshot. When I was able
> to tell the locals I was okay myself, I did so. My classmates were very
> good about backing me up in this situation as well. I became very good at
> saying these things without being in sensitive
>  to the cultural norm. This was different from ignorance we see from
> people in the United States, where people may have seen other blind
> people walking around on the streets or at least know that they're not
> institutionalized. A lot of this ties into the religious beliefs in
> Jamaica, which say that the disabled need to be cared for. They're the
> same Christian believes that effected blind people here almost a century
> ago. Even when I went through security at the Montego Bay airport
> yesterday the attendant made a comment that showed just how foreign the
> idea of an independent blind person was. I sent my belongings through the
> security scanner and walked right up to the metal detector. Since my cane
> with aluminum I sent it through the scanner and walked without it through
> the scanner. The attendant said that I did well for myself. However, I
> can't say I was never offered a wheelchair in Jamaica. That was something
> I was grateful for.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
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