“Shall I bring you a chair to sit?” … I hear this question repeatedly since I became blind. I understand that people ask this question out of their kindness and with good intentions, but sometimes I have to say ten times in every place I enter that I do not need a chair to sit to the extent that once I pulled my arm from three persons who wanted to sit me down against my wish, I feel that I do not need any help from any person in my life. Their attitude reminds me of a person sitting in his car and a hostler insists to clean the car glass although it is clean. When I lost my sight, I was a sophomore. The university refused to allow someone to write for me in the exams unless I agree to transfer to Faculty of Arts. I like reading and writing too much but it is not necessary that every blind person becomes Taha Hussein because Taha Hussein is the only famous blind person that we know or because reading and writing is the easiest thing that any blind person can do.
I am not mentioning this situation to complain. This is only an example of several situations that show how people easily confine and put any disabled person in a specific frame. Whenever people see any person with disability, they deal with the disability as a point of weakness, they believe that the disabled person needs rest and must “sit down”, they believe that any blind person who want to continue his education must be a writer as if the blind person cannot do anything other than being a writer, definitely this is not true.
There is a blind mechanic and a blind carpenter and I am a blind person who is dreaming since childhood to be an automotive designer. Sometimes I exert efforts and try to innovate new methods to design automotive but people mock me and doubt my ability to achieve this dream. When I ask them why they are doing so, they say that they wish me all the best but they do not want me to waste my time and efforts for vain then be frustrated. Their words never affect me but they make me worry about other disabled persons who may be affected and remain in the frame drawn by people for disabled persons. Unfortunately, many people with disabilities are frustrated or feel pity for themselves because of the way the society look on them and the society make them believe that their abilities are very limited. The first thing I wish to change is the way families, friends and the whole society look on any disabled person. We are different in our colours, shapes and dreams but it is time to open our minds, to understand that we have different needs and to stop making stereotypes. I support Atta Fund because it shares my thoughts and it leaves no stone unturned to create opportunities for disabled persons. I hope all people will share the same ideas and support Atta Fund to ensure that the coming generations will have opportunities without any negative communal barriers.
