My disability is a blessing most days because it has made me who I am. I choose to be one. People think that disability is a curse and become depressed because they think it will hold them back. The only thing holding me back is me. At the same time, I am not so foolish as to think that there are no barriers there.
The World Health Organization estimated that 15% of every population has a disability. Let’s round it to 10%. Say you live on a small island with 100 children and 10 have some form of disability, but you only have a limited amount of money and you can only educate 50 non-disabled people, because educating the disabled it costs more (additional teacher training, equipment and infrastructure). This is the reality. Does that mean those kids don’t deserve all those things? Not at all.
On a recent trip to Kenya, I met university professors who were deaf, autistic, blind. Imagine if they had no opportunity for higher education. These wonderful people would not have been able to make contributions to their communities. In addition to being disability activists or advocates, they make daily contributions. What if they weren’t given the chance?
The challenge is: we need to recognize that people with disabilities do not need to be exceptional to be given the right to be included. I understand the economy and its practices, but we have to start from inclusiveness. If you have a ramp, does that prevent someone who is fully ambulatory from entering the building? No. But if you only have stairs, it prevents people with mobility challenges from accessing them.
All disabled people need a space in which they can develop their full potential. This is the legacy I want to leave
For the hearing impaired, when Zoom introduced American Sign Language (ASL) and captions – it’s not great, but it’s there – does that mean if I’m planning an event I have to rely on Zoom’s artificial intelligence (AI) to provide you with all your needs? No.
But at the very least, everyone should activate it because hearing impaired people have the right to participate in any meeting or webinar. Subtitles don’t have to be foreign to whoever sets them up—it should be second nature. This is the beginning. Then, these hearing impaired people can participate in any meeting or webinar.
The norm is to start with at least basic considerations, and that’s where we need to take our societies. If you are having a carnival party, make sure that people with disabilities can also enjoy it. There are ways to make these things enjoyable. Accept that there are people with disabilities who may want to come to your feet. Even if none show up, at least if they attend, there is a space or area they can retreat to.
LIn September, Barbados’ senior high school, Harrison College – it pains me to say this – welcomed its first totally blind student, and I helped him learn how to use a computer. I measure my triumphs when I see things like this: when the first totally blind lawyer in the Caribbean passed through my hands; when I see that there are programs for people with disabilities.
In July, the Barbados Council for Persons with Disabilities completed the first My Inclusive School competition, where schools were invited to make their school more inclusive for persons with disabilities. I measure my achievements by those things.
As Deputy Chair of the Commonwealth Disability Forum, we have the Disability Inclusion Action Plan, which we are encouraging Commonwealth governments to support in order to take a more inclusive approach to disability. their various projects and programs. This is the next major international effort that I would like to see implemented. It’s tiring trying to get 56 countries to sign on to one thing!
Regardless, I think disability awareness in the Caribbean is getting better. St Kitts has a ministry specifically to deal with disabilities, although that may not be the only thing they deal with. Barbados has the National Disability Unit, which is a government agency under the Ministry of People’s Empowerment and Elderly Affairs.
My disability does not diminish me as a person. I have the same dreams and aspirations as any other 50-year-old woman
The Caribbean Court of Justice this year issued guidelines on how legal officers should handle the issue of disability in court. Barbados, Trinidad and St Vincent have pending disability rights legislation. Also, in July, the Central Bank of Barbados launched Marketing Conduct Guidelines, and included that banks should offer more services to people with disabilities.
This is all great, but we still have many cases where people with disabilities need to demand equal treatment; where people still act like they are doing us a favor as opposed to fulfilling our rights; where governments do not ensure that people with disabilities can be contributing members of their societies.
People still see us as recipients of services, as objects, as subjects. They see us as passive recipients. They don’t see us as actively engaged. There are banks with Intelligent Automated Teller Machines (ABM/ATM) but there is no ABM in Barbados that I can use independently. People with disabilities still have to fight to be included.
LLiving with a disability is a challenge every day. It’s a challenge when things that are small and simple for others are a big disappointment for us, and for me just because I don’t see … like when my cat leaves the house without asking and then I have to spend 10 minutes of looking for her and she’s just sitting there in the middle of the floor standing extremely still laughing at me. This is one of the funniest, but there are other frustrations we face every day.
We are still considered by the average person to be a bunch of things we shouldn’t be, but awareness has grown tremendously and we are in a phase of integration. What we really need to be is a stage of inclusion, and inclusion and integration are two different things. They are not even interchangeable.
My perception of people with disabilities changed as I got older and spent time with other fights. Sometimes people with disabilities treat the sighted and able-bodied people around them as legs they don’t have, hands they can’t use, lips they can’t speak, and eyes they can’t see. But there is more to them than that; there is even more for us. All this is a free package. Stop focusing on the one or 10 things that are challenging and start realizing that there are many more things you can do.
My disability does not diminish me as a person. I have the same dreams and aspirations as any other 50-year-old woman. All disabled people need a space in which they can develop their full potential. This is the legacy I want to leave.
I was the first totally blind woman in the Senate of Barbados; the first blind person to serve as Vice President and President – the first woman and the youngest person. I was 38 years old then, and now I’m a wonderful 50 years old
Some days I wake up and I don’t want to fight anymore. Sometimes I really wish I didn’t have to do this every day. Then there are other days when I couldn’t imagine my life without it. It is a tiring and tireless struggle.
I’ve been told I’m intimidating and that’s why I’ll always be single. I’ve been told I’m funny by Prime Minister Mia Mottley; I’ve been told I’m intelligent; I’ve been told I have a devilish smile. I like to think of myself as me.
I was the first totally blind woman in the Senate of Barbados (there was a blind man before me). I was the first blind person to serve as Vice President and President – the first female President and the youngest person in that capacity. I was 38 years old then, and now I’m a wonderful 50 years old.
I have traveled the length and breadth of the Caribbean as well. I went to Kenya and I went alone, in the sense that I did not take a personal assistant. I have that right. I don’t need someone to put me in a wheelchair, I don’t need people telling me I can’t fly because I’m blind. I’m not the pilot. On the way, I met a blind pilot. Miles Hilton-Barber flew solo from the UK to Sydney. Look at that.
I get out of bed to tackle whatever is in front of me today to make a better tomorrow. So to be recognized by the prestigious Anthony N Sabga Awards for Caribbean Excellence this year and to receive the Order of Freedom of Barbados last year means that someone else took the time to pay attention to the things I do and that gives me the opportunity to reflect on what my life has done.
There is a saying in the disability community: “nothing for us without us”. But the late Genie Newman had a saying that I adopted: “nothing without us.” I get irritated when people tell me I’m inspirational. I don’t consider myself exceptional at anything, but a lot of people say I am because people have low expectations. Sometimes I wonder what will happen when people realize that I am just an ordinary person.
