If disability — especially blindness and other severe visual impairment — means isolation and despair for many, it is still viewed by others as an ingenious way to life. Disabled people are called upon to show great struggle and courage in adapting to what is often a sad reality. Some continue the struggle expressing their talents, taking responsibility and making valid contributions to society. Many others succumb to despair and hopelessness.
Muhammad Bello, a young Saudi who found himself living in darkness after a long struggle with a hereditary disease, is certainly one who falls into the first category. Since his first diagnosis and on through until he finally lost his sight, he never lost hope. He continued to struggle to lead an independent life while seeking to help and encourage others with a similar disability.
Bello has recently published a book of his experience with blindness and how society treats the blind. Entitled “Fruits of Darkness”, the book is a 400-page autobiography highlighting the psychological and social pressures which handicapped people experience. The book also suggests ways to ensure the participation of blind people in various aspects of society. This, Bello says, should come through initiatives that encourage and emphasize community education, personal responsibility, self-help and mutual support.
When he was 27 years old and leading a happy family life, working for Saudi Arabian Airlines in-flight services, Bello began experiencing the gradual loss of his sight. In a few years time, he was told by doctors he would become totally blind. Within a period of 12 years — from 1980 when he joined the airline as chef to the year 1992 when he was retired based on medical recommendations — Bello experienced the most dramatic changes in his life. His long-cherished dream of becoming a flight attendant became a nightmare when he began experiencing trouble with his work.
“My inability to see clearly would lead me sometimes to stumble and spill drinks while serving the passengers and this caused me extreme embarrassment and psychological pain,” he recalled. Soon he lost his job and found himself confined to a desk with a reduced salary, having lost many of the benefits he had earlier enjoyed. His American wife who married him despite objections from her family thought of leaving him and in fact she finally did; on a later visit to the United States, she refused to return to the Kingdom.
At one time things were so bad that Bello almost lost hope, but gradually and with the support of his wife at that time, his colleagues, relatives and friends, he regained trust in his own ability to cope with a new reality and of having to live with blindness. He was also able to get on with his life and prove that he can do as much as many normal people do and be an active member of society. With the help of technology and special products meant for people with impaired vision plus the experience he gained while at specialized institutions in the US, Bello has been able to live an independent life. “I decided to take the initiative and come out of the dark tunnel I was trapped in after I was forced into retirement. I had a number of experiences and endured the great suffering experienced by people who lose their sight.”
While still working with the airline, Bello came up with the idea of serving a special meal for blind passengers on Saudia. The meal won international awards for the airline from several bodies, including the International Federation of Catering (IFCA) and the International Flight Catering Association (IFCA). The idea struck him while working with other Saudia employees on identifying the problems faced by blind airplane passengers. These included difficulty in accessing airline and airport employees, identifying their luggage and the lack of printed material to help a blind person overcome some of the problems he or she would encounter. Airline records show that at least 7,000 blind passengers travel by air annually — of whom only two percent fly first class. The custom was that all passengers were treated as if they were completely normal when it came to food and other services.
Bello says he wanted his experience to encourage other blind or visually impaired people in the Kingdom and other parts of the Arab world to get on with their life, regardless of the hardships they face. “One of the most important lessons I learned in the US was self-reliance. I felt that they encouraged the visually impaired to move from one place to another without help from anyone. The blind are encouraged to use a stick instead of holding someone’s hand.”
Because he was used to depending on others to help him, Bello was shocked to discover how helpless he was when he arrived in Minneapolis to attend the training institute for the blind. “At the airport I discovered how desperate and helpless I was as I tried to move from one place to another. I felt ashamed and embarrassed when an airport attendant put me on an electric cart usually used by the handicapped and elderly.” The time he spent receiving specialized training was of great benefit to him; he was exposed to many people of different nationalities and from a variety of cultures but all had the same problem: Impaired vision. The blind and visually impaired in the US have access to a number of products that help them lead more normal lives. These range from easy-to-see, tactile and talking watches and clocks to coin holders, needle threaders and signature guides to use with check books and kitchen equipment.
For years Bello dreamed of seeing similar facilities made available to the blind in the Kingdom. Just recently the ground has been prepared for the establishment of the first visual impairment center in Saudi Arabia. The center will serve not only thousands of people suffering various degrees of visual disability in the Kingdom but also those in other Arab countries. Bello has now been chosen as the project manager for an Arabic/English computer-talking program that will help the blind access the Internet, handle their e-mail and benefit from other computer services. Contacts are under way with similar institutions in Europe and the United States so that those in the Kingdom can benefit from others’ experiences.
A meeting of the constituent body of the Visually Impaired Service Center will soon be held in Jeddah under the chairmanship of Prince Talal, chairman of the Arab Gulf Program for United Nations Development Organizations (AGFUND). Other founders include the Islamic Development Bank and the Al-Maghrabi Group of Hospitals along with a group of leading businessmen. Dr. Akif Al-Maghrabi, chairman of Al-Maghrabi group, has donated a plot of land near the hospital to house the center.
Visually impaired people account for 30 percent of the total number of handicapped persons in Saudi Arabia; other estimates put the figure much higher.
The World Health Organization has embarked on a global initiative aimed at preventing blindness by the year 2020. The Kingdom has endorsed a national code for the handicapped to govern the affairs of the growing numbers of its disabled population and help them integrate into mainstream society. Emphasis has been laid on education, health, training, employment and basic services. The law attempts to ensure protection of the rights of the handicapped and directs that violators should be punished.