Challenging the Challenge
- Ashmira Hamirani   (Source: The AICUFer)

When I look back, the first memories that come to my mind are of my school days. I think that studying in an integrated school with “normal” children gave me an exposure to the world of the sighted, as you may call it. This was especially because it gave me an understanding of the attitude that the sighted hold towards the visually challenged. Going to an integrated school also proved to be an advantage academically because I started writing and making my notes in Braille at an equivalent speed with other children.

But in school I did not have great friends or a group of friends with whom I could hang around. This was partly due to the lack of awareness among my peers as to how they should approach a visually challenged individual and also due to my inability to understand as to how to convert this non-acceptance to friendship. Luckily this barrier was overcome and I can say that today that I have 2 friends from school who are still in contact with me.

After schooling another major milestone was a shift to junior college, which I would say was not so difficult because of the experiences that I had had in my school. In college a major challenge was to get readers and writers. There have been times when writers never turned up even 10 minutes after the exams started and I used to wonder what would happen to me if they did not come at all. At that time I used to find it very difficult to handle the situation, but now I realize that it taught me to be patient and give my best in exams in spite of the problems. Incidentally I found a group for myself in college and I feel extremely proud to say that one of the persons in the group continues to be in contact with me and we are best friends.

Joining Xavier’s for my BA degree was a major transition because it gave me a very different perspective towards life. It gave me a variety of experiences that helped me to be confident, strong and I was able to grow as a person. In the beginning I felt lost because of the vast campus and I was as scared and nervous as any other student. Fortunately I got good friends in the first year which made my life easier. Because of XRCVC (Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged) I had no problems in studies.

However as usual life posed new challenges before me and I learnt to adapt to them eventually. One of the things that I noticed was that whenever I needed “help” there were many people around me but when I needed “Friends” I was alone. Another experience that shattered me, at least for a few days, was when I realized that people were underestimating me because they thought that I could not do several things like the sighted, which was not true at all. However these experiences taught me that it is good to have few genuine friends than being surrounded by hundreds of others. It gave me the strength to be alone and yet not feel lonely. I think another reason why I was able to sustain myself in spite of the difficulties was due to the support of my parents and my teachers, academically and otherwise.

I would like to conclude by talking about several questions that people often ask when they meet me. A common misconception is that it is difficult for a blind person to walk alone. In response to this I say that it might appear to be difficult but honestly it is just different and as easy or challenging as for any other individual. Another question that is frequently asked is ‘Don’t you feel bad when you cannot see the world?’ Since I am born blind it really doesn’t make a difference but it would be a little challenging initially, for someone who goes blind later in life, according to my knowledge.

Finally I want to add that generally people give us a lot of respect and keep us up there for whatever we have done in life because they think that we have done something impossible or they consider us as incapable of doing anything. My only suggestion would be that a visually challenge person or anyone with any disabilities should be treated in the same manner and as normally as anyone else .