Blind technology teacher Andre Fisher calls for end to bias against disabled Jamaicans

Andre Fisher, a technology teacher at The Salvation Army School for the Blind, says discrimination continues to sit at the heart of the obstacles confronting Jamaicans living with disabilities, even after years of advocacy.

"Discrimination is still a big issue even as it relates to going into a taxi. Some of the drivers feel that we are not going to pay our fare or we not moving quick enough to get into their cab. Even with the government buses we have challenges getting seats which are reserved for the disabled. You find that the general populous are not always receptive to us," Fisher said.

He added that the difficulties stretch well beyond public transport. "Getting employed is another issue. Walking on the sidewalks and just accessing buildings is a major challenge because there could be infrastructure issues like holes in the sidewalks and so on. Sometimes persons who are blind don't want to go out," he said.

Born with glaucoma, Fisher was himself a student at the Salvation Army School before moving on to Jamaica College. He later read for a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing and operations management at The University of the West Indies (UWI), and spent two years at Heart/NSTA Trust before taking up his current teaching post.

"Life has its ups and down but it is mostly ups for me and one of the key things for me was acceptance. It was very important for me to embrace the challenges that may arise daily and know that they can be aborted or overcome. I have learnt that growing up, and, as a result, I am better able to carry out my daily business at my very best. We just need empowerment and needs to be encouraged so we can impress upon others that we are able to live and function like everyone else," he said.

Fisher made the comments on the sidelines of the seventh Regional Disability Studies Conference at The UWI, where he told THE STAR he is often startled by how the wider public views members of the disabled community, and is calling on the authorities to expand public education on the issue.

"[That] needs to be ramped up so that persons who are not visually impaired or disabled can understand how [members of] the community perform their daily tasks and so on. This way, certain questions and comments that are made don't need to be asked. The technology is there and advanced, but the attitudes and perceptions are still there. We just want the opportunity to do what we can to support our families. A lot of persons, because we have a disability, think we don't want relationships or want to stay in our community and form relationships," he added.

Professor Senator Floyd Morris, who heads the UWI's Centre for Disability Studies, echoed the concern, pointing to the high jobless rate among the visually impaired and pressing the government to enforce existing legal provisions that require the public sector to hire more persons with disabilities.

"We have trained persons with disabilities who are not being employed across this country," Morris said. He also urged the administration to lift the annual allocation to the disability council from its current $15 million.

"But that is chicken crumbs in terms of providing for a certain amount of people with disabilities as it relates to self-employment. That needs to be increased to about $100 million," he said.