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My name is José Moreira and I’m visually-impaired.
I was blinded at age 7 by a grenade. From then on my life belongs
to a group of people who systematically fight for equality. Because
we are a minority we’re forced to spend our lives proving to
the so-called “normal people” that, despite having a
different way of looking at the world, we have the same right to
take part in the development of society and the environment. That
is, whenever we concern and protest against something that is not
correctly done, we’re not doing it because we’re angry
and traumatized by our condition, but because we have a broader vision
of the problems caused by the lack of building anarchy.
Before an impairment knocks on your door we completely ignore the
barriers standing up before us every day. Didn’t we all had
to walk by the road because the pavement was obstructed by garbage
bins, outdoors, benches, park meters, wholes, tree branches, bushes;
and didn’t we all had a hard time telling the red from the
green traffic light because of the sunlight? But if they all were
sound-emitting it would make life easier, not only for those who
are unable to see but for everybody. Still, we keep on bumping into
them.
Of course this is much more challenging for the disabled but the
truth is it also hassles everyone’s quality of life.
Therefore it’s about time we stop pointing to the disabled
whenever we talk about accessibility. For accessibility belongs to
us all.
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