If Barbados is Little England, then there’s no doubt in my mind that Trinidad is Little America. iPhones, Starbucks and KFC dominate while the youth frequent malls in their downtime just to sit around and chill. Now, whether or not this is a positive state of affairs isn’t the topic du jour. Rather, I want to talk about one aspect of American culture which we imported and its impact on the blind and visually impaired (BVI) community. I refer, of course, to the Trini dream, which is our take on the American one.
It’s instructive to define what, exactly, the Trini dream is before we proceed. The Trini dream is the promise that every working-class Trinidadian parent inculcates in their children to ensure they have a better life than they did. In essence, it posits that one should pass for a prestige school, go to university, and then get a good paying job, thus enabling them to get married, buy a palatial house in suburbia with fortlike concrete walls adorned by fancy landscaping like regal dresses, while five dogs of mixed breeding, none of which are fit for Trinidad’s climate, run around their Ford Ranger. And, don’t forget the classic Sunday lunch and regular trips to New York and Miami.
Naturally, as an ambitious young man, I yearn to be one who winds up with a husky or two, but the simple reality is even if I keep up my current trajectory, go to university and get a big wuck, that dream may not be available to me as a blind person.
In my case, no matter how hard I try, the system is stacked against my favour, reducing my enjoyment of, and participation in, the dream. That’s not to say that success isn’t possible for blind people. Far from it in fact. It’s simply the objective reality that systemic structures require blind people to work harder to achieve things that ordinary folks take for granted. Picture this: It’s Friday evening. I want to go to the market to get some potatoes for my shepherd’s pie on Sunday.
How do I get there?
For many town planners in Trinidad, pavements appear to be quite luxurious and expensive, as their placement throughout towns and villages are quite scant. They’re usually totally absent, which is the case for the vast majority of residential streets. Thus, risking veering out in the road, falling in a drain due to overcompensating, or hurting yourself on someone’s landscaping. I will concede that pavements are, in fact, a thing; however that isn’t saying much. They often cut short quicker than a Netflix series with poor ratings, pushing you on the road or bush, which again, is right next to a deep drain. In addition, there are often random holes that can and will badly damage you. But forget about Suburbia. Getting to work, the hospital and anywhere beyond your town is a challenge. Our country is designed for the Ranger, remember? Not public transport.
What about that big wuck now? I’m afraid on that front the dream doesn’t seem to be any brighter. The unemployment rate in the United States for 2024 among persons with disabilities was twice that of able-bodied American workers. I expect statistics to be similar here in Trinidad and Tobago. According to a study from the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), the average blind American is half as likely to have a college education as their able-bodied peers, and for those who do, they’re still making just under 20 per cent less than their sighted counterparts. The preconceived notions and prejudices of employers also play a critical role in hiring practices. It’s not entirely their fault, either. You don’t know someone’s capability to do something unless you’ve seen it firsthand. It applies in other contexts. For example, if your life depended on it, would you rather a surgeon who performed the same operation hundreds of times or a newbie fresh out of med school to do so? The newbie may even do a better job, but because of your internalised bias, it’s likely you default to the older doctor.
What can we do about this? A few things. As far as employment goes, we must invest in internship programmes to allow blind and visually impaired people to be exposed to sighted employers and peers, as well as introduce affirmative action initiatives to ensure QUALIFIED, I repeat, QUALIFIED blind people are placed in roles befitting their qualifications. Next, invest in universally designed public transport with everyone in mind. This benefits not only the BVI community but the nation as a whole, boosting productivity and economic growth. As a blind person, you shouldn’t have to be asleep to believe in the dream. We can, and must, make it a reality for all.
This column is supplied in conjunction with the T&T Blind Welfare Association
Headquarters: 118 Duke Street, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
Email: ttbwa1914@gmail.com
Phone: (868) 624-4675 WhatsApp: (868) 395-3086
