|
A blind man makes his way on the Seoul subway. The disabled frequently find themselves outcast and forced to beg to survive. |
By Simon Phillips
A blind man does not bluff, he cannot see. He does not walk awkwardly
through a packed subway train for kicks, he does it because there is no
support for him. Begging is the only way he can get money from society.
The lot of the blind is harsh in a city of plenty. Why is there no
welfare system which provides financial support for these disabled
people? It is very well to mark the opening of summer with such dates
as Children’s Day and Parent’s Day, but every blind man was once a
child. Do people just not care for the disadvantaged here?
Photographs of a paraplegic man, covered in rubber to protect his body
from the pain of dragging himself through the gutters of Seoul, won
acclaim at this year’s Korean Press Photo Awards. Do such photos bring
about a change in public perception and therefore action. If photos of
this nature encourage people to consider their values, then it would be
refreshing to see Korea develop in areas of the flesh rather than the
accessory.
While materialism seems to be the major draw of expenditure, the
have-nots continue to live with nothing. For sure, Koreans are not a
heartless people, it’s just that right values have somehow been buried
in an endless rush towards modernity and the enjoyment of material
things, particularly image. Is a blind man concerned with his image? Of
course not, he cannot see.
The underground train is a quiet place. This is true in London, Paris
or Seoul. It is the ultimate place to observe your fellow man. Sitting
in a carriage, there is nowhere else to look but at other people, and
in return, feel the eyes of others upon you.
This quietness is occasionally interrupted by the tones of a blind
man’s stereo. No one can fail to notice, as the sound is so tunelessly
humbling. The blind man moves through the carriage like a zombie,
feeling the air ahead of him or tapping along the lines of feet either
side of the carriage with a white stick.
The stereo is hung round his neck like a noose it seems, and in his
outstretched palms is a plastic basket for collecting the generous
donations of passengers. As the carriage sways along in the dark
tunnel, the man inches his way along at such a pace that no one can
fail to see him. He sees nothing, just the darkness of the tunnel.
Does anyone question why it is that a disabled person, who cannot by
definition work a normal job, should be consigned to begging on the
underground? It seems to me that we, society at large are the ones
playing the game of blind man’s bluff, forcing the blind man to move in
whatever direction he can to survive, teasing him with small offerings
of money, but never enough for him to be secure and not have to make
his dark and humiliating journey through the carriages every day.
Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?
simonsaze@gmail.com
|
