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‘Derogatory comments affect PWDs’
A resident of Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region, Israel Golomeke has disclosed that derogatory comments and negative attitudes from people affect persons with disability (PWDs).
“Sometimes it makes me think aboutcommitting suicide. I have come very close to doing that a couple of times” he lamented in tears.
He made the statement in an interview with The Spectator on the sidelines of an end of year party by the Ashaiman branch of the Ghana Society for Persons with Disability last Saturday.
The former Dock Worker said from his interaction with other colleagues over the years, he realised that he was not the only one who felt so.
“Some of the things people say and do to us is unimaginable. Is it my fault that I am blind? I was not born blind and I never thought I would find myself in this situation,” he said.
The 53-year-old man revealed that he went blind about five years ago due to cataract.
He said it was traumatising that even family and friends who were close to him had abandoned him because they felt he was just a burden.
He said persons with disability battled with emotional and psychological issues and so when they come out and they are met with abuse in various forms, it makes them feel like life was not worth living.
Mr Golomeke said he needed about Gh¢15,000 to undergo a cornea transplant to regain his sight.
The former Dockworker said he had tried to appeal to many people but the amount involved had turned them away and was calling on the government, religious institutions and Non-Govermental Organisations to assist him see again.
“I am strong and I can work despite my age but the current situation makes me feel very limited. Please I need help to live a normal life again and not seen as a burden by anyone. If I regain my sight, I can also help others,” the resident of Ashaiman Middle East appealed.
From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Ashaiman