Let Me Pursue The Path I Have Drawn

Let me pursue the path I have drawn

By Shamsa Al Saidi

College of Education, English

Is shattering a person's dream an easy matter? Do people who hinder fulfilling goals realize how horrible their actions are? People with disabilities will be put on the spotlight here; specifically, the visually impaired students at Sultan Qaboos University.

The extent of care towards visually impaired students is one angle reflecting how responsible and humane the society is. The more the society is heedful of them, the fairer it becomes. Moreover, when those students feel such affection and support, they will ignite their potential to prove that they need and deserve complete reliance on their abilities.

The bitter truth is that these students believe that they don’t get enough support at SQU. Space will not always to talk about them all; as a result, we have choosen two only: Muadh Al Ruqadi (severe weakness of view) and Reda Al Hadrami (unsighted).

To start with, Muadh is a sixth-year student who has transferred from College of         Engineering after studying at it three years. He has around 7 innovations and has gotten a patent for two of them. His vision was gradually becoming weak so he went to the University Administration to supply him with a laptop that suites his case. He waited one year and a half resulting in deteriorating his condition however they informed him that they won't provide him with it. "You must change your specialization and the only college that accepts you is the College of Arts," there words was as painful as a knife stabbing his heart. And so he did change.

The second case in point is Reda who is a first-year student. He explains that the equipment provided is insufficient. In their lab they only have one electronic Braille printer and it definitely doesn't cater their needs. He dazzles me when saying; ''We want to study all what sighted students study and we are up to the task.''

When asking them about the moral support, they asserted that not all people are the same. They have come across those who encourage them, and others who underestimate them. Regarding the material support, visually impaired students; Muadh clarifies, have been receiving support from the private sector and charitable people. Although there are still much to be done by the decision makers, it must be noted that the administration of the College of Arts is planning to open a bigger lab. That is a good foundation that SQU can build on to create even more opportunities for visually impaired students to achieve their dreams. 

We are not trying to accuse anyone, we just want to deliver a young ambitious voice to the society and make sure that his voice is heard. We know that the responsible people are doing their best, but we know that better things can always be done.