Pandemic creates new challenges for the blind
Ahead of White Cane Safety Day today, which raises awareness of the challenges faced by the blind and visually impaired, the head of a non-profit organization in Greece has told Kathimerini about the additional difficulties the pandemic has brought to those with compromised vision.
“The truth is that with the use of gloves, we lost one more sense,” Vassilis Avgoulas, the head of the organization Me Alla Matia (With Other Eyes) told Kathimerini.
For instance, it is harder for the visually impaired to feel braille signs when wearing gloves.
Avgoulas also pointed to higher expenses due to the increased use of taxis. And when crossing the road, the help that had often been offered by passersby is no longer so forthcoming, nor welcome, he added.
The one positive development is that the pandemic obliged the state to digitize more public services, he said, citing online appointments among other things.
