I have been spending more time in the community, and have been getting more invites to go places. Last week I went to a community forum regarding the budget, which was given by our village mayor. A woman was pointed out to me; it appears that she is “not right in the head,” and has many children because men take advantage of her. The woman is outcasted from society and carries a stick with her, I assume for protection/ because she is used to getting harassed.
There are no special education programs in schools. I haven’t seen a child with downs syndrome walking around. I have heard that other PC volunteers with mild disabilities (i.e. dyslexia) who have “come out” to their counterparts are labeled retarded.
This all just breaks my heart, and gives me yet another reason to feel like screaming at the top of my lungs “After apartheid, aren’t you people sick of judging one another?!?”
The woman mentioned above might have a mild problem, which in the west would be easily treatable. But here she is at the mercy of the local men, and I feel like I am in medieval Europe (the only reason I don’t say Victorian England is because there are too many dirt paths and not enough carriages…or lobotomies. Those Victorians loved lobotomies), what with the jeering and cat calling and the stick.
I suppose that the marginalization of the differently-abled still occurs in America. Especially amongst children and in schools. No one wants to be considered different when they are young. I think what bothers me so much is that the woman is taken advantage by men, and there is no one to help her/ guide her.
