The Situation of the Blind in Europe

 

 

The situation of the blind and partially sighted in Europe is as diverse as the countries in our continent. As one might imagine, the living conditions for visually impaired are better in the more wealthy countries, although we can see some bigger differences here as well. For example, blind people are better off in Germany than in the United Kingdom.

 

In times of economical crisis many governments begin to build down their social system. This can be seen all over Europe. Since many blind people rely on financial help from "social money" - be it for simple living costs or for supplementing the extra expenses blind people encounter - we can see a major decrease in the quality of life for visually impaired people all over Europe. This is especially true in the former socialist countries, where

thousands have lost their jobs and other social benefits.

 

New technologies have opened a world of information for blind people, thus enabling them to work in fields which formerly were closed for us. On the other hand, it is the same technological development which threatens and takes away many of the jobs which were traditionally held by blind and partially sighted people (typists, switchboard operators, broom- or brush makers and more).

 

The number of blind and partially sighted people with additional, often mental handicaps has increased significantly. This has lead to a shift in the educational system for visually impaired people: Many children with average intelligence are integrated into regular schools, whereas the special schools focus on the multi-handicapped population. However, official authorities often see integrated schooling as a good (and ideologically well

justifiable) means to save education money. This has the effect that in particular totally blind pupils get an education which doesn't measure up to the standard specialized schools once had.

 

In my opinion, visually impaired persons in Europe have more reason to worry about their future than they had as recently as ten years ago. What we need is a strong selfhelp movement and an understanding public, who will support us in our struggle for

self-efficiency and independence.