International White Cane Day - the path to tolerance

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Even with the hustle and bustle of the pace of today's life, we unmistakably recognize people on the streets who have limited opportunities. It is difficult not to notice them for one simple reason: it is much more difficult for them to live in this world adapted for a he althy person. In order to draw attention to people with low vision, October 15th is International White Cane Day.

Mankind, unfortunately, does not always realize in time the degree of importance and severity of restrictions for a person who has lost he alth. At first, he has to overcome the difficulties of everyday life on his own, sometimes alone. It is now that various societies have been created to help resolve the issues of the life of such people. But more recently, this has not been the case at all.

The idea of using a warning sign for the blind

The history of the appearance of this attribute in the everyday life of visually impaired people appeared much earlier than International White Cane Day. She is almost 100 years old. The idea belongs to the English photographer James Biggs, who losteyesight at a young age due to an accident. This happened in 1921, when a cane was still an essential attribute for every gentleman. The only way for him to adapt to walking on the street was to "feel" the road. This could only be done with a cane. But neither passersby nor drivers understood these movements, and therefore did not give way to the blind Biggs. The solution was found when he realized that it was the cane that had to be visible before he was knocked down. Friends helped turn an ordinary cane into an attribute of a blind person by painting it white. Much has changed in Biggs' life since then.

Initially, the spread of the idea of a white cane for the blind came only from the words of the most resourceful Englishman and his friends. They advised all acquaintances with serious vision problems to use this attribute for the convenience of moving around the streets. It took another 10 years for the English blind to wait until one of the most famous charities addressed the issue. Thanks to the press coverage of this topic, the British blind received white canes for the first time through the Red Cross.

Spreading the white cane around the world

By 1930, the idea of a cane for the blind had crossed the English Channel. France already had schools for the education of visually impaired children, the first of which was founded by Valentin Gayuy. Louis Braille, which is used today for reading by all people with visual impairments, has already received application.

Active distributionThe warning attribute of a blind person in France was de alt with by Gwilly D'erbemont, an aristocrat known in her homeland as a protector and patroness of blind people. It was she who suggested that the Paris authorities support the initiative to provide the blind with special canes.

In the 1960s, a massive campaign in the United States raised awareness of the problems of disabled people in American society. At the initiative of the Federation of the Blind and with the support of US President L. Johnson, October 15 was named Safe White Cane Day. After 1964, this day received the status of a special annual date.

In 1992, the World Blind Union attempted to unite the International Day of the White Cane under the patronage of the UN, which would solve the vital problems of the blind of all nations. But so far this call has not been heeded, and each organization seeks support from the government of its country on its own.

Day of the Blind in Russia

The initiatives of the Russian Society of the Blind were first supported only in 1987. Today, in our country, the issues of equality of the blind and tolerance for them are covered regularly, but especially widely - on the International Day of the White Cane. Events dedicated to the main task - the integration of visually impaired and blind people into public life, are held regularly. This is not only holding seminars, lectures and meetings, but also providing practical assistance to those in need.

Sunglasses that cover your eyes regardless of the season, the faint sound of a cane tapping on the pavement -they are constant companions of blind or visually impaired people. As a rule, they are also accompanied by a faithful guide - a dog equipped in a special harness with the already known sign of the red cross.

The main issue is tolerance

International White Cane Day 2014 was all about tolerance. Each of us must learn to understand that for a blind person, deprived of the happiness of seeing a colorful world, a cane is not only a tool for movement, it is his “eyes”. The understanding of such complexity of perception comes only in "practice". On this day, many sighted competitions were held, where situations of loss of vision were simulated. The easiest way turned out to be a blindfold, in which you had to try to complete tasks, cope with situations that surround blind people in everyday life.

Another reason to try to equalize the rights of the blind and "try on" the life of these people is the International White Cane Day.

Striving to understand and accept

Almost all categories of people with disabilities have their own system of warning signs, by which any passer-by can easily determine that there is a person in front of him, probably in need of help. For people who are unable to see, a white cane is such a distinctive sign. Seeing a person with a white cane, we know for sure that this person either has poor vision or does not see at all.

International White Cane Day, Day of the Blind, as it is otherwise called, is not only words aboutthe difficulties of the disabled. This is the desire to understand the people living next to us and accept them as such.