Dialogue In The Dark By Delal

“Dialogue in the Dark” is one of the most effective examples of awareness raising social enterprises. Participants are trying to find their way and identify objects by scent and sound with a blind tour guide in fully dark rooms, which are modelled as a plane, car or tramway. The aim is to enlighten people about blindness and specially show the real obstacle: society.

Personally, after being a participant, I observed that blind people don’t think they are disabled, as our guide said “It is a privilege to not judge people by how they look, but who they are”. But they do think they are ostracized not because of their handicap, but because of the prejudice of the society.

After this experience I agree, because I would feel in danger if our guide were not with us, and trying to comfort us by showing his being. It is easy to adapt to this situation to our daily life in aspect of blind people after being a participant. And see how they are excluded by society because of the society itself, but not because of themselves having difficulties due to blindness. For us, it might seem impossible to move without being able to see, but unlike our thoughts blind people are as capable as us. It becomes more obvious after participating “Dialogue in the Dark”, and seeing how comfortable the guide is when he is walking without sticks and touching walls to find his or her way.

Also disabled people have specific abilities, for example, if we get on with blind people, they can sense breast cancer better than any doctor. “Dialogue in the Dark” is a great experience to get rid of our prejudice and to realize the importance of diversity.

Diversity is not for separating but for developing ourselves by using different abilities. This shows that blind people are not different than the society and the only obstacle is prejudice in our minds.