TheBlindJournalist: Interview with Olypic Gold Medalist Steven Burke MBE for BBC Radio Lancashire

Listen to my interview with Olympic gold medalist Steven Burke MBE as he put a new cycling track through its paces in Nelson. The interview was produced for BBC Radio Lancashire.

listen to ‘TheBlindJournalist's Interview with Olympic Gold Medalist Steven Burke MBE’ on Audioboo

TheBlindJournalist: What is on my iPhone

This blog post is following a request by a follower who has requested I do a video where I talk about what is on my iPhone and which applications I use to assist me. Below is a video and further on you will find screenshots of the folder which contains the applications I use to aid me. I mention a few of the apps and what they do in my video. Also further on you will find two screenshots. One is where you need to go to in order to enlarge the text size on your device and the second is the various optinos available for accessibility. .

Screenshots:

In the above image you will find the applications I use to aid me. 

VisionSim is a simulator of various different eye conditions. As well as using the iPhone's camera to simulate how a sufferer would see, the app contains symptoms and information about each condition. 

TapTapSee is a fantastic app. It enables you to take a photo of an object and it will then process the image and tell you what it is. 

BrailleCoder is an app which teaches you the basics of braille and has short exercises to help you learn.

BigMagnify is a magnifying app which uses your camera for your phone to become a magnifier. You can chose the level of zoom you prefer and it also has an inbuilt torch facility if you need light. 

Go to Settings > General > Text Size. This will allow you to use the slider to decide to what extent you would like to enlarge the text on you iPhone for messages, emails and other apps which allow the iPhone to adjust the size.

Go to Settings > General > Accessibility. Here you will find various options to enable you the opportunity to choose what features you would like to activate to ensure your phone is accessible. The VoiceOver feature is essentially a screen-reader. It is extremely useful. 

TheBlindJournalist: Female Genital Mutilation

Female Genital Mutilation – A medieval practice in the 21^st Century.

Mohammed Salim Patel in Burkino Faso investigates the trauma millions of women face around the world.

A hospital has been created in Africa to restore the genitals of females.

Over 100.000000 (one hundred million) women in Africa have had their genitals mutilated. The mutilation takes place when the women are young girls. In some parts of Africa it is felt that if a woman is not mutilated then she is viewed as unclean and wouldn’t get married. The women are very young girls when they are taken for the cutting and therefore don’t have a say in the matter. The individuals who carry out the circumcisions are not trained medical proffessionals and often use razor blades to do the mutilation, therefore increasing risk of infections because the tools are not steralised.

There are many different forms of mutilation. They vary from clipping off the cliterus, stretching off the labia or partial\total removal of the genitalia. The most sever form of mutilation is infibulation – this is where the outer lips of the cliterus are removed, which causes a lot of blood loss, a small twig maybe inserted before the wound heals in order to allow the woman to relieve herself and maintain periods. Once the procedure is complete the woman’s legs are bound together for up to four weeks, entailing that intercourse and showering becomes impossible, this is done so that the husband knows their wife to be is a virgin. Some girls are married off at the age of 12.    

The hospital, ironically named, ‘The Pleasure Hospital’ is based in Burkino Faso, which is one of the poorest countries in the world. The hospital was set up by the religious movement called the Raelians. They set up a charity called ‘Cliteraid’ where people were asked to sponsor a cliterus. Once enough money was raised they decided to open up this hospital. The Raelians are a religious movement that believe life is for pleasure. Those who follow the movement believe in UFOs and that the human race is governed by Aliens outside the earth. The earthly raelians mainly reside in Canada and California.  The hospital has been made so that those women who have been genitally circumcised get their cliterus restored. Doctors from America volunteered to launch the hospital and to give guidance and training to local doctors on how to carry out the operations. The husbands of those woman who have been mutilated are very keen that their wives get operated on and repaired.

The mutilation causes severe pain during labour and sex for the women. It also denies them pleasure.

As part of some religions, such as Judaism and Islam, male followers are told to undergo similar cuttings. The men have their penis’s foreskin circumcised and also shave their pubic hair. This is because it was an action that the Prophets practiced and authorised. This act is not done to cause pain or discomfort. It is seen as a form of cleanliness. Female genital mutilation however, has no eligious backings. Even though some parts of Western Africa, who follow Catholicism, say that it is a religious practice. The Catholic Church completely forbids the action.

Cultural traditions are being misinterpreted for religious ones. In the UK up to 24,000 girls, under the age of 18, are at risk also. Recently there have been incidents where mutilation has taken place in UK hospitals. Two doctors are currently under questioning by police on the matter. It is illegal in the UK for female genital mutilation to take place. There are also reports that mothers send their daughters back to their homelands in Africa so that the procedure can be done.  

On the day of the launch at the hospital the doctors were told that the Burkino Faso’s Ministry of Health couldn’t allow the hospital to be open. The Raelians felt that this was because the government don’t agree with their religious beliefs. However, the American doctors managed to get local doctors to allow them to use their facilities to fulfil the operations. In the three days after the start of the operations the American doctors repaired 29 women’s genitalia. But they were eventually told that their rights to work in the country were refused and therefore had to leave.

As well as the Raelians standing up, to  try and repair the circumcised woman and prevent this 

tradition continuing, many organisations and campaigns have been launched around the world to create awareness and make a change.

A church in Kenya have started up a project to create an alternative to circumcisions. Elderly women hold residentials camps where young women and girls are taught how to cook, be good wives, mothers and women. Previously these camp would end with circumicison taking place however, it now ends with a graduation ceremony and the girls are awarded with a certificate. 

The project which is called ‘The Alternative Right of Passage’ is run by the  Catholic Diasees of Meru and The Catholic Relief Services in order to eradicate the previous practices. 

TheBlindJournalist: Impact of living with Retinitis Pigmentosa

“Could this be my last day seeing…”

TheBlindJournalist Mohammed Salim Patel looks at an eye condition which has the potential of leaving sufferers totally blind. The symptoms of the condition and the impact upon the patients and their families will be presented.

Vision is a sense that can be, and is, taken for granted by us all.

There are many different eye conditions out there in the world. Some more severe than others. Due to the nature of Retinitis Pigmentosa it would fall into the severe category simply because it can lead to a life without vision.

Retinitis Pigmentosa, or RP for short, is a degenerative and hereditary condition but unlike other eye conditions that can be controlled by wearing glasses, or having surgery. RP currently has no medical cure. However, there is a lot of money being spent around the world on research to find a cure. This has resulted in possible cures and pioneering surgery to take place on human ‘guinea pigs’. One of the latest advances has come from the Oxford University who have been working with Oxford Eye Hospital on a possible cure for blindness. They have called this treatment ‘gene therapy’.

Symptoms

In the back of the human eye there are light sensitive cells called photoreceptors. For those suffering with RP these cells gradually stop working as the condition deteriorates resulting in these cells dying and therefore entailing to blindness.

Furthermore, those with RP have night blindness because the cells in the eye which are used for seeing in low-light or complete darkness (rod cells) do not develop. RP sufferers also have tunnelled vision because their peripheral vision is non-existent.

All the symptoms that have been measured above are only a few of the main symptoms associated with the condition. However, there are a lot more.

Other symptoms include:

Scotoma – blind area in centre of vision

   

Constricted visual fields – no peripheral vision. If a ball was to be thrown at someone with RP they can’t see it coming in their direction, left or right, until it hits them; they wouldn’t know. Hence why there are no boxers who suffer from the condition.

Flashes – these are sudden flashes of light that originate in the eye. This is because the retina is tearing apart or detaching from the blood vessels that nourish it. Therefore causing sudden flashes caused by the brain as it tries to interpret the messages being sent due to the detachment.

Floaters – these can be either dark spots, thin white threads or cloudy areas floating in the eye. These can be scars on the retina making themselves visible. As sufferers age the floaters increase in number.

Increased glare sensitivity – glare is light that obscures or makes it difficult to see the intended visual target. Sunlight shining through a window or car head lights at night can be possible causes of glare affecting the patient. This is why some sufferers of RP struggle in sunlight due to shadows. Hence why they may were sunglasses or caps.

Reduced contrast sensitivity – this is where those who have RP cannot see or find objects due to the contrast sensitivity for example if they drop a 50p coin onto a white marbled floor they wouldn’t be abled to see it.

Reduced visual acuity – this is where vision is blurred and indistinctive. Small or distant objects become very blurred and significantly so in dim light. This is why a lot of light is essential in order for somebody with RP to see as best as possible.

Distorted colour sensitivity – this is where colours cannot be differentiated easily unless they are the primary colours. Therefore sometimes making it difficult to colour co-ordinate clothing.

Slow light adaptation –this is where an individual with RP takes a very long time to adjust from dark-to-light areas and light-to-dark areas. The transition period in order for the eyes to adjust to their surroundings can be extensive.

Sudden loss of whole or part of visual field – this can be a very serious issue that would need immediate medical consultation. It maybe symptom related or an issue with the brain and the eyes. For some sufferers the loss of visual field can last a short duration and for others it becomes lifelong. For some the area that has lost the vision becomes black or brightly coloured and for others they hallucinate.

Visual distortion – this symptom would also require immediate medical consultation. This is where straight lines become wavy or have breaks. Objects seem larger or smaller than usual. This is caused by sub-retinal bleeding and therefore distorting the retina.  

Simulator
Below are two images. Both images are of a window looking out into the garden. Image 1 is the view of a sighted person. Image 2 is the from the view from somebody who is at the halfway stage of Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Image 1:

Image 2:

Support

In the United States 1 in 3500 people suffer from the condition and approximately 1 in 3,000 to 4,000 people suffer from RP in the UK. In comparison to the population of the UK there is only a small minority of individuals suffering from RP however, in 1975 a society was founded by a group of people with the condition.

Chief Executive, of RP Fighting Blindness, David Head said:

“RP Fighting Blindness was founded because the group was concerned at the lack of knowledge about RP in the medical profession, the lack of treatment or cure, and the lack of support for people with RP”

“We exist to do two things; our first objective is to find a treatment for RP. Secondly we provide key information and support services to people with RP, their families, and indeed anyone with an interest in the condition”

Impact

Even though RP is an international eye condition the impact upon each individual varies from patient to patient.

Nadia, 18, from Blackburn who was diagnosed with RP at the age of seven said:

“Living with RP has presented me with an array of obstacles both physical and emotional. Nevertheless, I feel that it has moulded me in to the individual that I am today. I believe that every one of us is different in some way but for those of us who are more different, we simply need to convince the less different that we can do the same things they can, just differently or with some help. Optimism is key.”

Living with a visual impairment does not only affect the individual with the disability but also their family members.

Ilyas Patel, 47, Father of Nadia and TheBlindJournalist, said:

“My heart slumped and my tears were uncontrollable upon hearing the words from the consultant that

“I am really sorry to say Mr Patel but both your beautiful kids have RP and there is no cure”

RP isn’t a condition that is always diagnosed at an early age. The diagnosis can come at any point in a person’s life because the condition may not be apparent until the photoreceptor cells start to die and therefore impact upon the patient.

Junyad Ahmed, 15, from London, who was diagnosed at 14 said:

“Since being diagnosed with RP it has affected my life in many ways from my school life to my social life. It has pretty much affected all aspects of my life. I am missing out on things that sighted people are able to do such as go out at night but I am hopeful to Allah that things will change for the positive one day. It is very hard for me to be positive because I am really struggling to come to terms with the condition I have and the possible way in which it may impact on my life. I cannot comprehend what a life will be like being totally blind. I get very depressed and upset whenever I think about RP. My sister has lost her sight due to the condition and that scares me even more. Knowing that there is a lot of research taking place for cures is what I hold on to for hope and I hope that one day things will change for the better”

That day seems to be coming soon. Junyad has been referred to receive the gene therapy trial.

Due to RP being an inherited condition it is common that siblings will both suffer from the condition and that one of the siblings, if not both, carry the RP gene and therefore could pass it on to their children.

Rukshana Shaheen, 29, a single Mum from Birmingham said:

“It hasn’t been easy being a mum with an eye condition. I can’t always do certain activities with my daughter. But she understands and she is very supportive. If it wasn’t for my daughter I don’t think I could cope. We fight it together.”

Cure

The latest breakthrough in a cure for RP came in January of this year. Gene therapy is where a harmless virus carries a working copy of a gene, which sufferers do not have, and this virus is injected behind the retina using a fine needle. The virus infects light sensitive cells and the gene is then released. This gene then produces protein which helps preserve vision.   Professor, 

Robert MacLaren, of Oxford University who is leading the trial said:

“In truth we did not expect to see such dramatic improvements in visual activity. It is still too early to know if the gene therapy treatment will last indefinitely”

However, it seems that there may be light at the end of the tunnel for a cure to Retinitis Pigmentosa.

TheBlindJournalist Mohammed Salim Patel reporting 

TheBlindJournalist: Voting Rights for the Blind

VOTING RIGHTS
Written By TheBlindJournalist Mohammed Salim Patel in London

Emily Pankhurst and Beatrice Webb started it. Now Stephen Vincent Anderson joins their ranks. Voting rights have been at the forefront of public debate for centuries. Whether you are male or female. Abled or disabled. Tory, Liberal Democrat or Labourite. It does not matter. Everyone wants the right. Even today. In the 21st century. It is difficult to believe that people are still having to fight to have a secret vote with the confidence, and comfort, that their vote is theirs. Who are these people? Which country do they reside in? The answer is the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

Currently blind and visually impaired voters in the UK do not have the ability to vote secretly. With the current system they have two options. The first is to request assistance by a helper provided at the station to read the information on the ballet paper and sign for them. The second option is a tactile overlay that has braille and raised number flaps. However, there is no guarantee that their voting wishes have been accurately articulated on the ballet sheet, given that they cannot check it themselves. In America, incidents have been reported where votes have been tampered with by the helpers. This has prompted one registered blind politics student to step up and tackle the issue.

Stephen Anderson, a 22 year old, from Harrow has decided to make his own mark by creating an e-petition in order to ensure that blind and visually impaired individuals have the voting process made accessible for them. The e-petition was created on 28th December 2013 which needs 100,000 signatures to get the matter discussed at the House of Commons. To date the petition has received 103 signatures and can be found at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/59635.

Resistance to changing the system focuses predominantly around the lack of willingness to adjust. Also the financial and technical implications to create a better system. There are a few MP’s that don’t accept there’s a problem with the current system. One of these MP’s saying: “The current system is accessible and there’s no need for change” One possible solution as seen in the United States, is to have a computer in every polling station in the UK. This computer would allow accessible voting to all. As the US have shown this system helps because in the 2012 American elections 60% of 305 million Americans voted, possible suggesting that making voting accessible increases voters.

When considering how far away change is Stephen Anderson shrugs then sniggers and says: “It’s as far away as the politicians of this world want to make it. They could still get this organised for 2015, albeit it requires coalition and opposition support which is currently lacking.” There are however a handful of MP’s who have all acknowledged the principle of accessible voting and have backed the action of a petition. Along with the Royal National Institute for the Blind who also support the petition as seen by a recent tweet inviting people to sign it.

Stephen Anderson’s petition is designed to raise awareness to the lack of an alternative for blind and visually impaired voters to vote independently at elections. These voters feel the current two options are insufficient. In order to use the current facility the individual needs to be a braille reader but with only 20,000 of the 250,000 blind and visually impaired residents in the UK being braille readers clearly more needs to be done. Stephen Anderson adds: “I have limited sight and have never used braille as a means of working practice.
What I propose is a computerized system so that people with a lack of vision can vote. Without any breech of the principle of the secret vote.” The suggested solution of a computerized system would entail having a computer at each of the 10,000 polling stations in the UK. As well as additional manpower to ensure the system runs smoothly. To do this there would be a large amount of money needed but Stephen Anderson strongly feels that: “This money could be found. I mean, if we can find £120 billion to bail out the banks, we can find a couple of million to set this up properly.”

With there being 250,000 registered blind or partially sighted people in the UK; 15% of whom have no sight at all. But also with an ageing population and the rise of Macular Degeneration and deteriorating sight occurring in the elderly. The petition could be of use to them too. Sheila Norris who is an elderly lady coping with sight loss says: “It is very hard for me now. I need my glasses wherever I go and even with them on I can’t always see small writing. A better system definitely needs to be put into place”

The most populated area of visually impaired people in the UK is Hereford; with one in seven people living there having some form of registered sight loss. One of those residents animatedly said: “Why in 2014 is this issue still up for debate and also correspondence from the public sector in accessible formats is a legal requirement, and surely voting comes under this bracket” A senior lecturer who specialises in International Relations at Leicester University said: “The current situation is outrageous. I had no idea it was this inaccessible” Stephen Anderson says: “This is the problem, as visual impairment is so rare, these debates take place in more secluded institutions, such as colleges for the blind and care homes. However, for this to work this must come to the political mainstream, and I sincerely hope that we can have this debate with our elected officials in order to make progress on what I believe to be such a vital issue.”

TheBlindJournalist: Jack Straw's Life As The Blackburn MP

listen to ‘TheBlindJournalist: Jack Straw's Life As The Blackburn MP’ on Audioboo

Following a 35 year reign of Blackburn, MP Jack Straw announces retirement

Written by Mohammed Salim Patel in Blackburn

The Former Home Secretary has said he will be retiring from politics. But in the decades as Blackburn MP what has he done to create cohesion between Whites and Asians in the town; which he refers to as being his soul?

Arte Et Labore is Latin for By Skill and Hard Work. Even though this phrase is commonly related to Blackburn Rovers Football Club and was coined by Blackburn legend Jack Walker. Looking at the history of Blackburn and the work of its current constituent MP Arte Et Labore describes both humbly.

On May 3^rd 1979, at the age of 32, Jack Straw became the MP for Blackburn, a town which has a great layer of history and importance especially for the significant mill trade it once occupied. However, travelling through the town there is a clear divide of areas populated with Whites only and only Asian populated areas with very little cohesion.

Asians were called over by the British in the 1970s to help in the mill industry for their skills and labour. After the 1981 recession and closure of the mills, the town was affected hugely; Asian males were particularly hit hard.

In the two years after the recession White male employment rose from 8% to 16% then down to 10%. Asian male employment however went from 10% employed down to 45% of Asian males in Blackburn unemployed and stayed there for years. Half of the Asian population in the town had no jobs and therefore had to move to areas where houses were cheaper to buy. This is when the segregation started. From 1981 to 2013 there has been an increase of nearly 25,000 Asians in the town and the White population has decreased.

Mr Straw sympathises with the Whites because their town and the landmarks they have grown up with are no longer existent. This can be seen by many Churches now being turned into Mosques. When these figures were presented to Mr Straw’s constituents many were surprised.

Mohammed Patel, 38, a joint restaurant owner, which is based on the corner of where Mr Straw’s office is on Richmond Terrace expressed in between taking food orders:

“I thought that at least half of the town’s population was Asian dominated but this is because as a Blackburn Asian resident, the areas that I visit, are all populated with Asians so therefore in my eyes because the majority of the time all I see are Asians I think the town is mostly populated by them.”

“I love working in my restaurant because I get to meet new people every day. But the segregation is clear to me. However I do see this changing because of Jack Straw’s work.”

Gill who is a 54 year old retired teacher hesitantly said:

“My parents grew up in the town and my grandchildren now also live in Blackburn.”

She paused. Then said talking about the Whites:

“it’s not our town anymore. We are getting pushed out slowly but surely. Mr Straw’s done nothing for us Whites, he’s only focused on listening to what them Asians have to say.” She stopped talking probably worried of what she just said. She continued on into M&S.

A scheme to help create cohesion is the Blackburn Youth Zone, a scheme which Jack Straw has actively supported. It gives an opportunity for the town’s youngsters to interact through many activities and projects with the hope to get the young Whites and Asians of Blackburn mixing.

Even though Jack Straw has his critics, principally following his support of the second gulf war, many of his constituents and opponents have praised him for the work he has done for the town.

Conservative Councillor of Blackburn Mike Lee who was elected in 1996 said:

“I disagree with Mr Straw’s political views on a National basis however, what he has done for Blackburn is very commendable. Even when he was Home Secretary and Justice Minister he would always come back to the town to solve constituency problems. He has put Blackburn on the map”       

Jack Straw passionately said:

“It was a childhood ambition to be an MP and it has been a privilege to represent such a wonderful place. Blackburn is my soul”

Word Count: 723

TheBlindJournalist: You & Yours Review

On Friday January 10 2014, I went to MediaCityUK in Salford to spend a day with the team at BBC Radio 4's consumer program You $ Yours. This blog post will be a reflection on my thoughts, feelings and expectations before I went and then my feelings looking back on the day.

Deborah Robinson who is a senior lecturer in broadcast journalism at UCLan, arranged for me to go and spend a day with blind radio presenter Peter White and the rest of the team at You & Yours. As a fan and regular listener of the program I was very excited to have the opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes to produce the live program. However, going on the day which Peter White was presenting was a ture honor. Peter White is totally blind and has worked in broadcast for decades. Peter is my role model and a huge inspiration, this is why I was so honored and humbled to have the opportunity to not only meet him but witness him doing what he does best.

Before I went, I was apprehensive simply because I was going to spend a day with highly skilled individuals who would be working and I didn't want to be in the way. As well as being very excited to meet Peter I was also nervous as I wanted to ensure I didn't embarrass myself or ask silly questions. I also felt a level of authority as I was not only representing myself but Deborah too so I felt I needed to make sure I was professional, and respectable. Although i had these anxieties before going, on the day I wasn't nervous at all. Waking up at 5.30am was a shock to the system but it was worth it! I loved every second of the day. I was genuinely taken aback by the level of professionalism at all of the team in the manner of which they went about doing their jobs. Peter was a delight to meet. He was very kind and welcoming and made me feel very comfortable. It was really nice to meet him and see him work his magic. Chas Watkin who is the director of the program was also a great individual to meet. I had many questions to ask and it was great to have them answered by the best people to answer them. The manner in which each member of the You & Yours team was extremely sufficient and as a spectator I would've thought to produce a live program, it would be a frantic rush before going live, but I couldn't be more wrong. Meeting Peter and seeing him work has only increased my admiration and inspiration to achieve the heights he has reached.

I really want to work in radio after Friday's experience and I am determined to achieve this goal.