Friday, April 19, 2024
ADVT 
National

WATCH: Indian-Origin Blind Man Puts Camera On Dog To Film Discrimination In London

Darpan News Desk, 06 Jan, 2017 01:21 PM
    A 37-year-old Indian-origin blind man in the UK has fitted his guide dog with a camera in a bid to highlight the discrimination and abuse he faces daily while travelling around London.
     
    Amit Patel lost his eyesight five years ago to an eye disease known as keratoconus.
     
     
    He gets around London with the help of his guide dog, Kika, to whom Mr Patel recently attached a GoPro camera to film the discrimination he faces every day from fellow Londoners.
     
    "The city is a scary place. It's like someone put you in the middle of Trafalgar Square, turned you in a circle and said 'find your way home'," Mr Patel was quoted as saying by BBC.
     
     
    The footage captured by his canine guide has not always shown a city willing to help him.
     
    "The video came out of necessity. Kika was getting hit by peoples' bags and she was getting a lot of abuse. A woman stopped me one day and had a go at me for holding everyone up and said I should apologise, which was a real shock," he said.
     
    The former doctor found a solution - attach a GoPro to Kika's harness and film every journey.
     
    Mr Patel's wife, Seema, can then review the footage if it is felt there was something amiss about that day.
     
    When alterations were made to a London train station the camera came into its own.
     
    "I asked for help and no one came. The video shows lots of staff standing around me and this one guy looking over many times," Mr Patel said.
     
    "Eventually when the staff member actually came to me the first thing he said was 'sorry I didn't see you' and that really bugged me," he said.
     
    The footage was sent to Network Rail giving Mr Patel the "valuable evidence" needed to lodge a formal complaint about an incident he could not see.
     
    The video had an impact and Network Rail investigated before giving further training to its staff.
     
    Mr Patel learned he had keratoconus - a condition which changes the shape of the cornea - in the final year of medical school.
     
    Lenses to push the corneas back into shape stopped working and six cornea transplants were rejected by his body until he was told "no more".
    "There are taxi drivers who will see you and won't stop. You phone the company and they say they didn't see you, but you look at the footage and see them having looked at you and driving right past," he said.
     
    Other incidents, Mr Patel said highlight a lack of thought - especially on London's Underground.
     
    "People assume, because I have a guide dog, I can walk around them but they make us walk near the tracks or I can say to Kika 'find me a seat' and I'll put my hand down on one and someone will sit on it and refuse to get up," he said.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    2 Men Facing Charges After Taking Turns Driving The Same Car, Ontario Police Say

    2 Men Facing Charges After Taking Turns Driving The Same Car, Ontario Police Say
    NORWOOD, Ont. — Ontario Provincial Police say two men who took turns driving the same car are both facing charges.

    2 Men Facing Charges After Taking Turns Driving The Same Car, Ontario Police Say

    Two Bodies Removed From Duplex That Caught Fire In Stephenville, N.L.

    Two Bodies Removed From Duplex That Caught Fire In Stephenville, N.L.
    STEPHENVILLE, N.L. — The bodies of two people were recovered from a duplex that caught fire in western Newfoundland early Friday.

    Two Bodies Removed From Duplex That Caught Fire In Stephenville, N.L.

    September Murder Trial Set For Man In Stabbing Death Of Quebec Store Clerk

    September Murder Trial Set For Man In Stabbing Death Of Quebec Store Clerk
    MONTREAL — A Quebec man charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a supermarket clerk is expected to stand trial in September.

    September Murder Trial Set For Man In Stabbing Death Of Quebec Store Clerk

    Saskatchewan Doctors Get Alert About Sexually Transmitted Infection Rates

    Saskatchewan Doctors Get Alert About Sexually Transmitted Infection Rates
    REGINA — Saskatchewan doctors have received an alert from the Ministry of Health about the high rate of sexually transmitted infections in the province.

    Saskatchewan Doctors Get Alert About Sexually Transmitted Infection Rates

    Tip From Australia Leads To Rescue Of Alleged Child Porn Victim, 4, In Ontario

    Tip From Australia Leads To Rescue Of Alleged Child Porn Victim, 4, In Ontario
    LONDON, Ont. — Police say a tip from Australia has led to the rescue of a four-year-old alleged victim of child pornography in Ontario.

    Tip From Australia Leads To Rescue Of Alleged Child Porn Victim, 4, In Ontario

    Edmonton Man Identified As Victim Of Avalanche In Popular B.C. Area

    PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. — The victim of an avalanche in a popular recreational area near Valemount, B.C., has been identified as a 27-year-old Edmonton man.

    Edmonton Man Identified As Victim Of Avalanche In Popular B.C. Area

    PrevNext