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I'm Justin Mann from Arizona, and I am a frequent listener to "World Have Your Say".

I've learned a lot about how different peoples perceive different issues that are going on in the world, and this has caused me to think of an issue that hits very close to home. In order to explain this better, I should give you a little back ground on who I am:

I'm your typical 20-something American, I've just gotten married, have a decent job, and enjoy just about anything that anybody in the west would enjoy. There is one small difference to the mix, and it is that I am blind.

Thanks to the advances in technology I have access to just about anything that my sighted counterpart does. I have gps to get me where I want to go, a computer that's adapted so that I can use it, and even a portable digital assistant.

We live in the global age, where fair trade, and global economics are the name of the game. This gives me pause for some questions that I do not think are being asked:

1. Am I one of the fortunate few as a blind person in the west?
2. What is the general perception of blind people in the west?
3. How does that differ from how blind people are perceived in the east?
4. What kind of barriers do blind people in a developing country face to achieving a "normal life"?

Peter mentioned having someone disabled go out and investigate this issue. However I think that having just a normal sighted person do this would be better. I think that they will be able to go out into the community and get a more honest perception of how blind people are perceived. This is because no one would come right out and say to a blind person investigating this, "blind people cannot do anything, blind people should be shipped off to an island", or whatever their feelings may be because of political correctness.

Thanks so much for helping me address this issue.

Justin