A struggle for dignity

Coswell Barnett is a decorated Spanish teacher, with more than a decade of experience. But now, unable to find permanent employment, he has had to settle with teaching two classes per week, for a paltry sum of $4,000. Blind since birth, Barnett believes his situation is a glaring example of discrimination.

Despite the passage of the Disabilities Act in 2014 and its enactment in February 2022, Barnett feels disillusioned with the lack of progress.

In a desperate open letter to Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Barnett outlined his struggles yet again last week.

“I am blind. I am not stupid. I am not asking for a handout. I am asking, begging for an opportunity. An opportunity for someone to see that I am capable,” he wrote, echoing sentiments first shared with The Sunday Gleaner in August ahead of the start of the new academic year.

“Yes, I am blind, but as the leader of this country, I am begging you to open your eyes to the high levels of marginalisation and discrimination against persons with disabilities,” Barnett’s letter read. “I had hopes for the Disabilities Act, and I had hopes when we adopted the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ... that urge member countries to reduce inequality in their jurisdictions, thinking it meant better for all. I have not seen that,” he said despondently.

“I believe it is the responsibility of the State to protect the rights of people like me, and definitely, in my context, that is not being done,” he told The Sunday Gleaner afterward, saying that he is only striving for a dignified means of supporting himself and his mother.

He explained that while his official pay for two classes amounts to $16,000 a month, the institution often adds something extra, bringing his total to approximately $25,000 monthly.

However, with rent in St Andrew at $19,000, he must also cover utilities, transportation, and medication. His mother, Hazelyn Small, an ailing market vendor, contributes to food expenses, along with support from other relatives.

This is not the life he envisioned, he said.

Barnett’s struggles began years ago when he resigned from a full-time teaching position at Clan Carthy High School to complete his degree at The University of the West Indies. The position he had left was made redundant, and since graduating, he has struggled to find full-time employment despite holding multiple certificates and awards in teaching.

He is not limiting himself to teaching roles; with 25 years until retirement, Barnett is willing to work anywhere that values his fluency in Spanish. For now, he is grateful for the small amount he earns.

“I know my value, but that is what I have right now. Since September, I have gone on several interviews. Nobody has said yes to me yet,” said the 40-year-old, whose story was carried in The Sunday Gleaner the same day more than two dozen teaching jobs – at least 10 of them for Spanish teachers – were advertised.

“I feel deflated, having completed my degree for close to four years now, and not being able to get a full-time job. And it is not because there is an unavailability of jobs; it is squarely because of the level of discrimination that is being meted out to people like me as a disabled and, in particular, a blind person,” charged Barnett.

With a worldwide teacher shortage, Jamaica has in recent decades been one of the countries from which there has been heavy attrition, to the point where the Government announced plans to seek educators from Ghana and India this past summer. The announcement sparked concern among stakeholders such as the Jamaica Teachers’ Association and the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools, who have urged the Government to try other options, like re-evaluating the working conditions of teachers in the island, making them more favourable.

Meanwhile, disabled educators continue to excel, leaving legacies behind when given an opportunity.

Two weeks ago, the western end of the island said farewell to Esmine Richards-Peterkin, a celebrated disabled educator.

Richards-Peterkin was the principal of Farm Heights Basic School in Montego Bay, before being diagnosed with tropicalspastic paraparesis – a condition that caused weakness, muscle spasms, and sensory disturbance resulting in the inability to move her legs.

The wheelchair-mobile Richards Peterkin did not let her disability stop her from continuing her passion as a teacher, and also as principal of the Central Basic School in Hendon, Norwood, where she served for months until her passing.

At her funeral two weeks ago, she was eulogised as a disciplinarian and an advocate for learning, who accepted every child, regardless of their parents’ social status.

“She was everything. I am biased, but she is an extraordinary woman,” said her daughter, Sunita Peterkin. “And it’s not only because she is my mother, but because she was doing all of this while in a wheelchair.”

Peterkin described her mother as the glue to their family and said she was never away from her children, even in adulthood.

“She was just passionate about teaching. We would push her to school in the mornings because the school is not very far from the house, and it was flat. So she could navigate her way around, and the staff was always there to help her. Parents also loved her,” she noted.

Stewart Jacobs, president of the National Parent-Teacher Association of Jamaica, told The Sunday Gleaner earlier this year that students may benefit from having a disabled teacher in their classrooms.

“I think it will also help to assist the development of our children in that they learn to accept humans in all forms ... . It is for those who are sound and have all the faculties to use that as a motivator, so it is encouraged.”

corey.robinson@gleanerjm.com