‘Life has always been hard living with a disability,’ says Ruth Bart

Ruth says minibus drivers are hardly inclined to stop for a woman bent over a walker, and for emphasis, she adds a greying woman who is carrying an apparatus. She is not pained by the dismissive treatment drivers often show since as she puts it, “life has always been hard living with a disability.”

Ruth and her partner of some three years, Laurie Greenidge, both live with disabilities. To say that life has been hard for the couple is to put it mildly, but they have been struggling with their heads held high. Ruth is good with her hands and has made a living from selling handcrafted cushions, bed-sheets and chair-backs, while Laurie is a trained, respected musician who works as a piano tuner. Together they had managed to bring in a small income, but Ruth has been unable to work as before because their home is currently without electricity.

“Ah does still stitch but is not the same,” Ruth told Stabroek News during an interview yesterday, her voice breaking. She cracks a smile then continues her story saying how the darkness does not affect her personally, just her work.  Laurie chimes in that he has learned to live without power for years, but of late he has realized how much of a benefit it is for Ruth.

The couple resides in a zinc apartment at Friendship, EBD and it looks indeed as if it has been standing for the 50-plus years Laurie said. Some renovations from the landlord have allowed them to live undisturbed by the weather, but they both know it is hardly a home for two aging persons. They said the landlord is perhaps the only person who visits frequently and who is kind to them, and only recently they both ended up in court over a noise nuisance dispute.

Ruth and Laurie dream of moving away from the place and living in a better home; a house which belongs to them and where they no longer have to pay a monthly rent. “We gon move child, but we don’t know when,” Ruth said with a dejected look on her face. She said the government had been kind enough to offer her land at Diamond, but she was waiting on assistance from Food for the Poor to build a house.

According to Ruth, Food for the Poor had promised to build the home a few years ago but due to other commitments the agency said it would take longer than anticipated. She is hopeful that construction might start some time this year. However, she said the agency would only put up the structure which means that they would have to find a series of other things, including sanitary facilities, fencing for the yard and electrical wiring. Ruth said her focus was on the home, but she noted that it was difficult to think of it without studying where she was going to find the money to cover the other expenses. To date, Gafoors has committed to helping with the bathroom/toilet fittings and also providing her with sacks of cement to build a septic tank, while Courts has promised to provide furniture, but they are the only companies to pledge help and Ruth insists that she has been around seeking assistance.

“It would be nice to move and get away from all this,” Laurie said. He was a bit hesitant to explain what “all this” meant, but the look on his face said enough. The couple is interested in peace of mind and comfort; two things that have long been absent from their lives.

Ruth narrated her story to Stabroek News and it was a heart-wrenching tale of childhood struggles and perseverance. She was born with a spinal injury and lost her mother when she was just one year old, which she said might have been the reason why she suffered so much. Ruth lived with a grandmother until she too passed away, and then it was up to her elder siblings and an aunt to care for her. She recalled that her aunt was kind and so was a brother, but her brother also died.

Ruth said she was mistreated at the hands of a relative whom she identified; she was beaten several times and was made to work day in and day out for shelter.

She remembered going to school, but having to drop out because her injury got worse. “They wanted to put me in a home, which is what most families want to do when they are faced with a disabled relative,” she said. According to her, the choice is usually between putting the disabled relative in a home or keeping them and working them to a pulp.

Ruth said she holds no ill-will towards her family and emphasizes that a few of them have been kind to her. However, she said the life she has lived is hardly the kind people would believe others had to endure. She said that society also mistreated people with disabilities, but she had learned to accept that and she was willing to wait in the sun for hours for a minibus until a driver decided to stop and take her in.

Laurie said his life story had fewer stumbling blocks than Ruth’s. He was born with an optical nerve deficiency which doctors only detected a few years later. Laurie said his parents were advised to purchase spectacles to prevent further damage to his vision, but this was easier said than done. His mother died when he was 8 years old and he continued living without the spectacles and eventually he went partially blind. For years now, he can only see dark objects, and he moves around with a cane.

He said the problem with his eyes never stopped him from pursuing music and he ended up among a select few persons in the country who are trained to tune a piano. Laurie also won a scholarship to England to study piano tuning.

Over the past few years he has joined his voice to those of advocates speaking on behalf of people living with disabilities. He is currently Chairman of the National Federation of and for Disabled People.

He said the attitude of persons in the society towards those who were differently-able is changing. “It is slowly changing, but it’s still a difference,” he said. Persons living with disabilities, he said, still found it hard to integrate into the society and live meaningful lives.

Laurie also pointed to the Persons with Disabilities Bill, which was currently in Parliament, saying he would like to see it turned into law to “protect us and offer us better chances.”

Ruth and Laurie continue to hold out hope that things will improve for them. The couple said anyone willing to assist them in their plans to relocate can contact them at telephone number 266-0062.