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  • 10 months ago
There is a concern that the Association representing the Blind in Trinidad and Tobago is being taken away from them.

Kern Tyson, a member of the Blind Welfare Association spoke with the Morning Edition on Thursday.
Nicole M Romany
Transcript
00:00Kern Tyson is part of a pressure group within the Blind Welfare Association called Movement
00:07for Change. According to him, things are changing, but for the worst. The association's election
00:15will be held in April of this year, but Tyson fears the process may not be above board.
00:21He explains that there are allegations of bullying and threats.
00:26I have to say it's alleged because I have to be very careful. The people who are in
00:31charge, if they feel as if you are going to vote for them, they would call you and say,
00:40listen, we could take your information over the phone. Whereas somebody like me, or who
00:44they may think is not on their side, they will tell you, you didn't sign in the right
00:48position, go back and do the form again.
00:52Tyson says the executive had taken two months to release the electoral list for the internal
00:58election. He says the deadline to register is January 31st, so if your name is not there,
01:05there is no time to question it. The association member laments the need for checks and balances
01:12at the executive level.
01:13They have said this to us, they're stealing this election, you know. They've said that
01:17to us. And this did not start today. This started years ago. And people are becoming
01:25despondent, disillusioned with Blind Welfare Association. Actually, there's a friend of
01:30mine who says to us, listen, we should call it Blind Unfair Association, because it seems
01:35as if Blind Welfare Association is being run by an oligarchy, which is dangerous.
01:45He says there are calls to move the process from voting by show of hand to secret ballot,
01:51but it is being resisted. He believes the resistance is masking an ulterior motive.
01:58In the Blind Welfare Association, you have to vote by raise of hand. And there are people
02:01in the association who are very intimidated to vote, because word coming to us again,
02:07the executive officer has told a young lady, listen, if you vote against us, we will not
02:12get books for your daughter. So people are afraid to vote against them, because the perception
02:18is they are going to be punished. They are going to be victimized.
02:22Tyson says he has contacted the Ministry of the People and Social Development and was
02:27dismissed and told to deal with the problem internally. Today, he is calling on the ministry,
02:34the prime minister and the media to take a look at the state of affairs at the Blind
02:39Welfare Association. He says the blind are already marginalized and for the blind to
02:45attack the blind is disheartening.
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