My name is Krzysztof Wostal and this is my story!

What are the biggest difficulties you encounter in social life?

I don't think I face any difficulties in socially. I have the same difficulties as everyone else. This question had to be expanded so much because it all depends what you mean by asking about social life. Because on the one hand a social life would be going to concerts, right? Well, that's where I encounter such a difficulty. For example if I'm in a stadium for a match, it's difficult for me to get around the stadium on my own, even though I knew it.

 

Let's talk about public transportation obstacles, this is social life too! It is completely unsuitable for deaf-blind people, which is what I am. It's even unadapted for the blind people. If the  bus will stand 50 metres away from the bus stop, I can't know that! Or two or three buses will pull up to the stop at once and I won't get on because I might not notice the second one, or even the third one...

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Social life, well that's shopping too, right? So shopping can be a problem too. I certainly shop longer than everyone else because in a self-service shop, let's say in my case it's a shop that I know, so I can do some shopping for myself. I know the layout of the shop, but I have to recognise the products one by one. I can simply use an app, even though  I know many of the products by their shape. But let's say I want to buy apple yoghurt, and there are cups that feel the same. Even when I find yoghurts, well, I have to check each yoghurt until I get to the apple one. Or, for example, cheese, right? Some in cups that are often the same. I would like to buy a cotton cheese or bieluch, well I have to check those cups. I have to check margarines, for example, I would like to have salted margarine, same company and the same cups, they only difference in colours, how I can check that?

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In the cinema, if there's no audiodescription. I'm not really into cinema, so it doesn't bother me but for example, if I wanted to go, there is no induction loop in the cinema. I can hear when I'm in the theatre, there's no induction loop. If I go for a walk, I have to concentrate all the time... I have to concentrate so that I don't fall somewhere, so that I don't get lost among the paths of the park and so on. These are the sort of problems I face. And I could go on and on.

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Do you think that the Silasian Region has a structure that is sensitive to the lifestyle of disabled individuals?

There are no properly constructed pedestrian crossings in Katowice, with vibration for example. The city boasts that they supposedly have vibration, but it is badly done. It is not possible to trigger the sound yourself at night, for example at certain crossings. What do the laws say? There are too quiet acoustic signals at pedestrian crossings. There can be only an acoustic signal on one side. I am standing on the side where there is no acoustic signal, and where you are on the other side, I don't even really know whether it is my crossing that is making the sound or whether it is beeping some other crossing. Sometimes I also don't hear something at pedestrian crossings where there are no lights at all and so on. It's very difficult for me to get around safely, I listen for a very long time. So these are such difficulties. 

 

The authorities here in Poland allow pavements to be destroyed. This is mismanagement on the part of our authorities  because you build a pavement and then allow it to be destroyed, that is, parking on that pavement. I'm not even talking about drivers breaking the law anymore, but the authorities allow it. There is simply a sign saying you can park here, which means you can destroy the pavement here. The scooters are lying around where they fall, everyone is out of control. There's going to be a metropolitan bicycle circle at the moment and that's going to be another problem.

 

Do I think that the Silesian Voivodeship is disabled-friendly? It is very difficult to say because we would have to distinguish here whether this is about the authority of the voivodeship, or whether it is about the people living in the voivodeship. Probably it would be good to say yes politically, that it is very friendly, people are wonderful and so on... Abandoning the scooters in the middle of the road is not disabled-friendly, it is putting people at risk. I myself fell over such a scooter two metres past the pedestrian crossing over the tram tracks as you walk from Stawowa Street to Szewczyka Square. Shopkeepers are mostly very friendly and very open-minded.

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What are your suggestions for awareness to be held around the city?

The railway station, which has a terrible sound system for me, even for people who can hear it. Train station doesn't have guide lines on the platform. Some adverts and branches that hang low... I'm not saying to cut these branches off, but to make some kind of protection at the bottom. So the deeper we go in, the less friendly an environment we have here.

 

On the other hand, as far as officials are concerned, it depends a lot on the person, on the city. Of course, cities declare that they are friendly, but we have the problem that smaller groups with disabilities find it very difficult. NGOs  find it difficult to obtain city funding if they are a small group. When there are one or two people with a particular disability living in the city, the organisation tends to bring together people from different cities. And it is already difficult to get cross-city funding. The Marshal's Office from the Silesian Voivodeship, here I have to do justice, so to speak. It tries to notice these groups, the deaf and blind. It took years for the office to notice us in competitions, but at the moment we are a noticed group and we are getting these funds.

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I'm such a person who is a member of such a council. This council is there, because it has to be, the law provides for it, but the marshal's office doesn't notice this council and doesn't make use of its potential. It has set up another institution, the Silesian Voivodeship Disabled Persons' Council. This institution also cannot do anything, it has no powers either. I have the impression that it is a show,  than the council, because the council is not noticed at all, whereas the Sejmik is noticed to show itself in the limelight. 

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Maybe I've grown out of things like conferences, seminars, organising that, because my suggestion would be legal solutions though. It's just that we as citizens are very weak legally, and NGOs are also weak legally, and our judicial system is also very weak so I think there is much to be done. I think I'm running out of other ideas because I've already been involved in too many different actions and committees and I will continue to do it!

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Could you tell us about the work you do for awareness?

I am working at the Transgression Foundation (Fundacji Transgresja) and we are doing awareness trainings among civil servants. Any kind of group who wants to listen, I will be there... Of course I don't do it alone, I collaborate with others. On the other hand, it's also conducting some interviews that appear in Info Katowice, whether as part of the Czas Na Społeczeństwo series or other series. Czas Na Społeczeństwo has appeared a little bit infrequently recently due to my illness. It was just in January, then April and now it's just starting to come out again. It was difficult for me to edit it when I couldn't hear anything. I lost my hearing completely... Now that I've regained it, it wasn't easy editing it all straight away either because you have to do it with your hearing. I won't be able to do anything with a mouse when working on a computer.

 

My computer says what's on the screen, the same with my smartphone. The other important work which I have been doing is looking after the gluchoniewidomi.info website. This is the biggest information and education portal about deaf-blind people in Poland at the moment which was launched on 9 August.

 

I am using one of the methods of communication which is the LORM alphabet and I decided that I was so grateful to LORM. That's why I found that it needed to be done more! Result of this work is the website; gluchoniewidomi.info. And I have been improving it still and it is mainly text-based. There will be something there, some pictures and so on, because the world today is going backwards. As mankind, we used to paint caves, then we learned to write and read. The moment we're getting backward and communicating as much as we can with a picture, which is not good at all. Often it can be misunderstood writing something, showing with a picture, or giving emoticons. Because I see that in all sorts of places, even on the web, don't you? Someone will give an emoticon that actually means something completely different informatively, right? I know such a weird example, when people write after someone has died and I see sadness, followed by relief, no?

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Speaking at various conferences and seminars is also an important part of this work, meeting people and providing information to make sure as many people as possible heard about it. Although I realise it will never ending job.

Well... At least I plant a seed there; some knowledge and some information, Maybe some of these people will want to be a volunteer and will be willing to help, why not?

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Who or what is your biggest support in life?

The people who surround me is my biggest supporters. I have a group of tried and tested friends that I can count on! But modern technology is also a big support. A smartphone with different apps for different activities that I can use... Banknote recognition apps, especially when travelling abroad, or an app that will tell me what's in front of me. I can take a picture and find out, have a detailed description. I can also scan a document.

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Here are some greetings at the end! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

 

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Interview: M. Işıl AYÇİÇEKKA

Translation from Polish to English: Bartek MILISZEWSKI