Out of the dark

I started this project, “Out of the dark”, about the lives of blind people, more as a work therapy, to pull myself out from a deep state of depression. It proved to be a great decision. Given my line of work—where seeing is everything—I couldn't imagine anything more depressing than going blind. Once I started working on this project, I quickly realized how wrong my assumptions were. Romania is a member of the European Union and has to align it's legislation regarding people with disabilities to EU standards. Despite this legislation frame, blind people still have many social integration difficulties and face problems in their access to education, finding a job and being independent. Moreover, the attitudes towards blind people are not adequate, being either of total rejection or of overprotection. With this project I want to offer an intimate look into the lives of blind people, to show they are normal people, struggling hard for a normal life. Many have a successful family life: they have children, jobs, they go to concerts and to the theatre, they dance, party, have fun, and all the other stuff that we all do. Others are introverts with emotional problems and, to some extent, integration issues—much the same as many people with no physical impairment.