Blind but still visioned: Ishan Jalil

“I have been blind from birth, but I chose not to be apathetic because even the lack of sight is not an excuse for not engaging in developmental processes”- the words of Mohamed Ishan Jalil, a disabled activist from Sri Lanka greatly shape the narrative I now carry of the disabled in my community. Ishan does not only speak into change processes in his country, but empowers young people to stand above known limitations and claim spaces of development. He models the kind of resistance that makes positive transformation inevitable.

Ishan Jalil in glasses, outside the Vienna Townhall, Austria.

While sympathy remains the most commonly emphasized foundation for treating the disabled, Ishan carries into people’s lives an air that earns him respect and admiration. My first encounter with this amazing Sri Lankan was over dinner on the first night of the Generation Democracy Global Summit in Vienna, Austria. He was simply jovial and curious, surprisingly able recognize most of us from our energy and vibrancy. Throughout the summit, I just had to call him by name and he would just say ‘Is this Radical?’ This sharpness went on to convince me that Ishan represents a unique demography that is often underestimated. The attention he paid to presentations, the accuracy and eloquence of the presentation he delivered on his work back home left us all mesmerized. The perspective he modeled in our minds throughout the summit was that of an actively involved young person who treads on new grounds without fear of the one thing that often limits the full participation of the disabled youths- his lack of sight.

We are constantly influenced by socially constructed stereotypes to believe that some challenges cannot be countered, that we just have to accept mediocrity as a part of who we are. This scope of thinking has resulted in a lot of political apathy where young people feel helpless against a system that blinds their vision, exclusive policies that limit the full participation of the young and a violent political environment that suppresses freedom of expression. There is so much we are told we cannot say or do least we endanger our lives and that of those we love. We are systematically subjected to a blinkered growth process where we just have to accept our shortcomings and let ourselves be manipulated by those strong and like in Ishan's case, those more able. Yet our strength comes from our weakness, from us being able to identify what remains of our potential and capacity to contribute to the positive development of our communities and to soldier in bravely, stomping on egg shells without fear. Ishan inspires young people to see themselves for what they can objectively become, and then start walking into that envisioned self like they have no limitations. 

His attitude towards youth leadership questions the role young people of all demographics should be taking up in developmental processes. While the common question seeks to understand what opportunities and structures have been put in place to encourage youth engagement, his scope explores the question of what these young people have and how best they can utilize what is often presumed their weakness to foster inclusion and cultivate democracy. With youths like Ishan, the future is young!