65° - 01.09.1967, Blaðsíða 19

habilitation Program, determining aid eligibility
of handicapped children and adult polio victims.
1 also observed home visits made by my super-
visor and attended staff conferences of social
workers, doctors, nurses and psychiatrists. It was
a very worthwhile experience, I can assure you.
Q. Are you working in that field now?
A. No, I am currently employed by the Veter-
ans Administration as a dictaphone operator.
For many reasons I was unable to complete my
M.A. in Sociology. I abandoned social work be-
cause I felt my chances of obtaining a position
were slim, and the necessity of having readers
assist me in filling out the necessary forms in
my fieldwork frustrated me. I think I could deal
more directly with individuals if I went into
teaching. Perhaps I could be persuaded to return
to the field of sociology-social work if the op-
portunity presented itself.
Q. Are there many job opportunities for the
blind in the United States?
A. Not so many as you might think. My sister
works for the NYC Civil Service and a good
many blind people are employed by the city, state
and federal governments. The public is not well
educated about the capabilities of the blind per-
son. We have to show them we are capable of
doing the work we say we can do, and many are
not willing to give us this opportunity. I have
many friends with college degrees who cannot
find jobs in their specialized fields because they
cannot crack the prejudice which exists about
hiring a blind person. Some do, but many of
them were not always blind, or had contacts in
a particular field. Many blind people are vending
stand operators, own and operate newspaper
stands, and of course work in sheltered work-
shops. Many teach the blind in their own special-
ized schools, such as the one I attended. A few,
but not many, are public school teachers. Sadly,
all an employer needs is one bad experience and
he will never hire another blind person, even if
he is capable. To the sighted, we are all alike.
Q. You visited Iceland in the summer of 1966.
What impressions did you have of it?
A. I was very favorably impressed. I found few
differences from the U.S. except the language.
People are the same everywhere. I found Ice-
landers warm and friendly. The standard of liv-
o
ing seems very high, and they seem to take a
great deal of pride in their homes and families.
The people are willing to help you in any way
and are sincere, unlike Americans who do some-
thing for you, wondering, “What’s in it for me?”
They are sensitive, proud people as you indicated
in your book, but too many Americans forget
how sensitive and proud we are. We can criticize
ourselves, but far be it for someone else to critic-
ize us! The country has accomplished a great
deal since it became independent; it has much
to be proud of.
Q. What did you know about Iceland before
you came here?
A. Virtually nothing except what Leifur told
me and what I read in your book, Ripples from
Iceland, which is available in Braille. And just
before going to Iceland, a very good article ap-
peared in Reader’s Digest which enlightened me
a great deal. I had no preconceived ideas of Ice-
land as I never gave it much thought. I knew it
was a Scandinavian country and that they were
quite highly developed. After meeting Leifur —
he was one of my pupils in the NY Institute for
the Blind — I found out more about the country
and looked forward to visiting it. And I must
admit that I was not surprised at what I saw.
He prepared me very well, for the most part.
Q. When do you expect to reside in Iceland?
A. Around Christmas of this year, if all goes
well.
Q. Do you hope to find a job in sociology?
A. I will take whatever position offers the most
security. While Leifur is getting established I
should like a good steady income. Whether I
continue in government service or work for Ice-
land depends largely on which allows me to carry
on my role as a wife.
Q. Do you hope to raise a family eventually?
A. We both hope to have and want children..
I have quite a number of friends who are blind
and have raised children. Naturally, there are
problems. There may be times when we need
someone to help with the children, but what
sighted woman doesn’t need someone to baby-sit
at one time or another? We will be calling on
sighted people for aid even without children any-
way. As with anything else, if the right attitude
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