Disabled people should go to work, college, says Omani accident survivor

Muscat: Disabled people should not feel ashamed of going to work or college, says Laith Al Abdul Salam, a disabled college student, who also has a full time day job.
Laith, now 33, met with an accident in 2007 while he came to Oman from Malaysia for his vacations from university. It was a tragic holiday as he met with an accident which damaged the nerves in his neck due to which he had to remain in hospital for five months, including three months at a hospital in India.
“I was changing a car tyre for my friend on the roadside and suddenly a Hilux pickup truck came and hit me and specifically my neck. I lost hope in life, the accident left me with a functional disability in my right arm, and it stopped working completely.”
After the accident Laith became an object of sympathy for his family and friends and Laith hated it, “I felt so weak and
crippled, I felt like everyone thought I was useless, I just never forgave myself.”
Laith realised he needed to get away from the love of his family, “I had to get away, it was a very depressing stage for me, I had to discontinue my education because of the accident and then I went to live with my uncle in Saudi Arabia.”
Laith’s uncle taught him to be strong and do things by himself, which got him back on his feet. He later moved to Canada and lived there for a year and then when he thought he was ready for Oman, he came back.
“I came back to Oman by the end of 2010 that was also when I got married. I was able to get a job at a telecom company by 2011, where I had a wonderful female boss, who always believed in me and told me that I could do it all.”
“I was finally able to overcome the barriers I had attached to myself, just because I was partly disabled and decided to go to college in 2016.”
Laith doesn’t face any learning difficulties and college and says that people are usually very supportive, however he is unhappy because in his college he doesn’t see one disabled student, which is finds quite alarming.
“I am sure there are many disabled people out there who are of college going age, however I don’t see them going to colleges. I hope they are able to overcome the stigma and start college soon.”
Laith is a volunteer for many social causes and is also part of support groups in the United States, “I want to help in any way I can, for me it was not easy to start over once again but honestly if I could do it, others should be able to do it as well. It takes determination and yes you do need support, and I got all the support from my boss, my family and my wife.”