Blind doesn’t mean stupid
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Romana Maříková, née Všetičková, was born prematurely on 17 November 1980 in Prostějov. She lost her eyesight due to retinopathy while being placed in a neonatal incubator. As a blind woman, during communism she had practically only one possibility to get an education, and that was to attend one of the special institutions for the blind and visually impaired. At pre-school age, she entered the Primary and Kindergarten School for the Blind and Visually Impaired with boarding school in Brno Veveří. There, she experienced physical punishment and psychological abuse by the teachers and suffered a huge lack of privacy due to accommodation in unsuitable monastery premises. During communism, education in ordinary schools in the place of residence was not possible. This possibility was opened only after the Velvet Revolution. In 1991, Romana Maříková transferred to the primary school in Plumlov in the fifth grade. After the fall of the regime, non-profit organizations began to develop to help the blind. After the opening of the borders, the blind also gained access to special aids from abroad. After graduating from a secondary school with a social orientation in Prostějov, she managed to graduate from Palacký University in Olomouc, majoring in pedagogy and social work. She makes her living as a masseuse. At the time of recording in 2023, Romana Maříková was living with her partner in Olomouc.
