An American-sounding electronic voice says “password, password” when Kevin Cutajar switches on his laptop in the boardroom of the law firm to which he belongs.

If I could be on the other side – politics – I could make a difference for people with disability and for others

The male voice later reads out e-mails sent to the 34-year-old Gozitan financial lawyer, who lost his sight when he was 13.

He smiles when he thinks back to the ‘pre-technology’ and ‘pre-internet’ days when the only way he could ‘read’ was by listening to recordings of books read out by his parents or friends.

It was not easy to get to where he is today – move from Gozo to Malta and live alone as a student, graduate, find a job and become a local councillor in Xagħra.

“I decided to take a particular attitude towards life – not to put limits and take things with a sense of adventure and see what I manage to accomplish according to my capabilities,” says Dr Cutajar, who also contested the March general election as a Nationalist candidate.

For him the political world is also a platform to help others who might not have had the support he did.

“If I could be on the other side – politics – I could make a difference for people with disability and for others,” he says.

Dr Cutajar admits his attitude towards disability was not always positive. After contracting an illness when he was 13, his sight slowly left him over the span of a few months.

“The first few years were tough. I was living a normal life as a person with no disabilities and had to start catering for a disability that came into my life out of the blue.

“All this affected me and my family. We were completely unprepared,” he recalls.

Mobility was his first challenge. He went from being an independent and energetic teenager to one unable to venture out alone.

He continued going to school but with little enthusiasm. Back then there were no accessible text books for him and people did not expect much from a blind student.

“So the first two years were lost. They were difficult years but were important because they allowed me to understand the situation. It was like discovering life anew as a blind person,” he recalls.

As he slowly rebuilt his confidence, he started venturing outdoors alone with his white cane, starting from familiar areas around his village.

Meanwhile, with the support of his parents, he devised a system that rekindled his interest in school.

His parents and other volunteers would read out the text books and record them on tape for him to listen and study from. He managed to get his O levels and, using the same system, his A levels.

As he discovered new options and met experienced blind people he started making contact with libraries for the blind overseas.

In those pre-internet days he borrowed recorded texts. This encouraged him to try going to university and study languages.

“It was a double challenge for me. Not only was I disabled, but I was Gozitan and had to come and live alone in Malta like many Gozitan students,” he says. The first semester was very difficult as he had to get used to getting around Malta and the University campus.

He lived in Msida and found support from other Gozitan students who also accompanied him to and from Gozo. He graduated and this gave him the self-confidence to pursue the path he really wanted: law.

By now technology had evolved, he could buy electronic books over the internet and read them with the help of a talking computer.

At 28 he graduated and was ready to start work as a lawyer.

“This is the toughest challenge for disabled people – to find their place in the working world. I attribute this to two main reasons: First, because of the disability they hold back from education. Then there is the mentality – there are still lots of prejudices about what disabled people can offer,” he says.

Dr Cutajar searched for a job for several months: “I was lucky to find an employer who believed in me: the late Simon Tortell.

“He gave me the tools and time I needed to learn,” he says.

Looking back he believes it was his experience as a disabled person that introduced him into the political world. It started with his involvement in NGOs, which included setting up Gozo Aid for the Visually Impaired in 2001.

This is the toughest challenge for disabled people – to find their place in the working world

Through this he came face to face with policymakers and realised he would be able to change things if he were on the other side.

So in 2007 he contested the Xagħra local council elections for the PN and was elected. When he was re-elected in 2012 he decided to take the next step and contest the general election.

Although he was not elected, Dr Cutajar did well. By simply contesting he sent out a strong message – that a disabled person can represent all people.

“It was an important message. In reality, does a disabled person have limits in life? I say they don’t.

“If offered support and allowed to work, a disabled person can perform miracles…

“The only limits they have are those they set for themselves,” he says.

Representing all people

Malta does not have a disabled MP, despite the fact that more than 34,600 citizens have some form of disability, according to preliminary figures from the 2011 Census.

This means that 8.6 per cent of the population is disabled and, if Parliament had to represent the population, at least six of the 69 MPs would have a disability.

How important is this?

Joseph Camilleri, chairman of the National Commission Persons with a Disability (KNPD), believes the involvement of disabled people in the political life of a country is crucial to the general development and well-being of all such people. Over the past years they have become more present in society.

“However, being visible and vocal isn’t enough. In order to ensure our continued emancipation we need to become an integral part of the decision-making process of the country,” he says.

“Only in this way can we ensure that our rights are respected and our quality of life guaranteed.”

Mr Camilleri says the Maltese needed to ensure disabled people who opted for political involvement were provided with the support that was appropriate to their needs.

The Sunday Times is telling the stories of people with various disabilities who are overcoming societal barriers. These monthly articles are not aimed at depicting these people as ‘super heroes’ but at helping society out there understand the needs and concerns of the 34,600 disabled people in Malta who are often hindered by lack of accessibility and understanding. Anyone who has a story to share can contact ccalleja@timesofmalta.com.