Hi!  My story is very simple.  I'm a department of Justice employee who has
been discriminated against due to my deafness..............and I continue to
be discriminated against to this day!  I work in a hostile environment due
to the discrimination and the long term effects of almost 25 years.  I am
currently being trained by my department to enter the paralegal field - in
an effort to accommodate my request for a transfer to a more congenial
setting.  At present my life is constantly in danger from co-workers who
remain steadfast in their jealousy of my training.  There are three or four
individuals who I presently fear.  But I have attempted to turn this fear
into a productive concept............and part of that is the reason I
developed the website located at http://www.webnetimage.com/irishman.  At
present, the site is located on a server that is having sever problems
loading,   This should be resolved in the next week.   I'd like to share 
with you a sample of just one of the travesties that goes on for the 
physically challenged in a government office.

In order to "hear" my telephone on my desk at work, I am required to be
constantly vigilant and "watch" for the "blinking" monitor on the
telephone's dial face.  Yesterday I must have been intensely concentrating
on my work at hand, and didn't notice an incoming call.  A co-worker picked
up the call on her phone, and it happened to be my 70 year old mother who
has arterial fibrillation.  I have constantly requested that if a call from
my mother comes in,  and I do not "hear" it, to notify me immediately since
I'm her only support option at times,  This employee did not do that though,
instead she told my mother that "She's not answering her phone".  When I
heard this from my mother later, I asked if she had gotten the name of the
individual who answered the phone.  She said no, but she would if it
happened again............which it did..............today.  So now I have a
documented note from my mother regarding the event, and the name of the
individual.  However when I release these on Monday, I guarantee that she
will not suffer any of the disciplinary actions that any "normal"  person
such as I would have to endure if the tables were turned.  So I have one
question left to ask.  Where is the "fairness" for the deaf person?  Must we
also be impacted by stupid people who refuse to accept us as we are?  Are we
always to be held up to ridicule?

Sincerely,

Dorothy M. Balesh
omulhall@concentric.net