A Western tourist, Giusepee Bertuccio D’angelo, has discovered a village called Dali Koumbe in Mauritania, where blind people reside.
Dali Koumbe is one of the most remote and isolated villages of all Mauritania, which is 1000 kilometres away from Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania.
It was discovered that one in two persons is blind in the village and the villagers have managed to create stability, a union among the entire population, both sighted and non-sighted.
Giusepee pointed out, “It is an isolated village. Not only are most of them blind, but they are isolated by hundreds of kilometres. There is nothing and no one around them.”
The Dali Koumbe village head, Mohamed Mahmoud, explained that their blindness has nothing to do with sickness but the will of God.
Mohamed said, “It is the will of God. It all started with 10 generations ago. The story starts with a mother, who was pregnant with the predestined. One night, while she was sleeping, an entity appeared to her in a dream. He came from another world and told her that she would give birth to the most virtuous man but without eyes. From that moment, every descendant of us would be born blind. Thank God, this prophesy continues to repeat itself to this day and even my father was blind. His name was Sheikh Mohammad Mahmoud. He is a legend: he was the one who found all the water sources in Mauritania.”
He said, “We can only sense if there is something nearby. But we are not able to see it exactly. Allah has given us enough light to walk and to appreciate life as given to us.”
He said that he is a man who is happy and at peace with what life has given him and gives him every day adding, “I am grateful for everything God has given me. There are about forty blind people in this village. There are blind children, blind women, and even blind men older than I.”
Mahmoud, a Quran teacher dedicated to teaching children the Quran and the village Imam stated, “I pray with my community, this is my God-given purpose. I can’t do anything else.”
Mahmoud shared his wishes to include being able to see his house from afar while returning from a long trip, to discover the nuances of the colours of autumn landscapes, to see the letters of the Quran and be able to write and read them.”
A blind woman, who spoke for the women in the village also noted that they wished they could read Quran and other books.
She said, “We can move around without problem because our feet know the road by heart. We have no problem walking inside the village. We can go to the mosque, fetch water and return alone. But we can’t move outside the village without someone’s guidance.”
