2 weeks ago
16
Bobby Chin, co-founder of internationally acclaimed sound system Black Chiney, may have lost his sight, but certainly not his sense of humour or his vision. The personable Chin, however, will be the first one to tell you that the journey to peaceful acceptance of the reality that he would never see again was arduous. He trekked through valleys of despair and depression and was even suicidal before finally climbing out of a dark abyss into the warm sunshine.
As a top selector for Black Chiney, which has a floor-to-ceiling list of accolades, Chin, who grew up in Florida, where the sound is based, also lived on and off in Belize for 15 years. He has toured the world, playing in Japan one dozen times, experienced China, Africa and the Caribbean and lived a wild and eventful life, and admittedly, did not focus on his health.
But in a twist of fate, he has now been forced to slow down and re-navigate his way around life. That has even meant finding a whole new community of friends and not just existing, but thriving. Chin is now the owner of Blindspot radio, an online platform run entirely by blind people.
“Based on the circumstances, I’m doing good,” Chin told The Sunday Gleaner. “I lost my sight three years ago ... but prior to that, I had moved to Belize, where I had two restaurants, and I was doing good. And then COVID came, and then my eyes started going bad. After that, I sold up and returned home to Jamaica,” he shared.
Chin, who is diabetic, has detached retinas in both eyes. He did several surgeries, but nothing worked. He now believes that “God put [him] in this community for a reason” and shared that at first, he used to pray for healing.
“But look at this irony. I have a friend who... him blind, too... . He is now going through what I went through ... the depression, the suicidal feelings. He told me that he tried to kill himself,” Chin said.
“With me ... is the Jamaica School for the Blind I go that help me. My sister signed me up, and I wouldn’t go. Then, when I decide to visit one day ... and I realise that there were other blind people around ... is not only me ... and they were happy. I looked forward to going the next day,” he said.
It was there that he learnt how to use the cane and the computer and was retooled with the skills for living a wholesome, meaningful life. One inspiring thing that Chin found out on his new journey is that “everybody has his or her story”.
“For example, there is this young lady who was caught up in a robbery, and when the gunmen were leaving, one of them shot her in the head, and she went blind. We have a doctor who went blind after she finished her internship. We have somebody else who now has to do dialysis, and that costs $30,000 per week. It is heart-wrenching,” he said.
INSPIRATION
Chin expounded: “A lot of my friends now were born blind, so it’s a bit different for them, but we have we group chat and we just talk and run joke with each other ... even joke ‘bout people who can see. And we do karaoke and we have sound clash, beach trip ... fun things. I see a vision for us. People don’t want to hire blind people, and at first I had a dream of opening a call centre ... I still have that dream. But when I asked myself what I can do, the answer is music. So that’s how the radio station Blindspot came about. It is my focus.”
The station is having a fundraising cake sale on June 14, and Chin is in the thick of things, but he won’t be slicing up the cakes.
“Yuh ever see blind people slice up things yet? The slice dem thick. Not saying that our slices going to be thin. We have a bike man who will be making the deliveries. We just want people to donate to the station ... tek out a one ad. We want to create our own pantry to assist those in the group who experience hard times and pay the staff. I am thankful for persons like Sean Paul who help me out a lot, Demarco, Nadine Sutherland ... Marcia Griffiths always look out for me ... quite a few people, church people as well,” he said.
Although he lamented the separation from some friends, he understands their shying away from him.
“I’m the owner for Black Chiney. They still travel all over the world, but ... when yuh lose yuh sight ... as with any sickness ... everybody just leave. Me and my business partner started this empire called Black Chiney. I have produced songs for Bruno Mars, Mary J. Blige ... Drake. Serani is one of my best friends, and I didn’t hear from him for three years. Then one day he called me and said, ‘Bobby, I didn’t know what to say to you’. I went to DC and spent a few days with my brother, and when I was leaving, him start crying. Now, I neva see my brother cry before ... ever. Him usually a cuss mi,” he shared.
Keeping his chin up and acknowledging that he is a work in progress, Bobby Chin now sees himself as a shiny, new GLE Benz without the headlights. He also misses driving. “I miss just getting up on a Sunday morning and driving to the beach ... the things we take for granted. I was living a wild life before ... . lots of girls ... but now I’m grateful just to wake up and eat a slice of bread. And I have faith that God will take care of me. So those three words ... granted, gratitude, and faith ... very important.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, call the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ mental health and suicide prevention helpline at 888-NEW-LIFE (639-5433).
English (US) ·