Unrightfully rejected!

by Menna Ehab

“I saw the look of disgust on their faces when I first entered the room”. On the third floor in an electronic company, on Wednesday, Ahmed is waiting for his interview with tension and stress and many questions are crossing his mind about his facial stigma. He got out of the office walking in the street with sadness and disappointment on his face, feeling pity for himself after listening to the same questions that he receives every single interview.

“Being rejected socially, being the target of negative stereotypes and being economically disadvantaged are all I suffer from for having a facial stigma.” He continued.

Ahmed Ashraf is an electronic engineer, he is the oldest member of his family. He was always bullied at school from a very young age. He was into football and when the day came and he decided to join the football team at his club, he was welcomed with rejection and all the kids kept making fun of him. Throughout Ahmed's life, he has experienced a lot of situations where people rejected him just for the way he looks, which made him very insecure. The days have passed and now Ahmed works very hard to pay the bills, but the only obstacle that he always faces till now when getting a good job that will help him spend on his family is his facial birth mark and scar. “The birthmark is on my cheek and the scar is on my forehead besides that, I am not a handsome man, the scar is so deep that some people think I am a thug or a thief. I went to an electronic company’s interview and all what they asked about was my birthmark and the scar on my face they didn’t even ask me about my CV or my experience” he explained. This was Ahmed's 11th interview in different companies, they all had the same impression about his look. Ahmed believes that people shouldn't judge the book by its cover and, therefore, no one should ever be judged by the way the look, he concluded that " what lies inside our hearts is what matters the most"

In Egypt, the prevalence of vitiligo is reported 3%. They are just humans but they are always facing illicit avoidance, disgust and lonesome because these prejudgments are devalued . For example, Many people experience inner feelings of disagreement and avoidance towards those lovely individuals who just have disfigurements, imperfections or birthmarks on their face especially through face to face interactions.