In Warsaw's Different restaurant guests eat in full darkness, and their guides are blind and visually impaired waiters. The telephone and screen stay beyond the most crucial part of the experience. Talk, trust and focus on the another man return at the table.
When the light goes out, the gathering begins.
We usually look at the restaurant first. We measure the interior, the way the dishes are served, the clothes of another guests. In Warsaw Different this order is reversed. Dinner is held in full darkness, and guests are hosted by blind and visually impaired waiters.
It's not a game of momentary deficiency of light. A man who sees gives control to individual who moves more confidently in the dark. He needs to listen, trust his voice and slow down. The taste, odor and sound become clearer, but the most crucial is the presence of a individual sitting next to him.
Without a telephone lying on the table and without further notification, the conversation regains weight. You can't hide behind a screen or run distant with your eyes. At a time erstwhile families and friends can sit side by side and live in separate digital worlds, specified a dinner is like a simple one: a bond requires attention.
Blind people as hosts
The mission of Different is, as the creators of the place describe it, to open the eyes of people who see the planet of the blind. The restaurant run by the household Assistance Foundation “Man in Need” combines gastronomy, education and integration. It besides gives jobs to people with disabilities.
In a dark room, social roles change. A blind individual is not waiting for help. She is liable for the guest's safety and comfort, shows the way, explains the rules and leads throughout the experience. This simple mechanics has more strength than many authoritative campaigns. It shows competence in practice, without patronising speech and without bringing man to its limits.
Decentness is built up through responsibility, work and real participation in the community. Wise support does not consist in closing people with disabilities as passive recipients of benefits. It should open up a space where their skills are needed and rewarded fairly. Different does it in a concrete way.
A meal that finances help
The restaurant acts as a social enterprise of a foundation having the position of a public benefit organisation. According to the information provided by Diverent, the full operating profit is allocated to statutory purposes, mainly helping families in difficulty.
The Foundation describes support aimed, inter alia, at people suffering from severe illness, permanent household disability, occupation loss, mediocre old age, or the request to start life again after home violence. Aid may include food, hygiene, medicines, rehabilitation, psychotherapy, housing equipment or renovation. Before giving it, the situation of the household is verified to guarantee that support meets the real need.
The choice of the table is so larger than the usual catering service. The money spent on dinner is inactive working. They support jobs and support activities that defend people from loneliness and permanent exclusion.
Community starts with attention
Different power does not come from awesome decoration. You take from the experience of dependence on another man. For a fewer hours, the guest finds that self-sufficiency is simply a delusion, and trust is not a weakness.
This is an crucial lesson besides for Polish families. Technology can make life easier, but it won't replace conversation at the table. A society resistant to crises arises from strong bonds, work and respect for the work of all man. The Different Restaurant recalls this without a lecture. Just turn off the light.
