Indian-origin man with rare disorder claims London cafe denied him service: ‘Like they saw a ghost'
A 35-year-old Indian-origin man with a rare genetic condition has alleged that he was refused service at a cafe because of his facial disfigurement, a report by the BBC said. Amit Ghose is a motivational speaker who was born with Neurofibromatosis type 1, a condition that causes non-cancerous tumours to grow along nerves. The condition caused facial disfigurement because of which he was subjected to brutal bullying as a child.
However, Ghose was shocked when he was refused service in a cafe because of his condition. The Birmingham resident said when he visited an independent coffee shop in London recently, he felt like everyone looked at him like he was a "ghost".
"Everyone was staring at me, and it was like they'd almost seen a ghost. The person serving looked at me and said: 'Oh, we're not serving anymore'. She turned around and walked off. But clearly, clearly they were still serving," Ghose recounted to the BBC.
Ghose said he was bullied and made fun of throughout his life because of his facial disfigurement and now shares his motivational story in schools to help children "embrace their personalities and celebrate who they are".
He even published a children's book, Born Different, after he was recently abused. "I had a couple of individuals come over to me in a park and ask me what happened to my face, and I thought they were just being curious. But actually, they started laughing, giggling, saying: 'Oh my God, if I had a face like you I wouldn't even come out of my house'," he said.
Amit had his left eye surgically removed at the age of 11, leading to further facial disfigurement as well as abuse and bullying. A cricket lover, it was through the sport that he was able to make friends when children his age refused to even sit next to him.
It was his wife Piyali who persuaded him to start sharing his story on social media. After joining TikTok in 2023, he has gained almost 200,000 followers.
"Disability or no disability, visible difference or no visible difference, we all have insecurities, we all have things that we're faced with, and challenges we're faced with. I just want to give this narrative to people that if we truly celebrate who we are, accept who we are, fall in love with who we are, then we can be more confident," he said.
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