Three days ago when he officially donned the black robe and was accepted as a lawyer by Justice Sandra Kertizious young Mandel Moore knew that he had not only fulfilled his dream but that of his now deceased father who was his main motivator to use his brain to be equal to others.
For many years he may not have been seen as equal to his peers because he had only one functional hand, one of his feet never developed and the other has missing toes and even though he quickly says his disability was never an issue he qualifies the statement by saying he had a father who never saw him as different.
It is not that Moore’s mother Elsie February did not play an important role in his life but for a father who had 16 children Carland Moore made it his duty to ensure that Mandel always strived to do his best and underscored the importance of academics.
On Thursday, when he donned the black robe his only regret was that his father was not there to see him then or two Saturdays ago when he walked across the stage to accept his legal education certificate.
“My father always said he wanted one of his children to be an attorney and he told me that often and he pushed me in that direction,” Moore told the Sunday Stabroek in a recent conversation. He is the first in his family to have fulfilled that wish.
“I knew whatever I chose to do, it had to be something with education, it had to be something where I use my brain and my mind because I could not do physical work. It had to be education, there was no choice,” he said.
Moore said when he started his law studies he realised that he loved law, especially criminal law.
Sadly, his father died when he had completed the second year in his law studies and this threw him “into a state of depression.” Not only was his death was sudden—one month after he found out he had cancer he was dead—but his father was his financial support and Moore believed he would be forced to drop out. But his mother, older siblings, aunts and uncles all chipped him and ensured he completed his studies at the University of Guyana.
“My father was doing regular check-ups but then he found out he had cancer and he went to the US to do the surgery but it had already spread to his bones. He left walking and when he came back he could not walk and he died shortly after,” Moore said, the sadness still very evident.
His Hugh Wooding Law School stint was funded by the Government of Guyana through a scholarship from the Ministry of Public Service which was facilitated by the National Commission on Disability.
Moore was frank enough to say that it was not an easy road in Trinidad because for him the work was very difficult, he felt like quitting within a week of classes starting.
“It was so much work. I felt I could not have done it,” he said and when asked what kept him going he said fear.
“I was on a scholarship and I knew I could not quit or fail and then all my relatives were looking at me… They say that God didn’t give us a spirit of fear but I have learnt to appreciate fear. Every time I thought about failing that fear kept me going… at night, the fear of failing saw me getting up and studying,” he said candidly.
He now has his “dream job” in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), where he will remain for at least five years as his scholarship stipulates.
Criminal law is what he is interested in and Moore said he is very appreciative that DPP Shalimar Ali-Hack granted his request for him to work in the office. He believes he will be there long after the five years would have passed.
‘Regular person’
“To be honest I am just a regular person. I wouldn’t think there is anything special about me, I would not separate myself from anyone else… I have the same feelings. I have the same wants like everybody else… So I wouldn’t put myself in a different category from everyone else,” the young attorney said.
As regards his disability, he points out that it’s just physical, there is nothing wrong with him mentally and “I don’t think there anything wrong with me emotionally, at least I would hope not.”
Moore has no memory of being bullied as a child because of his disability. He said he was about 13 when his disability really registered with him. Maybe it is because of his parents who never allowed his disability to be the focus. He had even tried out at athletics but it soon became apparent that this was not for him.
“There was no large-scale taunting out bullying, no one person in particular bullied me every day just like in passing like a stranger would say something and that’s it for a couple of seconds…, he said adding that he had many friends growing up.
Moore described himself as “a very boring person” who does not like outdoor activities.
“… As a child at home I played cricket often like every day…,” he said but later admitted that he cannot stand for long periods without his legs or back hurting.
But that will not affect him spending long hours in court when necessary as he has already developed a technique of shifting his position often, which helps.
Speaking to his disability, he said his mother informed that she became pregnant with him while teaching in Region One when she was stricken with malaria and had used medication to treat it. She was unware that she was pregnant at the time and this may have resulted in his condition.
“But my mother and father never treated me differently and especially my father he always helped me to do my best. Maybe it is because of them that I am like this; I don’t see my disability as an issue,” Moore said.
He is aware that other young people may not have the same support and encourages them to believe in themselves. He said that if his story can motivate one young person with disability to follow his/her dreams, he would be happy.
