When I was young, learning to identify colors was a simple yet gratifying task, especially when combined with a coloring book containing lines and shapes placed arbitrarily in the way of my “better” pictures. However, on the small islands of Pohnpei and Pingelap here in the Pacific, there is population for which this task of color identification is not so easily accomplished. Congenital achromatopsia (CA) is a condition in which a person is born without the ability to see color – true “black and white” vision. This is due to a lack of functional cone cells in the eye that normally provide color and high levels of visual acuity. As such, persons with CA also have blurry vision (20/200 or sometimes worse, 10x less than normal) and are very sensitive to light, causing them to squint in levels of light easily tolerated by those unafflicted by the disorder.

Unlike the prevalence of the anophthalmia/microphthalmia mentioned in a previous post, the etiology and history of CA in the area is well understood. During the turn of the 19th century, a large typhoon came through and swept over the island of Pingelap, killing many of the original inhabitants and leaving the survivors with very little resources or food. Of these few survivors was a man of royal blood, who carried with him the precursor gene for CA. When the island was repopulated, this gene became much more common in the population, resulting in the high prevalence and Pingelap being known as “the island of the colorblind.” However this prevalence is decreasing as expected now that the population is less isolated; major migrations to the island of Pohnpei have taken place and a much larger gene pool is now available (the gene is recessive).

Roddy Robert is a coordinator for special education on Pohnpei and once himself a teacher for children with visual impairments. He carries with him a friendly personality, big laugh, lots of stories, and one pair of sunglasses – as well as the same gene for CA many of his students also have. This allows him to fully understand just what the kids are going through when he teaches them – he can see the world through their eyes better than anyone else can, and thus makes a truly exceptional mentor and guide. This advantage in teaching others with the disorder isn’t the only positive spin on having CA. To compensate for the decreased vision, the body tends to increase the capabilities of the other senses; thus Roddy and his students alike sport a very keen sensation to touch and excellent hearing. In the past persons with the disorder have even been used in warfare to spot enemy camouflage – their eyes are far superior at distinguishing between shades than the typical individual.

During our time on Pohnpei, we had the pleasure of meeting Roddy and traveling with him to Mand, a village which has become the main site of immigration for people from Pingelap and is home to many people with CA. We visited the homes of several of his former students, including a young boy we grew particularly fond of named Junior. Despite the language barrier (kids on Pohnpei learn the local language first and start English as soon as they enter school), Junior was able to communicate with us effectively in English for much of the conversation; Roddy only translated periodically as needed. He has a very outgoing personality and was as full of questions for us as we were for him – a sign of the quality education he’s received and a testament to the expertise of his teachers. 

Yet there was an obvious kinship – not just familial, but perceptual, cognitive – among the achromatopes we met on Pingelap and Pohnpei. There was an immediate understanding and sharing between them, a commonality of language… 

– Oliver Sacks, The Island of the Colorblind