Abigail Adams is a Human Interest Writer and Reporter for PEOPLE. She has been working in journalism for seven years.
A man with a prosthetic eye claims he was recently denied service at his local cafe due to his appearance.
Amit Ghose, 35, told BBC News that he was visiting an independent coffee shop in London when he was refused service by a female employee.
Ghose was born with Neurofibromatosis type 1, described by the Mayo Clinic as "a genetic condition that causes changes in skin pigment and tumors on nerve tissue."
It can also cause facial disfigurement, as experienced by Ghose, who was 11 years old when he had surgery to remove his left eye.
Ghose claimed that, while at the coffee shop, the female employee looked at him and said, "Oh, we're not serving anymore" before she "turned around and walked off."
According to the Birmingham man, however, it was clear that the shop was still serving.
He also said "everyone" at the coffee shop was staring at him, adding, "It was like they'd almost seen a ghost."
Ghose also told BBC News that he experienced more abuse during a recent trip to a local park. He initially thought the people he was speaking to "were just being curious."
But they then started laughing before saying, "Oh my God, if I had a face like you, I wouldn't even come out my house."
Afterward, Ghose said he was inspired to write a children's book called Born Different after the encounter at the park made him "really upset."
"I thought to myself, 'I need to do something about this. I need to get this book out. Now is the right time,' " he recalled.
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He even started a TikTok account in 2023, which has garnered nearly 200,000 followers since then.
"Me helping people on social media by sharing my story has helped me become more accepting of myself," he told BBC News. "Now I say to the world, this is me, take it or leave it."
As for what helps him, Ghose said he leans on his love for cricket during tough times. The sport, he explained, "helped me become Amit, that boy who plays cricket, from Amit, the boy who has a funny face."