Apartheid for disabled still persists<\/p>\n
Debbie A. Lubis, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
There are millions of people<\/p>\n
Surviving in a boundless labyrinth<\/p>\n
Since all the doors are almost closed<\/p>\n
Should our heart and soul be as feigned<\/p>\n
as this plastic flower?<\/p>\n
While actually we...<\/p>\n
Walk on the same road<\/p>\n
Stand on the same Earth<\/p>\n
A short poem titled Society For All, Let's Care More was attached
\nto each stalk of the artificial roses handed out recently by
\nhundreds of disabled people from Greater Jakarta at the Hotel
\nIndonesia traffic circle.<\/p>\n
Disabled people -- young and old, men and women -- gathered to
\nappeal to the general public for a significant change of
\nperspective toward them in observance of the International Day of
\nDisabled Persons on Dec. 3.<\/p>\n
Their message was clear: They do not want the public to view
\nthem as a burden to society, but as contributing individuals that
\nbear the same societal responsibilities as others, and are ready,
\nwilling and able to be involved in everyday life.<\/p>\n
The deaf, the mute, the blind, the paraplegic and others with
\nphysical impairments organized the commemoration and proudly
\ndemonstrated their different abilities before the coordinating
\nminister for peoples' welfare and the ministers of social
\naffairs, religious affairs and resettlement and regional
\ninfrastructure.<\/p>\n
\"Actually, we had hoped that the President could come to this
\nevent,\" said Ismet Mahir, who chaired the event.<\/p>\n
A group of blind people played instrumental songs by using
\nangklung (suspended bamboo tubes which make a sound when shaken).
\nOther disabled people then recited poems and sang. The atmosphere
\nwas uplifting to the uninformed observer.<\/p>\n
\"All of us, if allowed, can and will contribute in all aspects
\nof community life and may become self-sufficient if we have the
\nchance to enjoy equal opportunities to acquire an education, land
\na decent job, have a family and gain access to public places and
\nmeans of transportation,\" paraplegic Dera Maya Sofi told The
\nJakarta Post. \"Think of what we could do,\" she said.<\/p>\n
There are at least 17 rulings that require governmental
\ninstitutions, private sectors and civil society to consider the
\nrights of the disabled in their policy strategies.<\/p>\n
Those rulings include decrees on the provision of equipment,
\nfacilities and services for the disabled in public places,
\neducational institutions, shopping centers, offices, means of
\ntransportation and housing.<\/p>\n
The implementation of these rulings, however, has been
\nscantily applied.<\/p>\n
Only a few city buses in Jakarta are wheelchair accessible and
\nmany of them are in poor condition.<\/p>\n
\"They (hydraulic lifts and space for a wheelchair) apply only
\nto buses on certain routes. Even if the bus provides these
\nfacilities, they have been vandalized or several people are
\noccupying (the space reserved for wheelchairs) because the bus
\nconductor wants more money,\" Dera, who conducted a small survey,
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Public places, such as trains and bus stations, offices and
\nplaces of worship, rarely have wheelchair accessible elevators or
\nbathrooms.<\/p>\n
The disabled can no longer access Gambir train station, where
\na pilot project to make it wheelchair accessible was launched by
\nthe government two years ago. A train schedule board in braille
\nhas been vandalized, the wheelchair ramps are in disrepair due to
\na lack of maintenance and the toilet cubicles outfitted with
\nhandrails are too small to accommodate wheelchairs.<\/p>\n
The government has been negligent in enforcing the law.<\/p>\n
As a result, most disabled individuals are forced to become
\nbeggars after they have been denied work by prospective
\nemployers, while many are not accepted by most school authorities
\non the grounds that they would not fit into industrial or
\nscholastic activities.<\/p>\n
\"I was refused entry into a senior vocational school for
\nhousehold skills (SMKK) because of my impaired eyesight,\" said
\nNine Rahman, who has had a vision impairment since birth.<\/p>\n
According to Ulya Latifah, the principal of the Lab School
\nGeneral High School in Jakarta, some schools do not accept the
\ndisabled because there is a lack of adequate facilities for them.<\/p>\n
\"We accept those who are confined to a wheelchair because they
\nwould have access to classrooms. But we cannot accept those with
\nblurred vision or the deaf-mute since we don't have any
\nsupporting equipment for their daily learning activities,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Minister of Social Affairs Bachtiar Chamsyah said that his
\nministry had provided some centers with sheltered workshops for
\nthe disabled in every province in a bid to enable them to
\nassimilate into the work force. However, the ministry have no
\nlonger been able to monitor these activities since the
\nimplementation of regional autonomy.<\/p>\n
He also said that it was impossible to insist on requiring
\ncompanies to hire disabled people while they were struggling to
\nsurvive the financial crisis.<\/p>\n
Paraplegic legislator Fikri Thalib said that structural and
\ncultural discrimination had contributed to the disabled taking a
\nback seat when it comes to public policy.<\/p>\n
\"Such discrimination has its roots in society's notion that
\nthe disabled are people who are unlucky, weak, disabled and
\nsuffering,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Fikri, who is also the chairman of the Advocacy Committee for
\nPeople with Different Abilities (Kapci) said that the public
\nneeds to reject these notions because it would only make the
\ndisabled become viewed as people with no abilities who are always
\ndependent on others.<\/p>\n
\"There is a better way, and we will find it,\" he said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/apartheid-for-disabled-still-persists-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }