Are the disabled close to equality?<\/p>\n
By Inge Komardjaja<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): The International Day for Disabled People on
\nDec. 3 is held to commemorate the existence and plight of
\ndisabled people. They are the world's largest minority and most
\nof them live in Asia and the Pacific.<\/p>\n
The end of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons,
\n1993-2002, is just around the corner. Two more years from now we
\ncan assess whether the goal of equal opportunities is a growing
\nrealization.<\/p>\n
During the past eight years, developing countries have
\nwitnessed actions aimed at empowering the disabled through
\neducation and training, employment and creating accessible
\nenvironments.<\/p>\n
Regarding physical accessibility, pilot projects to install
\nramps for wheelchair users and those with walking problems,
\nguiding blocks on sidewalks and sound signals to help the blind
\ncross roads are examples all cities should follow. Unfortunately,
\nthe life span of these facilities is short.<\/p>\n
The speaker installed at one of the traffic lights on a
\nthoroughfare in Bandung has not worked for a couple of years.<\/p>\n
The major cause for these not so successful endeavors lies in
\nthe nondisabled population's unfamiliarity with disabled people.
\nWith all the good intention of government organizations, NGOs and
\nthe private sector in raising the quality of life of disabled
\npeople, they remain excluded from society.<\/p>\n
In everyday life, the nondisabled keep their distance from the
\ndisabled, who then become merely objects to be stared at. The
\nnondisabled are largely ignorant of how to lend disabled people a
\nhand, and feel uncomfortable in approaching them.<\/p>\n
Even families conceal their disabled members. Indonesia and
\nother less developed countries are still just beginning to deal
\nwith disability problems. That the disabled face prejudice in
\nnearly every area of life is not surprising.<\/p>\n
It is thus intriguing to argue for the use of the term \"people
\nwith different abilities\" rather than the term \"disabled people\".
\nNowadays, the leaders among the disabled are introducing the
\nabbreviation \"diffable\", which stands for different ability. The
\nabbreviation seems to cover up their disabilities, saying that
\nthey are just different, as each individual is.<\/p>\n
In reality, euphemisms do not redress the marginalization of
\ndisabled people to help them gain social and economic inclusion.<\/p>\n
\"Diffable\" now takes the Indonesian form of difabel, which is
\neven more puzzling.<\/p>\n
As a disabled woman myself, I choose \"disabled people\", which
\nis clear and uncomplicated. It implies the social, economic and
\ncultural barriers on top of impairment, whereas \"different\"
\nsignifies nothing because everyone is different, but not everyone
\nexperiences disability.<\/p>\n
\"Different\" takes away the political meaning of the situation
\nof being disabled. In developed countries, the disability rights
\nmovement tries to convert shame of impairment into pride.<\/p>\n
Low-educated and illiterate people are not complicated in how
\nthey think and do not try to appear fancy and use humane words.
\nThey bluntly say blind, deaf or crippled to refer to people with
\none of these disabilities.<\/p>\n
They cannot comprehend winding terms such as \"people with
\nvisual or hearing impairments\", or \"people with ambulant
\ndisability\". It is often the educated and elite who draw a line
\nbetween the disabled and nondisabled.<\/p>\n
In a recent workshop titled Realizing Accessible Public
\nFacilities for All, held by the Ministry of Settlement and
\nRegional Infrastructure in Jakarta on Nov. 7, it was heartening
\nto see that most presenters used the term \"disabled\" (penyandang
\ncacat).<\/p>\n
The difabel abbreviation can include people with many forms of
\nmobility impediments, such as pregnant women, people with bone or
\nmuscle injuries, toddlers, the elderly and people carrying loads
\n-- making confused the special needs of the disabled.<\/p>\n
The experience of Hirotada Ototake, a young Japanese
\nwheelchair user without arms and legs, should be cited here. The
\nauthor of No One's Perfect was admitted to the private and
\nprestigious Waseda University in Tokyo on the basis of passing
\nthe entrance test.<\/p>\n
The university installed ramps and built wheelchair-accessible
\ntoilets, not only in the school where he took his courses, but
\nalso in public spaces on the campus so he could move around
\nindependently.<\/p>\n
The goal of the university is to be an open university, which
\nmeans that it should be accessible to disabled students. This was
\ndone due to a campaign chaired by one disabled person, Ototake
\nhimself.<\/p>\n
The bottom line was the attempt to give everyone an equal
\nopportunity and to end discrimination against disabled people.
\nWhen such equal opportunities have been realized, only then can
\nwe use the phrase \"people with different abilities\".<\/p>\n
The writer works with the Research Institute of Human
\nSettlement Technology at the Ministry of Settlement and Regional
\nInfrastructure in Cileunyi, Bandung in West Java.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/are-the-disabled-close-to-equality-1447893297",
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