Blind people protest eviction<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: Sixty visually impaired people living in a home in
\nthe Cawang area, East Jakarta, went to City Council on Thursday
\nto protest the administration's plan to move them to another
\nshelter in the Cengkareng area of West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Accompanied by several activists, including a priest,
\nSandyawan, and Azas Tigor Nainggolan, Faqih, who is the group's
\nspokesman, said his friends were protesting the move since the
\nnew shelter, the Panti Indra Cahaya Batin, was in a remote
\nlocation and lacked essential facilities for people who were
\nvisually impaired.<\/p>\n
Faqih said their current shelter, the Panti Taman Harapan,
\nwhich was sponsored by a Japanese foundation and an
\ninternationally acclaimed training center for the blind here, had
\ntrained hundreds of visually impaired people in various skills.<\/p>\n
\"The current training center has been closed by the
\nadministration although they have contributed nothing to
\ndeveloping this new home,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Taman Harapan home was formerly owned by the Ministry of
\nSocial Affairs before it was handed over to the city
\nadministration because of the regional autonomy program.<\/p>\n
The administration plans to demolish the 2,911-square-meter
\nhome to make way for the expansion of the nearby city-owned Budhi
\nAsih Hospital in Cawang. --JP<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/blind-people-protest-eviction-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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