Jakarta an urban prison for disabled people<\/p>\n
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
While Jakarta's efforts to beautify the city and make it
\nfriendlier to pedestrians may be welcome, a large segment of the
\npopulation is still left out of the masterplan, chairman of non-
\ngovernmental organization Yayasan Tanpa Batas (No Limit
\nFoundation) Irawan Santoso said.<\/p>\n
\"Why do you think you don't see many people with disabilities
\naround Jakarta? It's simply due to the fact that if you are
\ndisabled, there's nowhere you can go without a tremendous amount
\nof help,\" he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.<\/p>\n
While it is true that walking around Jakarta's main
\nthoroughfares is somewhat less life-threatening than five years
\nago when open manholes and the errant motorcyclists threatened
\nthe pedestrian at every turn. But for people with disabilities,
\nthe elderly, pregnant women and small children, the city remains
\nas much a jungle as it ever was.<\/p>\n
The pedestrian sidewalk along Jl. M.H. Thamrin in Central
\nJakarta, for example, may look nice to the eye, but without help
\nthe blind are still more than likely to get lost.<\/p>\n
\"It's great that the administration has built new sidewalks,
\nbut such a shame that it didn't consult with accessibility
\nexperts first. As it is, these sidewalks are largely useless for
\nus,\" said Irawan, who is himself wheelchair-bound.<\/p>\n
Even the relatively new busway project has failed to take
\nthese most vulnerable of people into consideration.<\/p>\n
\"Ramps are great, but with the busway ramps, even if you can
\nget up them in a wheelchair, going down them is enough to give
\nyou a heart attack as they're so steep,\" Irawan said, adding that
\nmany busway stops still had stairs instead of ramps so that a
\nlarge part of the city was out of bounds to the disabled.<\/p>\n
Even if a disabled person manages to get up the ramp, getting
\non and off the bus presents further complications, and is
\nhazardous not only for those using wheelchairs or walking sticks,
\nbut also for those unaware that there is often a large gap
\nbetween the platform and the bus.<\/p>\n
This year's International Day of Disabled Persons, which fell
\non Dec. 3, is aimed at promoting full and equal enjoyment of
\nhuman rights and participation in society by persons with
\ndisabilities.<\/p>\n
It seeks to increase an awareness of the gains to be derived from the
\nintegration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of
\npolitical, social, economic and cultural life.<\/p>\n
But making Jakarta more accessible to those with disabilities
\nwill take a long time, particularly when simple acts of devotion
\nlike praying in a mosque present major problems.<\/p>\n
\"Getting in and out of some mosques may not be a problem
\nanymore -- though many still don't provide ramps up to the prayer
\nrooms -- but for those in a wheelchair like me, doing ablutions
\nbefore prayers still poses a challenge,\" Irawan explained.<\/p>\n
For the most part, the disabled in Jakarta have to rely
\nheavily on family and friends in order to be able to survive in
\nthis city.<\/p>\n
Ironically, providing universal access is not all that
\ndifficult. Things like reducing the slope of ramps, erecting
\npublic telephones a little lower to the ground, making doorways a
\nlittle wider, and having one bigger cubicle in public toilets are
\nall it takes in many cases to make life easier for the disabled,
\nas well as the elderly, children, pregnant women and women with
\nsmall children.<\/p>\n
\"After all, even the healthiest of people will become infirm
\nat some stage. Wouldn't it be nice to still be able to move
\naround the city when that happens,\" Irawan said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jakarta-an-urban-prison-for-disabled-people-1447893297",
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