'Allocate jobs to disabled people'

'Allocate jobs to disabled people'

Every year countries around the world, including Indonesia, mark
Dec. 3 as International Day of Disabled Persons. But, how much
attention do we give to disabled people? The Jakarta Post
interviewed some city residents.

Annisa, 22, is a student of a private university in Jakarta.
She lives in a rented room in Senen, Central Jakarta.

Compared to what other countries, especially Western
countries, do, I think we do not give enough respect to disabled
people here in Indonesia. Very often disabled people are seen as
burdens.

If we want to help them we must make them feel useful to
society so that they can have dignity. This is what I mean by
respect. I think disabled people can do a lot of jobs and
activities.

I believe that God is just. Many disabled people have unique
talents and can do things that normal people can't do.

Take, for instance, Stevie Wonder. He is blind but everybody
acknowledges that he is musical genius. However, if a blind
person had a similar talent in Indonesia, he would not be given
the chance. This is because we do not give them enough access in
most fields, including music.

Rieka, 35, is a teacher at an international school in Jakarta.
She lives with her husband and children in Meruya, West Jakarta.

My first concern if we talk about disabled people is how to
make them useful to society, just like a normal person so that
they are not burdens.

I think the government must have a special policy on this
issue. You see many disabled people are capable of doing many
jobs. For instance, I think people in wheelchairs or on crutches
could make good teachers or singers, or even telephone operators.
Many blind people have good voices so they could become singers.

So, the question is, are we willing to allocate certain jobs
to disabled people? The government has the ultimate
responsibility for making sure that certain jobs are made
available to disabled people. It can also issue regulations
requiring companies to allocate a portion of their jobs to disabled
people.

--The Jakarta Post