Fighting for fair threatment

Fighting for fair threatment

ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Loud cheering and expressions of gratitude to God were heard in
the state administrative courtroom last Wednesday, the moment
presiding judge Ibrahim accepted the suit filed by Wuri
Handayani.

Scores of people attending the hearing took turns to
congratulate the woman in her wheelchair.

"Thank you, thank you," Wuri said, her eyes welling up with
tears.

Wuri's lawsuit against the Surabaya municipality
administration had finally succeeded.

The state administrative court annulled the decision of the
administration that had rejected Wuri's application for a job as
a civil servant.

"The court instructs the administration to make a decision
that will allow Wuri to take part in the next civil service
placement test," said the ruling of the state administrative
court, delivered by the presiding judge.

For this 32-year-old woman, her court victory is the beginning
of a long journey toward the achievement of equal treatment for
disabled people. "After this victory, a weightier task awaits,"
she told The Jakarta Post, which met her recently in her office
at PD Pasar Surya, a market management company, in Surabaya.

"I must accept the challenge, though, as disabled people are
still discriminated against," she said.

Wuri lost the use of her legs 12 years ago when, as a student
at the pharmacy school at Surabaya's Airlangga University, she
climbed Mount Penanggungan in East Java along with some student
friends. At 1,500 meters above sea level, Wuri slipped and fell
to the bottom of a ravine.

"Luckily, I was OK, but since then I have not been able to
move my legs. A neurologist who treated me said my spinal cord
had been damaged," she said.

From then on, Wuri has faced a new frustrating chapter in her
life; as a disabled person, who was often discriminated against
because of her disability. While she had suffered only physical
damage in the accident, the rector of the university, which
should have supported her, instead asked her to transfer to
another school.

"I refused to comply because, intellectually, there was
nothing wrong with me," she said.

Wuri continued her pharmacy studies in her wheelchair, despite
the fact that the equipment was not designed for differently-
abled people. "God has His own will. I encountered a lot of
technical difficulties, particularly during the practical
sessions," she said.

Finally, she decided to move to the accounting department of
the university's school of economics. "I overcame all the
difficulties there," she said, graduating as an economist in
1998.

But degree-in-hand, it was still difficult for Wuri to get a
job. Her applications were always rejected for the same reason:
her disability.

Ironically, her alma mater, Airlangga University, rejected her
application for a teaching position six times. "I was deeply
hurt," she said.

Of greater concern to her is the attitude of the public
towards her disability, many of whom, she believes, would rather
she did not exist. "I once had an argument with a (movie) theater
worker who tried to prevent me from using an exit. On another
occasion, I argued with a taxi driver for refusing to take me
when I really needed to go somewhere," she said.

Wuri has also been unable to take out health insurance from
either private or state insurance companies. "They always say
that I am not healthy. Once I challenged them to take me to a
doctor for a medical checkup but they declined. In fact, I'm in
great need of health insurance," she said.

Her perseverance in finding a job bore fruit when she was
accepted to work, on a contract basis, as an expert staff member
to the administrative and financial director of PD Pasar Surya,
Surabaya. I got the job through a personal friendship. Still, it
is enough to help make ends meet," Wuri said.

In 2004, when the government was looking for new recruits as
civil servants, Wuri tried to take the selection test.
Unfortunately, the registration committee rejected her
application for health reasons.

This prompted her to fight for equal treatment. She filed a
lawsuit with the state administrative court. "Praise be to God,
He's on my side," she said.

In her journey to justice, Wuri has come to the conclusion
that many people with disabilities are condemned to a life of
poverty and discrimination.

Disabled people, she said, had little chance to improve their
standard of living. Many barriers prevented them from obtaining
proper access to education and job opportunities.

"If I didn't put up a fight like this, I'm sure nothing would
have changed."