Integrating people with disabilities into society
Integrating people with disabilities into society
By Inge Komardjaja and Ellen P.S. Sasiang
BANDUNG (JP): The annual observance of the International Day
of Disabled Persons is Dec. 3, but the integration of people with
disabilities into Indonesian society through equal treatment and
opportunities is a rather novel notion.
The United Nations Human Rights and Disability Report of 1993
revealed that violations of human rights of people with
disabilities occurred in many countries.
Discrimination against them may have its roots in society's
view of these people who are regarded as abnormal and dependent
on others. The struggle to achieve equality in social, economic
and political arenas started in the early 1990s. As a follow up
to the United Nations "Decade of Disabled Persons 1983 -- 1992",
the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) declared the period l993 -- 2002 as the
Decade of Disabled Persons for Asia and the Pacific.
The vision is to achieve full participation and equality of
people with disabilities. Approaching the end of the decade, we
need to appraise what Indonesia has done to accomplish the theme
"Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities".
The realization of equality has to be espoused by legislation,
complemented with by-laws and standards. In line with this, the
government of Indonesia has issued Constitution Number 4 Year
l997 concerning equal rights and opportunities in the access and
use of public physical infrastructure, education and training and
employment. In December 1998, the Ministry of Public Works
produced and made available Technical Guidelines for the
Construction of Accessible Public Buildings and Environment.
However, the concept of both legal products is relatively new to
Indonesians. Only a handful of academics, researchers,
administrators and people with disabilities know about this
legislation. Hence, to attain the ultimate goal of equal rights
and opportunities, it is essential to disseminate this
information.
Enforcement and control of access legislation ensures the
rights of people with disabilities, since access is a right
rather than a privilege. The guidelines, standards and
legislation of access give persons with disabilities legal basis
to demand their rights.
The Malioboro pilot project in Yogyakarta is a pioneer for
accessible sidewalks in this country. On both sides of Malioboro
road, tactile guiding blocks are to be installed on its sidewalks
to facilitate people with visual impairment. Hopefully, this
pioneering work does not remain a showcase, but will prompt
similar action in many streets in large cities.
At present, only a few entrances to public buildings are
equipped with ramps in addition to the staircases. People with
disabilities and the elderly are too often deprived from entering
public buildings, for many do not have handrails that are a great
support for these people. If for some reason they have to access
and use a public building filled with barriers of steps or
staircases without handrails, they need extra physical strength
that may strain their frail muscles and bones. Alternatively,
they ask for other's help, which may render them a feeling of
indignity.
As such, in accessing and using the built environment, they
are not only restricted by physical barriers, but also inhibited
by a complex of psychological and social pressures.
The inadequate physical access may be due to the assumption
that disabilities are simply medical matters. Visits to doctors
and health/medical facilities seem to preoccupy people with
disabilities. In fact, many of them are keen on participating in
social life beyond the house, but their special needs for
barrier-free environments are left unnoticed by planners and
policymakers. Disability is a reality that must be accepted, if
the person is to survive and grow. What need not be accepted, as
an expert once wrote, is the unnecessary poorly designed and
unaccommodating environment.
Access legislation alone does not eliminate discriminatory
practices and therefore must be complemented by the promotion of
public awareness. People with disabilities are eager to decide
for themselves rather than being ruled by others. The fact that
many of them are dependent is partly because caregivers are
ignorant of, or disregard, the desire for independence. To be
independent means to take risks in facing uncertain and
unfamiliar situations.
This is challenging, but this process empowers them to live
confidently in the able-bodied world. Integration into society
develops when they are given opportunities to participate in
every aspect of life to the greatest extent possible. To group
together with other individuals with disabilities should,
therefore, be discouraged.
Indonesia has taken a giant step forward to materialize
"equalization of opportunities" by electing K.H. Abdurrahman
Wahid as president of the country. When many nations in the world
are striving for equality of minorities, Indonesia has acted
substantially in applying equal treatment and opportunities
during the 1999 presidential election campaign, no matter what
the political background was.
Our President begins the long haul to leading this huge
nation. Despite visual impairment, his intellectual and mental
abilities are not inferior to his predecessors. This evidence of
capability raises the issue of redefining "disability" and
"people with disabilities" to clear up people's misunderstanding.
Apparently, all individuals have the potential to become
disabled, either by illness, aging or accident. Focusing too much
on intact physical and sensory appearance discriminates against
people who do not meet this criteria, while obviously their
intellectual ability and special skill may enrich society as a
whole.
Inge Komardjaja works with the Research Institute for Human
Settlements, Ministry of Settlements and Regional Development in
Cileunyi Wetan, Bandung regency. Ellen P.S. Sasiang is a lecturer
doing a master's program in universal design in the School of
Architecture, National University of Singapore.