'Security guard on wheelchair, why not?'
For many disabled people in the capital, the absence of public facilities and a lack of job opportunities make life a daily struggle. With the International Day of Disabled Persons falling on Dec. 3, The Jakarta Post spoke with people about this issue.
Mispan Indarjo, in his 30s, works at the United Nations building on Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta. He lives with his family in Kalibata, South Jakarta:
The city does not provide decent public facilities for disabled people. Only a few offices provide special elevators for them, but most offices do not have the elevators. Malls and shopping centers also fail to provide special facilities for the disabled. The managements of most buildings treat the disabled as if they did not exist.
Worse, very rarely do people with disabilities have access to "normal jobs". Maybe companies still see them as a burden rather than productive assets. When times are tough like they are now and most companies are trying hard just to survive, disabled people are the first to be ignored.
When I worked in Cambodia several years ago, there were so many people who had lost limbs to land mines. It was good to see that some companies did employ disabled people, even as security guards.
JB Sudarmanto, in his 40s, works for the Grasindo publishing company in Palmerah, Central Jakarta. He lives with his family in Bumi Serpong Damai in Tangerang:
The government has done little to provide facilities for the disabled. Almost none of the streets in the capital have crossings for the disabled. There are no pedestrian bridges designed for them. Even normal pedestrian sidewalks have been taken out to widen roads. We know that some schoolteachers mistakenly encourage students to help disabled people cross busy streets, which is simply wrong because it puts the students in danger.
In the workplace, disabled people are often discriminated against by the companies they work for. Many companies fail to see the potential of the disabled.
-- The Jakarta Post.