Treat the disabled with dignity

Falasha Fitz-Henley, Guest Columnist

I write on the behalf of every hurting, voiceless disabled person in Jamaica who has had to wrestle with the insensitivity and inhumaneness of large portions of the Jamaican populace.

Just under a year ago, the long-lasting ripples of a horrendous motor vehicle pedestrian accident resulted in the larger portion of one of my lower limbs being amputated. Because this disability is totally visible to any onlooker, it quickly opened my eyes, and subjected me to the unkind, prejudiced and harsh behaviour of our populace.

There are media reports of at least three secondary school-age children with physical disabilities who were not able to start the new academic year because of the incapacity of our educational institutions to facilitate them.

Research shows that there have been a number of others who are suffering the same fate - the denial of education as a result of having a disability. The infrastructure of the majority of our schools was built without consideration for special needs, which are largely accessibility and accommodation. Many of our tertiary institutions are no different.

TRANSPORT, ROAD WOES

For those lucky enough to find a school, there is the challenge of adequate transportation. While the Jamaica Urban Transit Company has designated a very small number of its buses for the transportation of students with disabilities to and from school, this service covers less than five per cent of the country.

As for route taxis, a large percentage refuse to carry us during peak hours, as we aren't able to get on and off as fast as others. These same taxis, nonetheless, will happily carry us when things are slow or 'nothing nah gwaan'.

Many public buildings and plazas fail to provide adequate access for us. And some of those which provide access have dysfunctional facilities. One major example of such is the Half-Way Tree Transport Centre, where elevators have been down for more than six months.

Our roads also pose a major threat. Many major thoroughfares such as in Constant Spring Road, in the vicinity of Yellow Pages, are extremely difficult to cross for those of us who cannot speedily dash across. Many roads have a filter lane that is never empty. Motorists are extremely unkind and there have been times when I have had to wait in excess of 10 minutes just to cross the roads.

While infrastructure is lacking, so, too, are the human/medical resources. The Sir John Golding Rehab, which provides for the medical needs/physical rehabilitation of those with (mainly physical) disabilities, needs to be restructured and redeveloped.

The rehab is the only one in the public health-care system which provides limb prosthesis. Today, wooden prostheses are still being offered. These cost more than $70,000, and while there is the choice of a plastic-type prosthesis, the cost is more than 100 per cent more.

INSENSITIVE COMMUTERS

While the majority of able-bodied individuals might readily criticise the Government for its incapacity and lack of all-inclusive thinking, this same populace fails to transfer this righteous indignation and 'passion' to their personal dealings with the disabled.

Much of the Jamaican populace is unapologetically scornful and insensitive to us. Many blind individuals can attest to their canes being knocked from their grips while the offender carries on his merry way. There are those whose canes have been spitefully taken for the 'fun' of some provocative person.

Many times, as I ambulate, I have had my crutches accidentally knocked from under me as individuals hurry about their business. Many of these offenders then justify their callous acts by often declaring that (as one offender put it), "Handicap people should not be in public spaces as they get in the 'public's way'." This view is not isolated.

These are not fundamentally issues of governance, but of a rampant and very selfish individualism and insensitive hooligan-oriented inhumaneness that has infested our society.

I have had many instances where, just because of my disability, my intellect has been questioned or downplayed, and l have had to point out just too often that it is a part of my leg that was amputated, and not my brain. As individuals with disabilities, we are often patronised and forced to work double and triple times harder to prove our abilities.

Those with a mental or developmental disability suffer an even more agonising fate.

The sad truth is that each one of us is just one step, one event, one health crisis, one accident away from a possible disability.

Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and falfitzhenley@msn.com.