Prior our last national elections a disabled friend of mine discovered that her local polling station was inaccessible. She took the matter up with the authorities and received a rather neutral "ho-hum" response, the "Why are you making a fuss?" response which we so often encounter. The matter was escalated, all the way up to parliamentary level, but in all honesty the responses still remained disinterested.
It is important that elected officials at all levels realise that while freedom came to South Africa’s able-bodied citizens back in 1994 the struggle for freedom in the disabled community continues to this day. To prove my point one only need ask how many minutes it would have taken for the entire media industry to descend on a polling station if a woman had been denied entry based on her sex, or a black person had been denied entry based on their colour. Yet for a disabled person it was shrugged off.
This scenario occurs daily, in office blocks, schools, restaurants, public buildings, train stations, and bus terminals. Every flight of stairs, every non-accessible toilet, is a glaring “No Disabled People” sign. We are expected to endure this, to wait, to be patient. Things will improve we are told, yet after 1994 there was no phased approach to the lifting of discriminatory laws. Black people did not need to wait, women did not need to wait, so why must the disabled community wait?
What really galls many of us is that city councils have office bearers supposedly dedicated to promoting the needs of the disabled community. How then is it possible that public buildings are being built at Canal Walk, Parklands, and Steenberg in Cape Town as of this time of writing which are not accessible? How can a council, which supposedly is considering the needs of the disabled community, approve those plans?
Why is it possible for the council to inspect the water, electricity, sewage and road connection details of every single house, mall, shop, office and factory, but they cannot check the access levels? Why is it possible for major hotel chains to hold licenses to do business when they do not provide wheelchair access? How can a hotel be voted best in SA for three consecutive years running yet be completely inaccessible? Why can one open a new restaurant tomorrow without providing access? Why can major corporations open offices today without providing access beyond their foyers? Why are schools free to turn their backs on disabled learners by providing no access? Why can a disabled person not catch a bus in Cape Town? Why are all the train stations not accessible?
The first Year Of The Disabled was held in 1981. We are now 30 years down that road. Thus far the disabled community has relied on the “carrot and stick” approach to encouraging greater inclusion. Everyone want to tread lightly, no-one wants to upset anyone. We should not be having to deal with any of the issues mentioned above. None of it is rocket science. Costs are not a factor if access is provided at the planning stage. It can all be taken care of with the signing of a single document.
The bottom line is that while racial discrimination and gender discrimination are taboo, discrimination against the disabled is not considered to be an important issue. There are no negative consequences to not providing access. Perhaps that needs to change.
Disabled citizens are voters, and ratepayers, and taxpayers, and employers . . . factors which people of influence often forget.
So here is a challenge for our elected officials, from someone who has been disabled for 49 years, permanently wheelchair based for 37 of those, been a taxpayer for 32 years, been a ratepayer for 22 years, and a voter for 32 years.
Until recently I have questioned whether my vote counted for much, but now there is a glimmer of light. As local political parties fracture so our votes hold more power, particularly in the metropolitan areas. Disabled people constitute more than 8% of the population, that is nearly 4-million people, arguably more in the cities. Our freedoms, or lack of, are shared by family and friends. We represent more than just ourselves. Those parties which have our best interests at heart might be viewed more favourably. Those local councils and municipalities which better represent our needs might be recognised as such. To paraphrase a popular line, "Are you with us, or against us?".
In the years which lie ahead the vote of a disgruntled disabled community might just swing an election, either locally, or nationally. Can you afford to see us marginalised much longer?
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3 comments:
Hear, hear! One such public venue, is Cape Town stadium. When five walking friends and myself heard that Coldplay were coming to Cape Town to perform in October 2011, we rushed off to purchase tickets. I was horrified to discover that I, as a wheelchair user would not be able to sit with my friends, but would be required to sit separately, in a demarcated area with other wheelchair users. As a concession, one walking friend would be permitted to sit with me. Since this is a new stadium, I was naturally shocked at hearing that such an arcane notion could possibly be in place. Naturally, neither my friends nor I are prepared to be part of such discriminatory arrangements.
I wrote many emails – to the mayor of Cape Town, to Computicket, to Big Concerts, to Ari Seirlis and to many other people who might somehow have a finger in the Stadium pie. I subsequently learnt, in an email from Guy Davies who had been part of the stadium design team, that the stadium was in fact built specifically to prevent this kind of segregation from happening and that access was available on most levels and designed so that wheelchair users could sit with their friends and families. Lesley de Reuck, the stadium director was also willing to meet and discuss possible solutions. However, since Guy Davies assured me that the stadium design wasn’t where the problem lay, it didn’t seem necessary.
It does seem then, that the problem lies with Computicket and the promoters, Big Concerts. I have in the meantime, heard from other wheelchair users, that there was a similar problem at the Cape Town Military Tattoo presented at the Castle of Good Hope and at various other performances where Computicket were involved. As I mentioned earlier, I also contacted Computicket and Big Concerts, but have not heard from them yet. Let’s see what happens...
I would like to add an update to my previous comment. I have been assured by Guy Davies of Disability Solutions, that the Stadium management are committed to rectifying the situation at the Stadium – so to all wheelchair users and their friends and families. Hang in there!
One more thing: I love your blog! I really would vote for you for the presidency!
You're a star Mars!..... :-)
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