@amrosallam2
Dr. Diaa Radwan is from this precious category, which paved its way to success despite the disability he suffers from. In his conversation with Okaz, he summarized the long suffering of the disabled with society, and talked about his daily suffering and the strange paradoxes that he witnesses in the places designated for the disabled.
Radwan says: “I used to call for the integration of the disabled with the healthy, so that they would be educated on how to deal with special cases, but today I find myself against that integration, because I have lost hope, because of the extent of the suffering we suffer.” And he continues, “I will not talk much about that suffering.” But I will leave the opportunity for you to see for yourselves through the hours I spend in the only playground for the disabled in Jeddah, as it is located in Al-Irada Park; It is a public park dedicated to the disabled, and all the games and services that are available in the park are intended for the disabled, and although we do not mind the presence of healthy people among us in the park, this has become a burden on us, and from this small spot we are measured by what we suffer due to the lack of culture in society.
And he adds: Here we see the corridors designated for the visually impaired, which are pointed corridors with signs through which the blind can deduce, and they are only available in two parks only in Jeddah, with the necessity of having them available in all attachments, and moreover, they are full of dirt from healthy visitors, and some of them do not even know that These lanes are for the blind.
Radwan limps to another suffering; It is the suffering of the parking lots for the handicapped and the problems they witness due to the healthy people ignoring the eligibility of these parking lots, and what it facilitates for them in terms of movement and ease of movement. He says that the parking lots designated for people with disabilities who have special cards that enable them to park in them, we find them occupied by healthy people’s vehicles, even in this park designated for the disabled You find those who take advantage of the positions of the disabled in them to stand for them, not caring about their disability and the difficulty of their movement. A priest on that government departments, commercial facilities and others, and confirms that they submit many reports, but some of them are dealt with and others are ignored, except that we had to make chains at our own expense To address those who stand in the parking lots for the handicapped.
And Ali Al-Mizan speaks, and he says: The basketball court was closed more than once due to negligence and vandalism by healthy people whom we allowed to play with us, and we may hear hurtful words in addition to that vandalism, as one of the parents told us once after he insisted that his children play in the garden , that this stadium is owned by the government and there is no need for it to be taken over by the handicapped, noting that the stadium is designated and has indicative signs for the handicapped.
We were also forced to close the toilets and give the keys to the official due to neglect of hygiene and lack of attention, and the reason for this is due to poor education and lack of culture.
Al-Mizan did not talk about solutions, confirming his rejection of that, but he aspires to have a regulatory body that would impose fines on transgressors, and he believes that it is the right way so that the disabled person is respected.
A young man with disabilities, Mohammed Al-Ghamdi, says that despite the capabilities, energies and talents they possess, the neglect of society and the infringement of their rights made them not look at these talents and develop them.
We look at the disabled with pity, but we do not reflect that feeling on reality. What we practice is completely different from that. Despite their suffering with disability, our ignorance of their requirements increases that problem, starting with government departments that do not provide all their needs, and they find it very difficult to review the departments in light of The obstacles they encounter, and even in public places, they do not find what is commensurate with their disability and the difficulty of their movement, and when it comes to us, you find us ignoring their rights, intentionally or unintentionally, and the closest violations practiced against them are our standing in the parking lots designated for them, without caring that there is a disabled person who may come now , which is the most necessary position. One session with disabled people hears the daily sufferings of their community; Whether it is from institutions or individuals, and you may hear what you do not think. Young people with disabilities are an ambition that exceeds our expectations, but we may obstruct that ambition by being ignorant of dealing with people with disabilities, and by our indifference in providing for their needs and taking into account their disabilities. Even those who take the initiative to help them in public places find those who help them ignorantly, so that help turns into another difficulty they face.
Amr Salam (Jeddah)