INTERVIEW:
Arman Ali, disability rights activist and Executive Director, National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People spoke exclusively to The Sentinelassam.com on challenges being faced by the specially-abled people amid the COVID-19 lockdown. Ali shard his thoughts on several issues including if the society and the authorities have forgotten about this section of the society and will the specially-abled people ever be part of the mainstream. Here are the excerpts from the conversation.
Sentinel Assam: As we fight the Corona pandemic and continue to be under lockdown, do you feel that the authorities and we as a society have forgotten about the specially-abled people?
Arman Ali: In a regular circumstance, the needs of the disabled people are never met. Basic fundamental rights like education, employment, the freedom to go from one place to another is always compromised. In a situation like this pandemic, they are the worst effected. They are some body who are not even thought of. Disability and disabled people have always been more like an after-thought. When everything is done then you look at it as a charity issue and not as part of the development. It has always been that people with disabilities have always had to fight for their survival. And in situations like the one we are in now, one would imagine disabled people to be a priority, disabled people are the first ones to be de-prioritised when it comes to food, healthcare or any other such requirement.
Sentinel Assam: Have the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and the NDMA guidelines been of any help? Have these made any difference in the lives of the specially-abled people?
Arman Ali: The fact remains that even after three years of passing the Rights for Persons with Disability Act, 2016, there are no sign of implementing this law. This law very specifically talks about maintaining records of the disabled people so that in times of disaster, the disaster management authority can come out with specific guidelines in keeping with this law. Its an irony that when the country is in a disaster mode, the National Disaster Management Act (NDMA) is in force, the Prime Minister is the Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, I am sure they must be referring to the rules and the law, how conveniently people are ignoring provisions of the Disability Act. This is something that surprises me every single time. You play with peoples' lives in a situation like this and disabled people are more susceptible to such kinds of virus because of their pre-existing health conditions and lower immune system. This is very unfortunate.
Sentinel Assam: Has the government announced any financial aid or any kind of assistance for the disabled people?
Arman Ali: In the first economic package the Finance Minister had announced a financial assistance of Rs 1000 per disabled person over and above the pension that they get. But people are yet to receive that money. There is no clarity. The core of anything you do during a disaster is your communication, how you communicate with the public at large. Every time you make a phone call, you hear the message warning you about the virus and the steps that needs to be taken to stay safe. The messages are there in the newspapers or on the TV channels. But has anyone thought about how the disabled people would access these – the deaf and the blind? So, you are completely not thinking about the needs of the disabled people. If you exclude them from communication and information, it creates a huge barrier. They would not know how to access healthcare or the financial aid meant for them. What stops the Prime Minister from having a sign language interpreter in the same frame while he is addressing the nation. Why are we treated as second class citizens in our own country? It is very disheartening.
Sentinel Assam: What are some of the challenges specially-abled people are facing. How are they coping with life?
Arman Ali: The needs of the specially-abled people are no different from a normal person. They also need food, ration and money to susutain. Disabled people are not able to go to the nearby PDS shop, banks are not accessible for the disabled people. Despite the RBI guidelines, the blind people are not issued debit cards. So even if they have money in the banks they are not able to use at times like these when they need the most. If anyone has diabetes or need catheter, these are not luxuries, these are necessities. People are still looking for the pension money, for food and ration and for care giver support. They are dependent on their families and if the family members have lost the livelihood then who will they turn to.
There are RBI guidelines regarding making banks and ATMs disabled-friendly, but no one seems to care. Disability has always been looked as a charity issue and a welfare issue and never considered as part of development.
What most of us are doing now -- working from home. This is something that most disabled people have been ask for a very long time. But companies have always been finding excuses not to let disabled people work from home.
Sentinel Assam: These challenges, problems faced by the specially-abled people has been there for a very long time. Don't you thinks its high time things need to change?
Arman Ali: I think it's a political problem. Disability is not a political issue. Eighty per cent people are not disabled, they can walk, see and hear and they can go and vote. Voters are catered to. Once their development is done, whatever is left is for welfare where you are given sub-standard wheel-chairs and hearing aids. Despite being 10 crores in the country, just because the disabled people are not vote banks and even if their demands are not met, they cannot form groups and protest, they are not cared for. There is no representation in the Parliament. If someone is in a wheelchair they are considered as sick and not as a person whose identity is disability. It is not just about the government, it is about everyone, if we do not think that the disabled people are like us and their needs are similar and including them in everything that we do would be very important for any change in the times to come.
There are a few states like Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Assam, Goa, Kerala who have helplines for the disabled people. Kerala is a good example who recognises that there are disabled people and their needs need to be looked into. But there continue to be gaps there because these are ad-hoc measures. Very good guidelines were announced during the lockdown but the wording is such that it sounds more like a request than mandatory. The government do not seem keen in making everyone aware about disabled people. No one thinks that disabled people are people too.
Sentinel Assam: Do you see light at the end of the tunnel? Will things change for the disabled people?
Arman Ali: Things will change only if disabled people stop being beneficiaries and play a leadership role. They have to be aware of their rights and demand for their dues. The demands have to come from the most remote areas. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act is a very powerful legislation and talks of access not just to buildings but also information, technology, education, everywhere. It has made the private sector accountable for the first time. It says that any product or services in this country has to be accessible to the disabled, like the hospitality, telecom services, healthcare provider. A timeline has been fixed for all of these. The timeline was June last year and that over, things might really get tough for the service providers when disabled people start using the law. I hope in the times to come the disabled people will become aware of their rights, use the law and not just look for small dole-outs and others for help but themselves ensure that they become part of the mainstream.