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The Millenial Perspective on Persons living with disabilities
By Kemol King
One week ago, the Deaf Association of Guyana staged a picketing exercise in front of the Ministry of Public Security on Brickdam, demanding that the Government repeal the law, which prevents deaf persons from driving in Guyana. Deaf Citizens at the protest believe that a restriction of deaf citizens to drive is a restriction of their human rights.
Sadly, and as expected, many reacted with jokes and ridicule. Suddenly, people who have never had to worry about such a basic right being taken away from them have become experts on what people living with disabilities are capable of.
Kemol King
Deaf people not having the right to drive doesn’t mean they shouldn’t. It means our country has failed to make driving accessible to them. A misconception among a broad section of the public is that you can’t drive if you’re deaf. But it’s been shown that, despite not being able to hear emergency sirens and horns, there are many other developments that could be made here in Guyana to replace those mechanisms. There are alerting notification signaling systems that are specifically designed to alert the deaf, hard of hearing, or hearing impaired .Some devices can enable them to distinguish between the sounds, using a panel with multiple indicators. Further, there are panoramic mirrors that can be used to increase the visual perception of deaf drivers, giving them a better sense of vehicles and objects around their own automobile. Of course, making these developments would take time, training and other resources, but it is necessary because the alternative would be to continue the restriction of driving to deaf people.
Just about everyone is subjected to hardships, but People Living with Disabilities (PLD) experience barriers that can be more frequent and have greater impact. For them, the physical environment may not be accessible. They may not have access to relevant assistive, adaptive or rehabilitative devices. They may face prejudice and ridicule by people who are less considerate. They may not have access to the services that everyone else has, because there aren’t policies in place to protect their interests.
People who are able-bodied must make changes so that People living with Disabilities are accommodated. Stereotyping, stigma, prejudice and discrimination come from people who may see a disability as a personal tragedy, as something that needs to be “cured”. For most people, their disabilities can’t be taken away, so it is counterproductive to heap pity upon them.
There are also communication barriers that affect people who are not able to hear, speak, write or understand as well as someone who doesn’t live with disabilities. Schools in some countries, such as New Zealand, teach sign language in public schools so that deaf and mute persons have more ease communicating with the general population.
PLD also face physical barriers, such as steps and curbs with no ramps, or weight scales that don’t accommodate wheelchairs. Further, there are policy barriers, like the ban on driving for deaf people, that denies people who can be qualified to drive, the right to do so. This is unfair, because it places them at a disadvantage, restricting their employment and access to services.
Guyana has made several strides to accommodate PLD, but a lot more should be done. PLD have great difficulty finding their place in society. The image of the ideal human is a dangerous one that disenfranchises many people in too many ways. For me, society must be inclusive of the needs of all its members. We can’t claim to be making an open, friendly society when we don’t teach values that are inclusive of all sections of it. We have much to learn from PLD. Our country would be better for it.
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