From: Sonu Golkar [mailto:sonug.m...@gmail.com]
Sent: 05 April 2012 17:06
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Subject: Where is right to enjoy for people with disabilities?
Dear Friends,
What is the level of awareness about disability issues in amusement
parks? Do they care about accessibility & safety of people with
disabilities? Do they take steps to provide an equally enjoyable
experience
to their customers with disabilities? These are questions which are seldom
asked but they need to be answered to ensure full participation of people
with disabilities in the social life. A group of disabled youngsters faced
hard realities in their recent trip to an amusement park in New Delhi
India.
The Young Voice Delhi group chose an amusement park named
<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adventure-Island-Rohini/132854526738969?sk=ap
p_2309869772> Adventure Island as the venue for its monthly meeting this
time. The objective behind this decision was to give an otherwise rare
opportunity to enjoy some of the thrilling rides to the members as well as
to contribute to sensitization of the park management and society in
general
by making a public presence of a group consisting of persons with
disabilities.
<http://youngvoices.lcdisability.org/learn/> Young Voices is a global
campaign network which brings together young people with disabilities
between ages 16-25. These are the rallying cries of young people with
disabilities in 19 countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas. Together
they
form Young Voices, Leonard Cheshire Disability's global project that
campaigns for full human rights for disabled people.
The group of 22 persons which visited Adventure Island on 1 April 2012
consisted of persons with blindness & low vision, a person with blindness
&
additional impairments of dwarfism & a few non-disabled friends & family
members. The mobility impaired members of the group chose not to go to the
park since they would have had to walk for long distances and as it is
they
would not have been able to enjoy any of the rides due to accessibility
and
safety considerations.
The group representatives had clearly mentioned to the park authorities at
the time of ticket booking several weeks in advance that most members of
their group will be persons with disabilities. The park authorities after
initial hesitation accepted the booking with certain conditions. They said
that the group will not be provided any support staff and that they
reserve
the right to deny entry to some of the rides on grounds of safety.
However,
despite repeated reminders they never provided any information in writing
and all communication happened on telephone & SMS.
On the day of the visit the park management seemed nervous when the group
gathered at the entry gates. They said that a representative & a security
guard will accompany the group inside the park. But since the group
members
divided themselves into four smaller groups the park representatives ended
up escorting only one small group while the other three groups went
unescorted. Trouble began when the park escorts started denying entry to
several rides. The other three groups which were moving on their own had
done those rides by that time and therefore the members felt that the park
should not deny those rides to other people with similar disabilities.
Moreover, the park management was not able to quantify the conditions
which
according to them made these rides dangerous for some of the group
members.
They did not have any written instructions based on parameters such as
age,
body weight etc. for eligibility to various rides. There decisions were
arbitrary and were based on physical appearance of the guests.
When the group members opposed the decision of the park staff they tricked
the group and said that after lunch the group could enjoy more rides.
After
lunch which was part of the package paid for by the group the park
security
staff denied entry to the group inside the amusement area. The group
coordinators and mentors demanded explanation and they were told in clear
words that the group will not accept such humiliation and will take all
logical steps to safeguard their dignity. None of the senior staff of the
park came forward to give any explanation for denying entry into the park
and the group was left arguing with the security guards who said that they
were just following orders and could not take decisions themselves. After
the group did not give up and stuck to their positions inform of the entry
gate the park authorities finally allowed entry into the park. As a part
of
the package the group had to be given access to a shaded area with seating
arrangement for holding their meeting. Since much time was lost in
arguments
the group went to the meeting venue and held its discussions. In the
meeting
it was decided that the group would try to explore if there were any
guidelines or best practices for handling people with disabilities in such
amusement parks and will try to bring this incident to the notice of the
larger community through blogs & emails.
This Incident occurs even after India signed and ratified UN Convention on
the rights of persons with disabilities. The appropriate article of the
convention is reproduced below for the public awareness:
ARTICLE 9 - ACCESSIBILITY
1. To enable Persons With Disabilities to live independently and
participate
fully in all aspects of life, States Parties shall take appropriate
measures
to ensure to Persons With Disabilities access, on an equal basis with
others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and
communications, including information and communications technologies and
systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the
public, both in urban and in rural areas. These measures, which shall
include the identification and elimination of obstacles and barriers to
accessibility, shall apply to, inter alia:
(a) Buildings, roads, transportation and other indoor and outdoor
facilities, including schools, housing, medical facilities and workplaces;
(b) Information, communications and other services, including electronic
services and emergency services.
2. States Parties shall also take appropriate measures to:
(a) Develop, promulgate and monitor the implementation of minimum
standards
and guidelines for the accessibility of facilities and services open or
provided to the public;
(b) Ensure that private entities that offer facilities and services which
are open or provided to the public take into account all aspects of
accessibility for Persons With Disabilities;
(c) Provide training for stakeholders on accessibility issues facing
Persons
With Disabilities;
(d) Provide in buildings and other facilities open to the public signage
in
Braille and in easy to read and understand forms;
(e) Provide forms of live assistance and intermediaries, including guides,
readers and professional sign language interpreters, to facilitate
accessibility to buildings and other facilities open to the public;
(f) Promote other appropriate forms of assistance and support to Persons
With Disabilities to ensure their access to information;
(g) Promote access for Persons With Disabilities to new information and
communication technologies and systems, including the Internet;
(h) Promote the design, development, production and distribution of
accessible information and communications technologies and systems at an
early stage, so that these technologies and systems become accessible at
minimum cost.
Regards
Sonu
National Facilitator-Young Voices
Web: www.lcdisability.org/youngvoices
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