Report: Disabled People in Israel Poor, Lonely

Aviad Glickman
12.01.09/ Israel News
Ynetnews

Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities reveals handicapped persons' income much lower than average, 31% says they have no company

There are more than one and half million handicapped people living in Israel and their income is much lower than the national average, according to a report published by the Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the Justice Ministry.

According to the report, 60% of disabled people in Israel live on the edge of poverty and one-third of them feel lonely. The report was issued ahead of the International Day of Disabled Persons, which takes place Thursday.

The report revealed that almost no change has taken place over the past few years in the gap between Israelis suffering from disabilities and the rest of the population, despite new laws and extensive activity on the part of governmental elements and social organizations aimed at improving the situation.

It should be noted, however, that the gaps have been slightly reduced.

Shmuel Haimovich, the commissioner for equal rights of persons with disabilities, addressed the data in a conversation with Ynet. "In an era in which social frameworks are being torn open and an expression of the 'self' is being emphasized, we must be twice as careful and sensitive towards the human need to be a part of society," he said.

"We must all be open and allow this desire to be implemented. We believe that by locating obstructions and obstacles, removing them and even preventing them, an opportunity will be given for reasonable and equal conduct in daily life, in housing, in employment, in education, in public transportation, and in leisure."

Working less, very dependent
The report reveals that more than a million and a half handicapped people lived in Israel in 2007, 721,000 of them in the ages of employment. People with disabilities have a huge labor potential, which is only partially used, the report says.

The education level of disabled people is much lower than the rest of the population. The unemployment rate among people with serious disabilities is 18%, and their income is much lower than average. Sixty percent of them are finding it difficult to make ends meet.

Only 35% of people with disabilities use a computer, compared to 72% in the rest of the population. In addition, their integration in economic and social life is limited.

As for the handicapped persons' housing conditions, the report says 15% of them live alone, 26% report that they have no friends, and 31% say they feel lonely on a daily basis compared to only 4% in the rest of the population.

More than 18% of people with serious disabilities (about 75,000) have no one to rely on at a time of emergency. They depend only on the services provided by the authorities.

About 10% of the adult population in Israel suffer from a serious disability. An international comparative test shows that the rate of disability in Israel is high, but does not exceed that of other developed countries.

The disability rate in the Arab society in Israel is double the rate in the Jewish society, where the rate of people suffering from disabilities is considered particularly low, both among ultra-Orthodox Jews and among seculars.


http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3813210,00.html
Copyright © Yedioth Internet. All rights reserved.

12th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled Persons

TRANSED 2010 Event

Hong Kong, China 2 - 4 June 2010

Conference and Expo: Sustainable Transport and Travel for All


The Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation (HKSR) is proud to announce that the 12th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled Persons (TRANSED 2010) will take place in Hong Kong in 2010.

Sub-themes
· Affordability and Accessibility
· Environmental Concerns and New Technological Development in Accessible Transport
· Accessibility Concerns and Solutions for those with Cognitive and Sensory Impairment
· Assessible Tourism

Enter Site http://www.transed2010.hk/mainmenu/index.php

English/繁體/简体 Text Contact Us
Copyright© TRANSED 2010

Korea's Invisible People

Disabled student Hyeon-bok reflects on his own life as a disabled person in South Korea and on the low visibility of disabled people in the wider community

I have cerebral palsy. So I have some difficulty walking, but I don’t let that handicap me when I am with my friends. But many people think I’m very lucky. Maybe they think I’m superman sometimes. They overemphasise my success, the fact that I have a job the same as they do. They think I work harder than people with no disability.

This may be because disabled people aren’t that visible in Korea. We’re regarded as pitiful and weak. So, they say “can I help you?” When I was younger I got irritable when I heard that. But now I’m more accepting of their help; lifting a bag, giving a seat, etc.

But I like my independent life and I think I can do pretty much anything.

In Korea I’ve stood out because, for example, I’ve been the only visible disabled person since I was an elementary school student. I didn’t see a single other disabled boy or girl in schooldays. But these days there are some disabled people attending university. And they’ve formed a group and have a meeting once a month.

In fact, I’ve found many advantages because I’m disabled. When I wanted to enter my university, I chose an affirmative action initiative for disabled students. It’s been running since 2002, and was designed to give disabled students a high-class education. Now, about 2,000 students enter university each year, and those people are more likely now to find work.

Other disabled Koreans aren’t so lucky. When I was reporter on my university’s newspaper, I saw people living in segregated accommodation. But they wanted to live independently with their own house, their job, their own leisure time. They said to me, “I save my salary, to buy my house.” But now many disabled people find getting their independent life difficult. I think their families are concerned that independent living would be very hard for them. But they still want it.

My friend who has learning difficulties said to me: “In separate accommodation, I often feel tamed because it isn’t exciting. I know I may feel uncomfortable when I live alone or with friends. But it will be good experience for me.” Some disabled people demonstrate against having to live in this segregated way. So, as you can see, the right to an independent life is a hot issue in Korea.

Most disabled people in Korea attend special school. But Korean special education doesn’t give them opportunities for social activities. So some of them prefer to enter normal school. But people with learning difficulties especially find it hard to get a normal education. Many of them go to vocational school. There are about 200 of these.

But they find it difficult to get a job because many employers think that we are less productive than non-disabled people. Korea has affirmative action named “Disability Employment Promotion Act”.

This action says: “All firms which have more than 300 workers must have two per cent disabled people in their workforce. If they don’t keep to this quota they have to pay a penalty. But many firms choose to pay the penalty rather than observe the quota.

In 2008 fewer than 1.5 per cent of Korean disabled people were in employment. Furthermore, most disabled people have basic labouring jobs. But those of us who are university graduates aspire to jobs better fitted to our skills.

To sum up, many disabled people in Korea live in poor conditions. Of course, government supports them financially with benefits and tax relief, and creating affirmative action for getting people into employment in the civil service. But this doesn’t solve the problems most people face in their lives.

If they have family, their poverty becomes worse because they can’t make money to feed their family. I think the only real solution is getting jobs for them. This is the key to a better life.


http://www.disabilitynow.org.uk/latest-news2/world-view/koreas-invisible-people

Brazilian Study Finds Overwhelming Prejudice Against Disabled

From Agencia Brasil (Brazil’s government news agency). In Portuguese. Translation here.

June 2009. A national study among Brazil’s public schools has found widespread evidence of prejudice against people based on their race or ethnicity, disability, gender, sexual orientation, place of origin, or socio-economic status.

Among the study’s findings: 98.9 percent of those surveyed said they want to keep their distance from people with intellectual disabilities, while 96.2 percent said they were wary of people with physical disabilities. Gay people got the same response from 98.9 percent of those surveyed, and 90.9 percent said they wanted to keep their distance from black people.

Jose Afonso Mazzon, study coordinator and professor of economics, administration and accounting at the University of Sao Paolo, said the research demonstrated that prejudice is disseminated by all sectors of the school community. “The fact that every individual has prejudice is generalized and alarming,” he said.

Researchers surveyed 18,500 students, parents, principals, teachers and school staff at 501 public schools across the country.

http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2009/06/19/brazil-study-prejudice/

The Central Association of the Blind & Disabled in Botswana

Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media

On 20th June, 2009, DTC Botswana officially handed over its Corporate Social Investment project in Mahalapye.

The project, the Central Association of the Blind & Disabled (CABD) is a registered membership-based charity, which started operating in 1981 with its head office in Serowe. It is an organisation for people with disabilities and promotes the employment of these people. CABD also advocates for total rehabilitation of people with disabilities.

CABD applied for a donation for a Rehabilitation Unit at their Mahalapye branch. DTC Botswana donated P 391, 200 towards the construction of the Rehabilitation Unit which includes a Physiotherapy room; Stimulation room for children; Ablution block; Consultation room & Office. Other funds went towards fencing of the centre as well as purchasing of rehabilitation equipment and office furniture.

The hand-over ceremony was officiated by the Minister of Health, Lesego Motsumi. Other dignitaries present were Kgosi Maunatlala; Member of Parliament for Mahalapye East Botlogile Tshireletso; the co-founder of the centre, Monageng; and Councillor Ditshameko. DTC Botswana was represented by the Head of Finance, Mpho Dimbungu.

In her hand-over speech, Dimbungu said that, 'One group that needs special attention is of people who have disabilities because often times their condition interferes with many aspects of their lives. Some people with disabilities are unable to go to school, get a job or participate in social activities. It is therefore important to ensure that these people are fully enabled in order that they can live life to the fullest. Through the different services that it offers, the Central Association of the Blind and Disabled will make it possible for disabled people in the Mahalapye sub-district to maximise their functional ability'. She also applauded CABD's management for a job well-done and reaffirmed DTC Botswana's commitment to bettering the lives of people with disabilities.

Meanwhile, On 29th June 2009, DTC Botswana also held a function to hand-over the Shining Light Awards winner's prize made up of jewellery design tools valued at P20, 000. The tools were received by the Overall winner of the DTC Botswana Shining Light Awards competition Katja Nilsson. Dignitaries included the Assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development, Kavis Kario; Diamond Hub Coordinator, Dr Akolang Tombale; and many others.

Interpreting her winning piece, Katja Nilsson, says she epitomised the 2008/09 theme of "Fingerprints of Your Journey" through an 18-carat, white and red gold neckpiece, set with 674 round, brilliant- cut diamonds. The interconnected white and red gold strands of the neckpiece brought to mind the outstretched upside-down roots of baobab trees which are abundant in areas of the Makgadikgadi Pans, which she says was her inspiration.

When giving a background of the competition, Toby Frears, Head of Sales and Marketing, DTC Botswana, highlighted that the competition is in line with DTC Botswana's Vision of enhancing the emotional value, desirability and integrity of diamonds, emphasizing that the competition encouraged designers to create work that is timeless, elegant, mythical and contemporary.

At the event, an educational grant of P20, 000 was handed over to the Ministry of Education and Skills Development on behalf of Oodi College of Applied Arts and Technology. The grant will assist in procuring specialised tools and equipment which shall ensure graduates are well versed in cutting-edge technology.

Kario welcomed this gesture as one that will complement the Government's long-term vision of creating a vibrant, sustainable and profitable downstream industry that will deliver additional value for the country.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200907140111.html

Copyright © 2009 Mmegi/The Reporter. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by
AllAfrica.

AllAfrica - All the Time

Russia's Disabled Suffers Neglect and Abuse

By Richard Galpin
BBC News, Moscow

Vadim Voevodin was attacked outside his own home.

The BBC has obtained shocking evidence of the abuse and prejudice which campaigners say is widespread against the estimated 13 million people with disabilities in Russia.

Many are like prisoners inside their own homes, unable to go outside because of the lack of basic facilities in the towns and cities, while tens of thousands of children with disabilities go without any education.

Vadim Voevodin, who has suffered more than most, is behind a campaign to improve life for those with disabilities in Russia, and as we sat inside his tiny Moscow apartment, he showed me a shocking video.

In the black and white CCTV footage a man kneels on the ground outside his apartment, under attack.

He tries to fight back but is pushed down and held in a neck-lock.

But this is no banal brawl between two angry able-bodied men.

The man on the ground is Mr Voevodin, and he is kneeling because he is paralysed from the waist down.

He has just been dragged from his wheelchair after answering a knock on the door from a local resident who came with the intention of beating him up.

Two years after this brutal attack Mr Voevodin still lives in fear, and the two small rooms which he calls home are packed with surveillance equipment.

CCTV cameras and microphones protrude from every corner and a bank of monitors, video recorders and computers dominate an entire wall.

But the electronics are not only there because of his fears about security; the apartment is also the nerve-centre of his campaign.

And that is because he has no other choice of location.

He said he has not been able to go outside for the past 10 years because his front door is too narrow to get through in a wheelchair and, even if it was wider, he would not be able to get into the lift to go down to the ground-floor because it is too small.

And if he ever made it onto the city's streets he would face a maze of obstacles - steep kerbs , flights of steps, cars parked on pavements and a public transport system almost all of which is inaccessible for those with disabilities.

But even all this is not what troubles him the most.

'Undeclared war'
On his website he has posted a series of photographs of associates whom he said have died because of the acute prejudice within Russian society against those with disabilities.

"The situation for people with disabilities here is now worse than in Soviet times, it's like an undeclared war against us," he said.

"A wheelchair user I know, who was an active fighter for the rights of people with disabilities… was left to die in a hospital ward.

"There was another incident in Saratov. One of our members had a stroke and when they rang up the hospital they said they did not take invalids on Mondays. She died that day.

"In the last 10 years, 40 of my colleagues have died."

It is extremely difficult to verify these claims, but there was a swift denial from the authorities.

"The attitude in our health system is the same for everyone whether for people with disabilities or for people who are normally healthy," said Igor Gordeev of the social defence department of Moscow's city government.

"There is the Hippocratic Oath for doctors and they should follow it."

Mr. Gordeev also insists the Moscow authorities are now spending $300m (£190m) to improve facilities in the city for those with disabilities.

At a large school in central Moscow there are the first signs of a change in attitude within the general population. The school is one of a handful involved in a project to include children with disabilities in the city's schools.

Most are still either educated in separate schools or at home - which according to the government's own figures means 170,000 children with disabilities in Russia do not receive any education at all.

Twelve-year-old Natalya, who was born deaf and has limited speech, has settled into her new school well. Students at Natalya's new school are no longer bothered about her deafness.

She said: "I like it very much here. I am more keen to learn here than in my previous [separate] school. Here I only get excellent marks."

Resistance
Some of the children in her class admitted they had never seen a person with disabilities before.

"I have changed my attitude to these people and I now think they are normal," said one pupil.

"I don't think they are different or that there is anything wrong with them."

A senior teacher said initially there had been resistance from some parents who said they did not want their children studying with people with disabilities.

But that resistance has now faded away.

It is a small beginning.

But the challenge of overcoming decades of neglect is formidable, and for now most of those with disabilities here remain isolated and vulnerable.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8302633.stm

© MMIX MMIXMMIX

British Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcasting House,
Portland Place,
London,
W1A 1AA

Thousands Of UK Adults With Autism ‘Consigned To Poverty,’ Report Says

By Michelle Diament
For Disabilityscoop
October 13, 2009

Most of the 300,000 adults with autism in the United Kingdom want to work, but only 15 percent have full-time employment, a new report indicates.

The report from the National Autistic Society found that 79 percent of adults with autism who receive government assistance would like to work. But limited resources and lack of understanding mean that few have jobs and many have trouble even getting government assistance, leaving them “consigned to poverty.”

Currently, half of the country’s adults with autism have spent time without work or government assistance, forcing them to rely on family or friends just to get by.

The National Autistic Society blames Britain’s poor employment record for people with autism on a lack of understanding of the disorder by job specialists. One-third of adults with autism called their disability employment adviser’s understanding of the disorder “very bad” or “bad.”

“People with autism say their experiences of the employment and benefits system are marred by anxiety, confusion, delays and discrimination,” says Mark Lever, chief executive of the National Autistic Society. “It is absolutely vital they are able to access the right help and services if seeking employment and are supported financially when they cannot work.”

Now the group is calling on the British government to develop a national strategy for boosting employment among adults with autism.

http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2009/10/13/britain-autism-employment/5796/

Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions

In Spain, COCEMFE Works For Full Integration into Spanish Society!

Confederacin Coordinadora Estatal de Minusvalidos Fisicos de Espaa (COCEMFE)

(COCEMFE) is a Spanish organization run by people with disabilities working for full integration into Spanish society!!!

The Confederacin Coordinadora Estatal de Minusvalidos Fsicos de Espana (COCEMFE) is a non-governmental organization working for the full integration of people with disabilities into Spanish society. Run by people with disabilities, COCEMFE serves as an umbrella organization for approximately 800 associations of people with physical disabilities in Spain.

The aims and objectives of COCEMFE are centered on obtaining the total social and labor integration of the people with physical disabilities by fighting for their rights to improved access to education, medical care, employment, housing and transportation. COCEMFE offers a number of services and programs designed to promote the employment of people with disabilities. These include an information service, job training, and business partnerships. Address: C/ Luis Cabrera num. 63, Madrid 28002 Spain. COCEMFE also maintains a residential facility, which serves as accessible housing for students and visitors to Madrid.


C/ Eugenio Salazar, 28002 Madrid
Telf: (34) 1-413-8001
Fax: (34) 1-416-9999
E-mail: residencia@cocemfe.es
http://www.cocemfe.es/
cocemfe@cocemfe.es,
Contact Telephone: (34) 91 744 36 00, Fax: (34) 1-413-1996


http://www.miusa.org/