This is my first International Day of Persons with Disability since getting home from a five-month mission in Beirut, Lebanon, where I helped eight other NGOs make their water points, toilets and hygiene facilities more inclusive for people with disabilities, older people, and the vulnerable.
As a woman who is a native Arabic speaker with a “CP (cerebral palsy) accent,” this was an opportunity to not only do the job, but to show Lebanese people, and Syrian refugees the professional potential for a woman with a disability.
The job was the easy part. I’ve worked on inclusion for 25 years, and mostly in the Middle East. The barriers of making things inclusive are not new to me. The environment in a place like Lebanon was not new to me. Over the years, I became accustom to the attitudes of the local population toward people with disabilities.
One day, on my way to work, I noticed that the sidewalks were being renovated. I was excited and was willing to speak with the construction workers about making sure the pathway was accessible. To my surprise, on my way home, I saw that one of the corners was accessible as it had a curb-cut. I was thrilled, until the next day when I saw that the other corner was inaccessible. What a shocker!
So that’s when the attitudes of the people need to be understood. When I asked the barber about the inaccessible curb in front of his shop, he indicated that he disliked the curb-cut because it meant that people would park directly in front of his place of business and block the entrance. But when I asked the convenience store owner on the other side of the street why he accepted the curb-cut, he said it was easier for his deliveries. The fact is, there is no oversight by local municipalities to monitor such renovations even if it's in a public space.