The President of the Disabled Working Group of Timor-Leste (GTD), Joaquin Soares, is disappointed with the construction of the new Comoro Bridge because it does not provide a safety area for those crossing the bridge on a wheelchair or on crutches.
He added this to a growing list of discriminatory practices in all areas of society against people living with disabilities in Timor-Leste.
He complained about the lack of adequate accessibility for disabled people in the country in the areas of health, education, employment, and now infrastructure because most public areas and offices in the country – hospitals, churches, schools, public offices – do not provide adequate access to those with a disability.
“We need to talk about this. We are not asking about building a new bridge but we want there to be a change of mentality so there can be adequate public physical accessibility so the disabled can get out of the confines of their homes and have access to schools, to training and to employment,” said GTD President Soares.
He added 2014 is an important year to raise awareness in the community, and especially across government, to pay particular attention to the issue of disability and ensure equal rights for everyone.
The GTD also urged the government to adopt universal regulations for infrastructure development in future so public works can be undertaken in accordance with international standards that are sensitive to the needs of the disabled in Timor-Leste.
Meanwhile the Deputy Prime Minister, Fernando Lasama de Araujo, said he called immediately the Minister of Public Works, Gastao de Sousa, and noted the Minister recognized the shortcomings of the project design in not taking into consideration people with disabilities crossing the bridge.
“I called the Minister of Public Works and he recognizes the government is at fault for not taking into consideration disabled people,” said VPM Lasama.
The Vice PM promised to keep raising awareness about making infrastructure development more inclusive of the needs of the disabled to ensure they have access to Hotels, Hospitals and roads, as enshrined in Timor-Leste’s Constitution that disabled people deserve to be treated equally to other non-disabled Timorese.
