Engellilerin Dignified Living Rights Should Be Implemented
Murat Karagülmez, the President of the TSD Sinop Branch, made a press statement regarding the International Week of People with Disabilities celebrated on May 10-16. Expressing his get well soon wishes to all citizens affected by the earthquake on April 23, Murat Karagülmez emphasized the hope that such tragic events will not reoccur.
Karagülmez stated: “Turkey once again faced the reality of earthquakes on April 23. The most densely populated areas of our country, Istanbul and the Marmara region, encountered the consequences of the precursor tremors of an impending major earthquake. We wish all earthquake victims a quick recovery.
In Turkey, people with disabilities are becoming an entirely marginalized segment of society due to deteriorating conditions and continuously restricted rights. During the same period, new disabilities are constantly being added to our population as a result of inadequacies, neglect, errors, including preventable incidents such as traffic accidents, occupational accidents, earthquakes, insufficient and incorrect treatments”.
OUR RIGHTS ARE BEING TAKEN AWAY INSTEAD OF BEING IMPROVED
Emphasizing that the rights of disabled individuals struggling to continue their lives under difficult conditions in our country are being taken away rather than improved, Murat Karagülmez, the President of the TSD Sinop Branch, stated that radical improvements should be made regarding disability rights.
Karagülmez said: “While all the negativity is happening, instead of finding solutions, politicians see the disabled as a cost factor and resort to restricting all kinds of public resources and rights. Listing what we have lost as a result of this increasing trend in recent years would go far beyond the limits of this press release. In short, summarizing the headlines alone is enough to show how suffocating it is for us.
With the constant changes made to the regulations on issuing disability reports, the international standards on which the law is based are deviated from. Those who are in need of care are being removed from the category of disabled on paper, and support is being cut off for those who require care.
Compliance with quotas for disabled employment specified in the Labor Law and Civil Servants Law is not ensured, and the state support given to disabled individuals who cannot work or will not be able to work under Law No. 2022 is not applied based on family income. This prevents the disabled from receiving support.
The number of accessible drugs is being reduced by the Health Implementation Communiqué. On the other hand, it has become impossible for the disabled to obtain essential medical aids such as orthoses, prostheses, wheelchairs, powered wheelchairs, hearing aids, catheters, colostomy bags, urostomy bags needed to sustain their lives. While the prices of these devices are skyrocketing due to exchange rates and inflation increases, the support amounts given have not been adjusted for many years, making the amount the disabled have to pay unaffordable.
Starting from the roads and sidewalks, no steps are persistently taken to support and facilitate the transportation of disabled individuals in public transportation systems. The article in the law regarding the transformation of public transport vehicles for the disabled is automatically extended each time the deadline expires. The disabled who cannot use public transportation are left with two options: staying trapped at home or becoming a vehicle owner through their own means. In this respect, new obstacles are being created. Obtaining a driver’s license for the disabled is being made difficult, and the support provided for vehicle purchases is being restricted. Therefore, there is no option left for the disabled other than staying at home. The conditions for disabled individuals to retire are constantly changed, complicated, and their retirement rights are being taken away. The acquired retirements of many disabled retirees are being canceled.
Those who try to explain every step as “preventing misuse” try to hide the fact that they themselves are the main source of these abuses. Abuse can only occur with the consent and/or involvement of public officials in charge of this issue. Politicians prefer to punish all disabled individuals instead of those who commit these abuses.
We believe that a world free of barriers, equal and accessible, will also come for us. Necessary steps must be taken to achieve a life “worthy of human beings,” which has now become a basic principle of the United Nations, and the right of disabled individuals to live with dignity must be implemented”.
Source: Vitrinhaber.Com
