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| Parking space reserved for persons with disability in Dimapur Town. Photo courtesy: Dimapur Police |
Excluded and ignored – that’s the lot of people with
disabilities here in Nagaland. They are the invisible group of people shut out
of buildings, homes, schools, businesses, sports and community life – in other
words, they exist but have no life. How can you have a life when you’re
completely immobilised and isolated…..when all areas, both public and private,
are inaccessible and nobody seems to care? How can you have a life when most
people don’t even seem to be aware of your existence?
That is why the reservation of a parking spot for persons
with disability in Dimapur town by Dimapur Police (Traffic) is a huge step, a
very important step forward.
First, to give credit where credit is due, this came about
with ACP Sezo Peseyie leading from the front. He is the officer currently in
charge of Dimapur traffic and on 13th June I got an opportunity to
have a discussion with him on issues like training of personnel on matters related
to persons with disability, provisions for the disabled during public and state
functions and so on. We also talked about possible reserved parking spaces at
strategic locations and he told me that some changes are due in town and he
would certainly keep this in mind. On 18th June, the specially
designated slot had been put in place.
It is heartening to see that some of these young officers
are willing to break away from the old style of official functioning and engage
with citizens. This can only prove to be beneficial for both government and citizens
in the long run. More power to the ACP and the new generation of officers, more
of whom one hopes will dare to think outside the box and bring about positive
changes for our people.
Now, when Dimapur Police put up the information on its
Facebook page some interesting comments were observed among the many applauding
the force. Some asked whether there are any offices or shops that disabled
people can visit in this area adding that if not the parking slot ‘doesn't make
much sense’. It was also said that there are only a ‘handful of disabled
people’ and that they probably frequent other places rather than that
particular area in town.
On the matter of a ‘handful of disabled people’, let me just
say that Census 2011 shows that there are 26,499 people with various
disabilities in Nagaland. While provisions were put in place in Census
Operation 2011 to ensure a proper count of the disabled population in the
country, I’m quite certain that our State’s total still falls on the
conservative side and the actual number of disabled people would be much
higher. Anyhow, out of this currently official total of 26,499, over 4000
reside in Dimapur district. That is the number of ‘handful of disabled people’ living
in and around Dimapur town.
To the question of whether there are any offices or shops
that disabled people can visit in the parking spot area, the answer is a
resounding NO – not there or anywhere else. I hope that also answers the
question posed in the thought that there must surely be some other places that
disabled people like or are able to visit.
Persons with disabilities are the invisible group of
citizens that no one really seems to be aware of and so it’s no big surprise
that nobody really knows how they are living out their days.
For this group of people, the world is beyond reach. The
most ordinary of aspirations - to go to school, work the fields, worship in
church, shop for vegetables or clothes, have a fun day out with friends, enjoy
an entertainment show, get married and so on - are things they can only dream
of but never be able to do.
And to be absolutely clear, it is not because they can’t,
but because they are rendered unable by the physical and social barriers all
around them.
In Nagaland, I, as a person with disability, live in a world
where I am made ‘disabled’, a world where I am prevented from functioning. I
have a physical impairment, and, believe me, I’ll be the first one to admit my
physical limitations which are quite obvious. But that does not make me ‘less
able’ than the ‘normal’ person next to me. In fact, it may just turn out that I
am ten times more able in all aspects except in my physical movement
capabilities. However, despite my ability, I am eventually rendered disabled
because of inaccessibility and negative attitudes which effectively ensure that
there are few things I can do and even less places I can go to or events that I
can participate in.
I am disabled by the assumptions and prejudicial notions
about persons with disabilities. I am able but ultimately I become disabled by
the physical and attitudinal barriers around me.
So I am really glad that the question of whether there are
any shops or offices that disabled people can visit has come up. Again, NO
there are no offices or shops in Dimapur or in any part of our State that
people ‘like us’ can visit. We can and
want to, but we can’t because of the nearly insurmountable barriers that we
confront at every step.
And to respond to the thought that the parking spot ‘doesn't
make much sense’, this is precisely why it makes a lot of sense. It has already spurred some thought on whether there are any places in Dimapur town that
disabled people can visit. The parking slot may remain literally unused because
of the completely inaccessible environment all around, but it is a very
important step towards more awareness and recognition of the disabled in our
society.
It is so much more than just about a parking space. Thank
you Dimapur Police.