Braving odds: Disabled persons deserve more

Seasoned Paralympic athlete Joby Mathew who faced humiliation at the Cochin International Airport on his return from a successful campaign at the World Dwarf Games, when the car he hired was inconsiderately chained, for allegedly violating a one-way in the premises, talks about the problems of disabled people in the country at public utility places and also draws a comparison from his experiences in similar situations while competing abroad.

Joby Mathew

The incident, though not a one-off, hurt me more when I imagined the plight of other disabled people when an athlete like me who holds 24 world medals, who has always given his best for his country, is subjected to such humiliation. As I pondered on the issue, I realised the biggest hurdle that stops a disabled-person in our country from reaching the mainstream is the lack of freedom of mobility.  I have travelled to over 20 countries and I found that while the disabled get first preference there, they get the least preference in India. Our public utility facilities are mostly built for the able-bodied; but I found every corner of the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada which hosted the World Dwarf Games was made friendly for the disabled.

Have you seen the counters at our airports and other public places? Most of them are beyond the reach of someone like me (he stands 3ft 5inches). It is the same with our ATMs. On several occasions, I have hopped and waved to get attention and sometimes (laughs) they’ve waved back without realising what my intention was. Parking is another area of concern because even though law insists on ensuring parking for the disabled in close proximity to the facility, it is hardly followed. I’ve been fortunate to feel the love and affection of people in a number of countries right from my first overseas event, the world arm-wrestling championship at Utsunomiya, a few hundred kilometers from Tokyo, Japan in 2005 (Joby had bagged three bronze medals there – one in general category against non-disabled participants and two in disabled categories). From Spain to Germany to Poland and France to Egypt and Israel, to Malaysia and the United States and now Canada, I can ensure you that they are all disabled-friendly. We often hear in news that wheelchairs were gifted to disabled in some rural or hilly location but have we stopped to think how they even use it?  We have rules that stand for the disabled, but I can tell you the foremost thing is a willingness to execute them, which unfortunately we lack.

(As told to Arun George).