“Why Should I Sit in One Room All the Life?!” – Acute Problems of People with Disabilities

Nurana Mammad

According to the information of the Georgian Ministry of Healthcare, by March 1, 2015 there are registered 118 651 people with disabilities in Georgia, who receive social benefits from the state. They make 3% of the general population while the World Health Organization reports that in majority states the disabled people make average 10% of the general population. 

“Nobody cares about the people with disabilities. We also need living in normal conditions. You see what kind of roads we have here. Can a wheelchair-user move here? I need help to go out. My wife helps me usually but I do not want to bother her all the time. The family members are not obliged to dedicate their lives to me. But it is impossible to move along this road with wheelchair. My wheelchair is old and often turns over on the village roads. For that reason I usually need help. If they had repaired at least small part of the road, I could go out without help. They should not torture us so much. Why should I sit only in one room because of unadapted roads and no ramps? Did I do anything wrong?” Allahgulu Safarov, resident of Lezhbadini village in Marneuli district, said.

There are 8 884 registered disabled people in Kvemo Kartli region. Their number is higher in Tbilisi. A disabled person gets a pension of 70-100 GEL from the state. The amount of the pension is estimated according to the disability category of the person.

In 2013, the UN adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Georgia ratified the convention in the same year. Nevertheless, integration of the persons with disabilities into society is still a problem in Georgia. Lack of the infrastructure adapted for the disabled persons is the main problem, which is particularly acute in the regions.

“Because of disability I am locked in one room. Sometimes I have a feeling that I am in prison. In fact I am a prisoner but I have not committed an offence. I cannot go out into the street independently. My wife is also sick and my underage child assists me to go out. I cannot go anywhere without help. Can you imagine how difficult it is for the child to take care of me? I am very concerned about it. Instead helping them I need their assistance. We also have right to live normal life. We do not ask much – when they build roads, they should consider the needs of disabled persons so that we could move about independently. Shall I spend all my life locked in one room because of disability?!” asked Azad Goushov, resident of Pakhrali village in Bolnisi. He is blind and first-category disabled person.

Chairman of the Association of Azerbaijani People with Disabilities in Georgia Rovshan Aliyev said the disabled people are mostly concerned with the lack of unadapted roads and public transport. “The roads are not adapted for the disabled persons: neither wheelchair-users nor blind people can move about in our streets without help. Abroad, on the traffic-light crosswalks the blind use special signals but what shall we do here? We cannot travel by bus or mini-bus here. It is impossible to get on the public transport with wheelchair. When we need to go to a doctor or for some documents in the regions, we must call a taxi that is not affordable for disabled people,” Aliyev said. 

Head of the Inclusive Society Georgia Gia Jvarsheishvili has been working on the problems of persons with disabilities for years. “Unfortunately, the infrastructure in the regions is not adapted for the needs of disabled people and their reconstruction is not planned in near future. There is some adapted infrastructure in Tbilisi but nothing has been done in the regions so far. Parliamentary elections are coming and nobody pays attention to this problem even during pre-election period.”

Jvarsheishvili said the government does almost nothing to ensure full integration of the persons with disabilities in public life. Their inactivity is not caused by lack of budget funds but by incorrectly identified priorities.

The article was prepared in the frame of the project implemented by Human Rights House Tbilisi with financial support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Georgia. HRHT bears sole responsibility for the content of the article. The article does not necessarily reflect the views of the donor.