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When a handicapped visitor is chased away from a famous mall
I have witnessed how physically fit people are often disrespectful of people in wheelchairs who are queuing for an elevator.
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People with disabilities watch over the Plenary Meeting at the House of Representatives that passes the Law on People with Disabilities to guarantee the protection and rights of disabled people on March. 17, 2016.. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak A.)
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fter talking with friends who have profound knowledge about the issue of people with disabilities, I decided to share the horrible experience of my wife last week at AEON shopping mall in Jakarta Garden City, East Jakarta. The shopping mall has excellent facilities for people with disabilities. The management of the company has expressed an intention to directly apologize to my wife.
My wife originally opposed my writing plan as she did not want to gain popularity due to her physical condition. She said she was much luckier than many others who could not even afford to buy used wheelchairs. She feels blessed, but I know she was deeply humiliated by the horror she experienced at the mall.
The incident attracted great public attention after I shared the experience on my Facebook account last week. Only after that did the company take the matter into account, meaning that it had not followed up my direct complaint to its customer service immediately.
In fact, the harassment recurred just three days after I filed my report. This article, therefore, is dedicated to handicapped people who are struggling not only for a need for public facilities for people with disability, but also from public ignorance.
According to the 2019 National Social and Economic Survey (Susenas), there are 25.6 million people with disabilities in Indonesia. The government has begun to show it does care by providing infrastructure in public spaces. The Jakarta administration has also made significant progress in addressing their rights.
But we should not only question the government. I have witnessed how physically-fit people are often disrespectful to people in wheelchairs who are queuing for an elevator. Some able-bodied people show no remorse in occupying parking spaces reserved for people with wheelchairs just because they are empty.
This article is not intended to retaliate against the behavior of AEON security guards, who chased away my wife four times in less than two months simply because she rode a mobility scooter in the mall. My wife cannot walk without assistance after a failed backbone surgery 20 years ago. She used to use a wheelchair at home; but two years ago, my children helped us buy a mobility scooter to enable her to move with less assistance. It is quite expensive, at least for me.
