MY FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE OF BARRIER-FREE SPACES - TAIPEI
Mahesh
9 June 2002
It was one of the most exciting moments of my life, my family and my colleges when I came to know that I was invited to attend my first overseas - International conference on Barrier-Free Environment organsied by Eden Social Welfare Foundation at Taipei, Taiwan between 25-27 May 2002.
It is a long journey from Bangalore, India to Taipei and my first challenge was to plan and accomplish this task independently. Many of whom who have travelled before were comforting me that once I leave Bangalore I would not have any problems as the places are made disabled friendly.
It has taken me many many years to dodge many of the architectural barriers like uneven footpaths, lack of public toilets, inaccessible buildings to gain a certain level of active social life in Bangalore but my anxiety was how to outsmart the obstacles in a foreign country and that too within 4 days?
The first experience in Bangalore airport - I was shifted to a wheelchair in which the wheels would not move freely and the chair would go in circles and after a lot of waiting I was provided an assistant to push my wheelchair. When I complained of the quality of the wheelchair I was transferred to another chair with small wheels (aisle chair) which had no arm rest and the seating position was very uncomfortable and I had to hold my crutches and my legs as it would fall out. I had to bear this torture till I was transferred to the airplane.
Following this I landed in Singapore where I had to spend 9 hours (from 8am to 4pm) before I could take my connecting flight to Taipei. A person from SATS (Special Assistance Service - for people who needed assistance during travel) was waiting with an electric wheelchair quickly transferred me from the plane to the SATS waiting room . I was wondering how was I going to finish my ablutions and spend the day at the airport.
At the SATS I was briefed about their service. I was provided with a good manual wheelchair with an attendant to take me around. I was also show the toilets designed for persons with disabilities.
With lots of time on hand I decided to be adventerous and made use of the disabled friendly toilet. I must mention it was a wonderful experience to use the facilities inside. Every minute detail had been taken care like - proper signage, the floors were absolutely anti-slip, the fittings were clean, sliding doors, emergency switch, the railings both horizontal and vertical were positioned perfectly for wheelchair transfer and the washbasin was designed perfectly - at the right height which allowed me to wheel under the basin - brush and wash my face without the water falling over me. It was the first time in my life that I have used a public toilet and that too independently and without having to spend a fortune for the service. I was all praise for the people who had thought of every little detail that helped me.
After this victory I was all set to wheel myself to do some window shopping inside the airport and have some food. All of which I could do independently as I did not have to negotiate steps, however I would have been happier if the floor were not carpeted as it is easy to push the chair on hard surfaces.
The positioning of the telephones at strategic place and at heights suitable for wheelchair users made me comfortable as I could always ask for assistance from the SATS when needed. I could wheel inside the shops like everyone and gaze at the products displayed. At the appropriate time the person from SATS transferred me to the next connecting flight. This experience gave me tremendous confidence and an idea of how to deal with situations in the coming days.
Taipei, capital of Taiwan is a busy city and our 3-day conference was deliberately organised in different places for the participants from 9 Asian countries (50% of the 20 overseas participants having a personal experience of disability) to experience the changes made by Taipei in the last decade to make the place barrier-free.
The participants of the conference too have played an active role in creating barrier-free environment during "Asian and Pacific Decade (1993-2002) of Disabled persons" as declared by the UNESCAP.
The Vice-President of Taipei inaugurated the conference which showed the interest at the highest level for a Barrier Free environment.
During our tour to the different universities at Taipei we noticed how old buildings, the outdoor spaces like the stage, the campus and the facilities were suitable adapted for students with disabilities to complete their education. All these are part of a conscious effort where Eden Foundation has been aggressively planning and promoting the Taiwanese Campuses Campaign to be Barrier Free (TCBF) in response to the decade of Disabled Persons.
All around the city - the streets and the platforms are neatly laid out with gentle slope for step-free access to access from the platforms to the road and facility for crossing the roads safely. I also noticed the different facilities painted with the International Symbol of Access (ISA).
I learnt from the presentations that ISA and International Symbol for Deafness have been registered with the ISO (International Standards Organisation) and is a proof that the place consistently meets the standards for accessible entrances, information, facilities, transportation and amenities. This symbol has been accepted by all sectors in society as symbols of quality assurance. And these symbols cannot be used loosely in places/ amenities that does not meet the standards.
Taipei has also introduced low-floor buses and a fleet of 40 modified mini-buses that are available on call. These buses are fitted with hydraulic lifts that enable a person on wheelchair to travel safely and independently. The Government has subsidised this service to make it affordable for people with disabilities and in future they plan to increase this fleet to 80 mini-buses.
One my memorable moments was my travel in the MRT (Mass Rapid Transport) system or the underground railway which is the life line of Taipei. Thousands of people use the train to commute across Taipei in an efficient and economical way.
Independent access has been provided - starting from accessing the lift along the roadside to the railway platform below, buying the tickets at the counter, punching the tickets, waiting for the train at the appropriate compartment for people with disabilities, to entering the comparment and positioning inside. Every platform has also a clean disabled friendly toilet with all the features like sliding doors, anti-slip floors and railings.
I must confess if I am using the railways in India - it means months of planning, calls for the need a fulltime assistant, a lot of courage to cope the journey without the access to a toilet anywhere whether inside the train or on the railway platforms.
All along I also noticed in Taipei that barrier-free features in the platforms, market places, railways, buses not only benefit the persons with disabilities but also people who are old and people taking little children on prams.
In a lighter vein, on my way back I noticed an old lady from India travelling alone using the special facility in Singapore where she had an attendant to wheel her to the airplane but was soon as the flight landed in Bangalore she quietly took her hand bag and walked slowly out of the airport and I guess she knows the quality of the wheelchair and the assistantance :)
The fact that I could travel so far and come back safely without the need for a full time assistant is a proof of how a disabled friendly environment can open up opportunities in the lives of people with disabilities. The disabled person need not feel that "because of his/her fate/ ill luck that he/she is disabled" and " that being disabled does not mean living like a saint shielded from all the life experiences".
Thousands/ millions of persons with disablities in our country are silently suffering due to the lack of vision, planning and implementation of a barrier-free environment. Being an unproductive disabled persons in many of the cases is not because the disabled person lacks motivation, it is because our environment and society lacks the presence of a disabled friendly face.
The time has come for persons with disabilities to make their presence felt in their homes, schools, colleges, public space, public transport and employers in demanding for the rightful place in society. And I am looking forward to teaming up with more people who are ready to create this change.