Addressing the issues relating to people with special needs requires a lot of concentration due to one important reason. It is a fact that many people in our society consider anyone with even a minor disability to be someone with special needs regardless of how successful and intelligent they may be. It does not even matter if they are prizewinners. A large number of people with special needs have contributed a great deal to humanity — contributions that other normal people could not think of even though they have better potentials to do likewise.
Festivals, involving different sectors within society and people, are held annually. Whenever there is an upcoming event dedicated to one of these groups, private companies and institutions compete to sponsor the events in order to advertise themselves on different media outlets.
How many festivals and events have been held without any due consideration to people with special needs? I believe there has been a marked increase in national awareness about the plight of the disabled people. This of course is a positive sign, still people lack compassion.
Because of the annual happenings and events in this country, I would like to request the authorities to divert some of their attention toward the plight of the disabled. A concern to take care of, and a desire to delight, people with special needs from across the world is proof of the advancement and development of society.
In our modern times, observing the exceptional capabilities disabled people possess is not just a matter of academic interest. We’ve witnessed, seen and heard about many success stories concerning the disabled. For instance, Helen Keller — who was born blind and deaf — became the first blind and deaf American author, activist and lecturer. The celebrated Egyptian writer Dr. Taha Hussein, who was blinded at the age of three, became the first blind person to receive a Ph.D. from Cairo University and then go on to become a professor of Arabic literature.
In Saudi Arabia I believe there are many disabled people who, like their counterparts elsewhere, are capable of achieving and triumphing. They only need some dedicated people to direct their attention at them in order to help them excel. In all the festivals and events that take place in the Kingdom, this group of people has never had the opportunity to have their own program in which they could express themselves.
When I call for the participation of people with special needs, I am aiming to encourage the process of “integration.” The Education Ministry has developed a complete program of integrating people with special needs into mainstream society. For special needs people to be able to participate in events would definitely be a boost to their self-confidence and give them a chance to prove themselves and mingle with society.
Because of a progress in awareness, a wider understanding of issues relating to disability and the increase in calls for a revamp of the legal system that guarantees the rights of people, I find this absence of disabled people from activities and events rather strange. I genuinely ask private institutions and companies who sponsor or organize these annual festivals to deal more sincerely and carefully with issues concerning people with special needs.
The fact that our Saudi soccer team won the Special Needs World Cup 2006 in Leverkusen, Germany, says a lot. The win poses a lot of questions that need answers.
