JEDDAH, 11 January 2008 — In the age of science and technology, physically disabled people are still struggling to have their place as effective members of society.

Take Ameen Abdu, for example. A Saudi with polio, Abdu says he suffers the most at shopping malls: No handicapped parking and no restrooms designed for the handicapped. The ramps that exist are steep, and are designed for shopping carts rather than wheelchairs.

“If people with authority realized our suffering, they would be more serious in applying the regulations that suit the physically disabled,” said Abdu.

Some public utilities still do not apply the minimum requirements for handicap accessibility to make life easier for physically disabled people. The Social Development Administration of Jeddah recently determined that 60 percent of the city’s municipal facilities have access and services for people with special needs. However, a local group of physically disabled people says more needs to be done at public and private institutions.

This group, Willpower Makers, advocates for the rights of people with special needs. “Our mission is to integrate people with special needs into society by helping them in education, employment and running businesses,” said Samir Abdrabbu, a Willpower Makers member.

The group was formed through word-of-mouth among friends and now boasts 600 members of both sexes. People who want to support the disabled have also joined the organization. It is chaired by Shawki Khayyat, deputy general director of Arabia Cement, who is also disabled.

Willpower Makers is calling for educating the handicapped in English language and computing skills. “We still do not have the needed support. Most of us are unemployed. And some have families to support,” said Khayyat.

Abdu, who is also a member of Willpower Makers, said some of the awareness-raising events that have taken place have had little effect. He cites a “try a wheelchair” event held recently in one of Jeddah’s malls. It was one of those types of public displays where the physically able are encouraged to try out what it is like to be confined to wheels.

“People did not take the experience seriously,” Abdu said. “They were trying it for fun and thought it was entertaining to ride a wheelchair and moved around with it. I told them they would not know how it feels unless they spend the whole day in it moving from one place to another. It is a struggle that no one really knows about.”

Abdu said that even his neighborhood clinic in south Jeddah lacks an elevator or wheelchair ramp. In order to address the problem, Willpower Makers recently sent municipal officials a list of 174 places in the city that need better access for the handicapped, including government buildings, hospitals, educational institutes, shopping centers, entertainment parks, hairdressers, mosques, hotels, furnished apartments and pharmacies.

The group specifically cited Saudi Arabian Airlines and the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry to improve handicapped access to their facilities.

Jeddah Mayor Adel Fakieh recently held a meeting with Willpower Makers at the JCCI. The municipality agreed allowing the group to act as informal consultants, inspecting local buildings and providing recommendations.

The Social Development Administration (SDA) said it would review the main building in Jeddah’s Baladiah (the municipal headquarters) as well as municipal complexes in Dahban, Thuwal, Asfan and Obhur.

In an attempt to increase facilities for the handicapped in government buildings, the SDA has laid down plans to modify entrances and implement international standards on wheelchair access, handicapped parking, restrooms and elevators.

The committee has agreed on future designs for entrances that include having ramps following the international standards on ramp sloping, 10cm to 15cm in height for every meter in length, in addition to having wheelchair-friendly public restrooms, handicapped parking spots and elevators.

“We have held many meetings with Willpower Makers and with the mayor, and we are in the process of implementing the measures,” said Tarek Shalabe, managing director of the SDA.

Mokhtar Al-Shibani, president of the International Commission on Technology and Accessibility (ICTA) in the Arab world and deputy president of the Global Alliance on Accessible Technologies and Environments (GAATES), says that the concept of handicapped access as a public policy issue is in a nascent stage in the region.

“The situation of handicap accessibility is still new to the Arab world,” said Al-Shibani. “Most of the efforts in the field are still made by individuals who do not take into consideration the needs of the disabled in their projects,” Al-Shibani said. He said the responsibility falls on the municipality, which inspects buildings. The modifications done for the handicapped are still simple and inadequate, he said.

“Even the ramps do not always follow useful measurements,” he said.

In March 2007, 120 countries signed the United Nations Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons With Disabilities. Ten Arab countries, including Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, signed it, but Saudi Arabia was not among them.

“The Kingdom is in the process of signing the convention,” said Al-Shibani.

“The convention guarantees the suitability of all public places for the handicapped. Buildings will have to follow the requirements. And handicapped people will be able to file complaints and file discrimination lawsuits if the buildings do not adhere to these international regulations.”