The event — held at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) under the title Let’s Give Them Our Promises — was held by Abjad Rehabilitation Center and organized by Danat Al-Ilm Organization Company. The majority of the attendees were women.
Majid, a volunteer with Suna’a Al-Erada, a volunteer organization that helps disabled people, said he only found out about the event by chance after being told by a friend at the JCCI. “I even called my colleagues and noted that none of them had any idea about the event,” he said.
Mufarih Aseeri, deputy president of Suna’a Al-Erada, criticized the poor fashion in which the event was advertised. He added that there is also an issue with the way laws that make the lives of disabled people easy have still not been implemented.
“We want to highlight more important issues such as laws that have not yet been implemented since this includes the ease by which disabled people can get nurses, maids and drivers. This was ordered by the higher authorities last Shaban, but still not implemented,” he said.
Safar Al-Hugbani, a disabled man who works at the JCCI, said that if such laws are not implemented, then financial aid should be given to family members who care for disabled people.
He added that many disabled people complain that the Ministry of Social Affairs does not help them get employment. “There must be coordination between the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Labor so we don’t lose any financial aid from both sides because disabled people are in need of money to help them out,” added Al-Hugbani.
Mahasin Khashogji, head of Abjad Rehabilitation Center, said the event was open for all. “We said it’s an open event for all and we are interested that all disabled people attend,” she said.
In her speech, Khashogji added that 10 percent of Saudis are disabled, and that there are some 700 million disabled people in the world who are to increase to 900 million in 2015.
Speaking at the event, Princess Basma Al-Saud said that the large amount of money set aside by businessmen for the disabled does not reach them.
Speaking about the implementation of rules regarding disabled people, she said: “Higher authorities must know that whatever is said is not implemented when it comes to the issue of human rights. This is not only with regard to disabled people but also for women.”
She further called on a return to Islamic rules and their full implementation. “We hope that what happens here is not just talk that is said in a conference and then forget about it when we return back home,” he said.
Noura Al-Sheikh, head of the women’s section at the Ministry of Social Affairs in the Makkah region, said that though disabled people are given special priorities and training, they are restricted when they want to go to mosque for prayers.
Farida Farsi, head of Al-Hamra Schools for Girls, said things will not improve if the public still look at disabled people negatively. “We hope to meet next year and see we have achieved something for the sake of disabled people,” she added.
Husain Al-Shareef, head of the Human Rights Society, said that though the municipality has set bylaws to ensure public and private buildings are disable-friendly, those rules are still not implemented. “We have also received complaints from a group of disabled people against one of the local municipalities and we are looking into it and are calling for an investigation into the matter,” he said.
