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Disability 残疾
In the new millennium I want to see disabled people acquiring the same degree of control over their lives1 that other people have. To be disabled is to be no less human2 than anyone else, but far too often3 disabled people still have their lives ruled by others. No able-bodied person would put up with it.4 Access to5 intellectual6 opportunities and jobs as well as7 buildings and public transport need to be regarded as rights, not gifts society is generous enough8 to bestow on disabled people. Institutions are generally willing to adapt their buildings, but only when a disabled person needs them — and afterwards you hear grumbles that the money was wasted because "you never see" a disabled person using the new facilities. That's simplistic:9 just widening a door or putting up10 a ramp doesn't mean a building is accessible11 if12 once you get through the door you still can't see, hear or use its services or enjoy the entertainment. The record13 is appalling. Even the recent Disability Discrimination Act14 fails to cover areas like education and transport, areas that are absolutely crucial if full citizen's rights15 are to be extended to the disabled. Until recently people with disabilities were not legally allowed16 to use the London Underground. Now there are a few stops, but still not remotely enough.17 Inequities like these can be rectified in the next century, but it's going to require political will18 and real investment of resources. Cambridge19 has made a start on making education accessible20 by establishing Bridget's Hostel which can take the severely disabled and ill, including quadraplegic students and students with deteriorating conditions.21 One of the keys is obviously technology,
but much of the electronic gadgetry we need to dismantle barriers to
the disabled is in fact already in place.22
We have voice-activated lifts,23
emergency call units,24
and voice-or switch-activated environmental control systems that manipulate
a person's environment. Speech recognition technology is tremendous — we'll soon be talking to our computers, not fiddling about with28 a mouse and keyboard — but the expense means it's not available to most people who need it. Then, because so few people with disabilities use new technology, you get the misconception developing that it's not needed. Disability rights campaigners are understandably becoming more and more vocal,29 and it won't be long before our current ways of thinking are transformed. Access and quality of life30 are fundamental aspects of civil rights,31 and governments everywhere are going to come increasingly under pressure to provide services guaranteeing those rights. Why should we have to go cap in hand32 to get a modern33 wheelchair or specially adapted toilet, and be treated as recipients of charity.34 All people with disabilities want to do is be given the chance to play a normal role in society. If in a generation's time35 disabled people can enter every building through the front door like everyone else, rather than be heaved36 through a side-door up the delivery-ramp37 and freight-lift, I'd call that38 real progress. But it's not enough. Once39 we're through those doors, there is still a long, long way to go. (From CAM: Cambridge Alumni Magazine, No.28,1999)
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