Helping hand: International White Cane Safety Day observed

Seminar held to spread awareness on plight of blind persons

KARACHI: The International White Cane Safety Day needs to be celebrated with the same zeal as Independence Day or any other national or religious day to create awareness about the issue, stressed professor Salim Aulia, general secretary of Pakistan Association of the Blind.

He was speaking at a ceremony held at the Jamshed Memorial Hall on Saturday to mark the global event.

"We must pledge that next year on October 15 everyone will spread awareness about the issue so people can start accepting the blind and all other disabled citizens as part of society," he suggested.

While criticising the bureaucrats and 'office bearers' of various rights' bodies, he said that all the people who employ blind persons or do something for them are the real heroes of the country. He also urged private organisations to come forward to integrate the disabled people in their workforce.

Knowledge or technology is of no use if it cannot ease the difficulties of the disabled, he remarked. Aulia said those who disregard the potential of the differently-abled are wrong. "In fact we can do wonders if given sufficient opportunities," he boasted.

He explained that physical illnesses can be cured but social illnesses are very difficult to be fixed. According to him, a society where disabled are not treated well is a sick society.

Muhammad Fazil, a disabled person, added that if the government starts taking interest then every individual will get to know the importance and the rights of the 'white canes'. He said that in the US the system is so developed that he does not even remember ever asking for help to cross the road in his time there for more than 20 years.

During the event, it was also demanded from the government that 2% quota in employment should be implemented for the blind.

They also demanded that all private, government and recreational places should be made accessible to the disabled persons and also appealed for the municipal governments to cover the open manholes of the city to ensure safety of citizens in general and for blind citizens in particular.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2016.