Dear editor,
I'm writing in response to an April 20 Korea Times article entitled ``Who Is Responsible for Wheelchair Lift Accident?''
The government should be responsible for the accident, and for safety checks in public facilities. Though this was an accident, I'd like to give some advice concerning the disabled to the government.
The accident occurred as the woman was trying to use an old version of a lift, which could not accommodate her new motorized wheelchair. It amounts to a lack of supervision; not an individual's fault.
So, the government ought to make more of an investment in its infrastructure for the disabled, and should take steps to prevent a recurrence.
Also, it should make public transportation more accessible for the disabled by installing escalators and elevators in subway stations, and increasing the number of low-entry buses for the disabled.
The government and the public should change their attitudes to the disabled. Korea is an advanced country in the fields of economy, but is an underdeveloped country in the field of disabled welfare.
We hardly see the disabled in public places. What is the reason for this? If they want to go outside, they should be able to do so. But they suffer too much inconvenience to move. Those disabled who use guide dogs should be easily able to aboard buses.
But, they rarely do so, because they still encounter deep-seated prejudice in transportation facilities and in the negative mindsets from able-bodied people.
The government should give better treatment to the disabled. To live as a member of a community, the government should take the lead in eradicating discrimination against the disabled.
If they want to get a job, society should give them a job that is suitable for them in terms of their qualifications and experience.
I know that discriminators against the disabled face a fine from April 11, but to ensure satisfactory results of this act, the government should give wider publicity to it, and increase their efforts to help improve the human rights of the disabled.
The disabled need to share each share their feelings and experience of living with other members of society in a harmonious way. But the realities of life don't give them proper opportunities.
We have to face the reality about the disabled. It's time to guarantee physically challenged people the right to live side-by-side with other people.
Keum Eun-ja
Seoul