Daily Star - Sayegh Committed To Improving Access For Disabled

By Patrick Galey
Daily Star staff

BEIRUT: Disabled access to public institutions will be improved, according to Social Affairs Minister Salim Sayegh.
In a joint news conference on Monday with Britain’s ambassador to Lebanon, Sayegh said that committing to easier access to facilities for people with disabilities represented “an opportunity to work on a framework concerning a very important issue for society.”
UK Ambassador Frances Guy welcomed the announcement.
“I am pleased to hear Minister Sayegh’s strong commitment to improving access for the disabled in Lebanon,” she said. “This is a welcome voice that needs to be heard more often.”
Also in attendance was 11-time Paralympic Gold Medalist Tanni Grey-Thompson, who spoke about her experiences as a disabled athlete.
Sayegh said Grey-Thompson was a role model and showed how people can overcome challenges with sufficient will.
“We are doing our best to provide what we can for the handicapped,” Sayegh added.
Lebanon has thousands of disabled individuals, many bearing disfigurements from destructive past conflicts. Since 1995, a total of 70,423 people have signed up for Beirut’s handicapped card scheme, currently the only way of legally proving a disability.
According to Sayegh, in the same time period, Beirut residents have received over 5 million services, including the provision of wheelchairs, treatment and diagnosis. In addition, 76,000 people across the country are currently eligible for municipality tax-breaks on account of their disability.
Sylvana Lakkis, a veteran disabled rights activist from the Lebanese Physical Handicapped Union (LPHU), said Lebanon still had a long way to go before it could claim to treat disabled people in a suitable manner. “There are efforts being exerted in order to improve the situation, but in Lebanon we still need lots of time to reach the stage they have in the UK,” she said.
Sayegh admitted that work was required. “We have made some achievements, but those are below our expectations to provide the best facilities possible,” he said.
Guy announced she and Grey-Thompson had met with Sports Minister Ali Abdullah, who had “undertook to improve access to sports facilities for the public in general and for disability athletes in particular … I look to you all to help him implement this commitment.”
The 2012 Paralympic Games will be held in London and, with Lebanon boasting a host of world-class disabled athletes – including Olympic Bronze Medalist Edward Maalouf – Guy urged as many Lebanese as possible to participate in two years’ time. “Lebanon has some of the most talented disabled athletes in the world who have already shown that they can win medals,” she said.
Lakkis said that Monday’s deliberations made the LPHU “feel a certain positivism that the law [providing better access to those with disabilities] may soon be ratified.”
As for the forthcoming municipal elections, Lakkis added, “we hope to see facilities that will allow us to participate in voting and in running for seats.”