This blog post was written by guest writer: Fê Küster.
As the partner of a wheelchair user, I often find bits of fake accessibility that I never would have noticed before our relationship started. Now not only are they noticeable, but they’re inconvenient and irritating.
Nowadays, going to places with impossibly steep ramps, places with the tiniest of hallways, and places in which even the ramps to cross the street (drop curbs) are not smooth, is just infuriating and a blatant disregard for making the city functional for everyone. To be fair, I have to say that my city (in the most southern state of Brazil) is, at the very least, consistent. It does not provide great infrastructure for either abled or disabled people alike.
It was with this sad evaluation of my city that my partner and I sent a letter to city hall last year; saying that we noticed these problems in the city center and would like to call attention to it and see what could be done. The response was along the lines of “how nice, we are not interested right now, but may discuss it in the future”.
‘Fake access’ at the beach
About two weeks ago at a beach nearby to our city, we noticed that at the place where we’d managed to find a disabled parking spot, the area of sand we had to cross was much larger than we were used to. However, we were happy to notice the lifeguard station was right next to us, and that they seemed to have a proper beach chair for wheelchair users right outside their door. We went there to ask about it, and they immediately said we couldn’t use it by ourselves and that the guy (one of the lifeguards) that is trained to use it was out for lunch.
Me: “Well, can we use it when he comes back?”
Them: “No, there is a reservation for it 30 minutes from now. If you want to use it you have to call ahead, check the availability and book it.”
Me: “Well, is there really no one that could help us with the chair right now? It would be 10 minutes to get to the spot near the water and then the chair can be returned within plenty of time for the reservation.”
Them: “No.”
There was no room for any negotiation and no compromise could be reached. In the end, we managed by ourselves with some struggle. My anger at those people that would do absolutely nothing to help definitely fuelled my strength, and together we managed to reach the area where my daughter and mother were already waiting for us.
What’s next for us in our fight to see better accessibility in our city?
Back to our city, a year has passed since the letter to our city hall, and the problems we pointed out were not improved at all. We have decided to try again, send another letter this week and continue to try to make some improvements. We have also discussed the idea that if we get the same negative response, we can take our comments to the local newspaper and hopefully make these issues more public.
But it needs to be said, what kind of accessibility is that? If a wheelchair user cannot simply go to the beach just like anybody else, but instead has to make an appointment for it, your beach is not accessible. If you have disabled parking in front of your store but decide to put some products right by the spot on the sidewalk, you just made the parking spot not accessible anymore. If you have a steep ramp that no disabled person can manage to go up the ramp by themselves, it is just not accessible. If your restaurant has steps and I have to call to let you know we are coming, for you to show us the back entrance, your place is not accessible. How is it that the government and businesses do not do their job properly for disabled people? Why is it that they only make the tiniest of efforts and don’t care that all they do is create only fake or partial accessibility?
The outcome of these experiences in this one year of our relationship is that unfortunately, in my country, we have to fight for our rights, as they are not guaranteed and are often forgotten.
We plan to keep you guys updated on our progress here, on this blog.