[blindza] The Struggle, or Fighting for their slice, or whatever..
- From: "Tony Webb" <tony.webb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "National Accessibility Portal mailing list with topics focused onaccessibility for users with hearing impairments." <deaf@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, "National Accessibility Portal mailing list with topics focusedonaccessibility for users with physical disabilities." <physical@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 23 May 2010 05:51:32 +0200
Hi Michael,
Now I know you are a man of good tastes.
Yes, I too have made the transition but maybe my waistline is beyond help.
Several years ago, gout helped me to change from any bottle store beer bargain
to Windhoek.
According to Ken, my gouted eldest son, Windhoek contains less gout inducing
nasties than other local brews.
Then neighbour Leon introduced me to sparkling water with a liberal measure of
Black and White, and that became my regular tipple at about R70 a bottle,
suitably punctuated by Windhoek. Then middle son Mark ruined that pleasure by
presenting me with a bottle of vintage Clynelish SM, retailing locally at about
R550.........
Michael, I have quite lost the point of this discourse, but Yes, and I already
feel part of The Struggle, and The.Sponge SMS Info Service has been our
contribution towards reaching disabled people in remote parts of South Africa
and helping them realise that they must fight for their rights. (And that has
been with the able assistance of youngest son Tim, him of the nimble fingers
who thinks that I do not know my Windows from my Windhoek)
So I have made a temporary change to the subject line until you come up with a
name for the project....
Now where is that B&W - have you tried it on cornflakes?
Tony
----- Original Message -----
From: Michael Watermeyer
To: National Accessibility Portal mailing list with topics
focusedonaccessibility for users with physical disabilities.
Cc: Rehabilitation / Disability Discussions ; BLINDZA ; NAP - Blind ; NAP -
Deaf ; Reinette Popplestone ; The.Sponge Gmail
Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2010 11:43 PM
Subject: Re: [Deaf] [Physical] The.Sponge Newsletter for May 2010
Hi Tony
Do you drink beer? (Although I am trying to develop a whisky habit nowadays
because it is better for the waisteline!!!) In any case we are on the same
side: You say most South Africans are not aware of their rights... I agree!
Let's work at informing them and assisting them to litigate. Let's not give
in. This is a struggle, make no mistake, and the opposition play dirty... so
we have the South African constitution; so we have the Employment Equity Act,
the Promotion of Equality Act; we have South Africa's ratification of the
United Nations Disability Charter... we can get court orders... so lets make
them sweat... would you join such a struggle?
Michael
From: Tony Webb
To: National Accessibility Portal mailing list with
topicsfocusedonaccessibility for users with physical disabilities.
Cc: Rehabilitation / Disability Discussions ; BLINDZA ; NAP - Blind ; NAP -
Deaf ; Reinette Popplestone ; The.Sponge Gmail
Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2010 4:36 PM
Subject: Re: [Physical] The.Sponge Newsletter for May 2010
Hi Michael,
Thank you for your contribution - I see that you have copied to Reinette's
private email so I will go a bit further and copy this to the Rehab list,
BLINDZA, Nap-blind and Nap-deaf in order to stimulate a wider discussion..
Unfortunately, the formal recognition you mention has not put much food on
the table, or bottoms into classrooms.
My experience from interacting directly with disabled people in communities
around Port Elizabeth and with others in communities in other parts of South
Africa (through The.Sponge project), is that even 16 years after RDP, most have
no idea of their rights and consequently have no expectations.
Maybe that is why they do not fight back when society continues to
marginalize their priorities.
I read (in English) a lot of official documents and they all seem to take
great pains to be politically correct, expending more effort on that than on
getting the policies actually implemented.
As only 8% of our population are English-speaking and 13% are
Afrikaans-speaking, perhaps someone can comment on the difference between
'disabled person' and 'person with a disability' when you tabulate translations
into the other 9 official languages, and by sign language.
I rest my case.
Now we are probably both in trouble and must await further contributions.
Regards
Tony
----- Original Message -----
From: Michael Watermeyer
To: National Accessibility Portal mailing list with topics
focusedonaccessibility for users with physical disabilities.
Cc: Reinette Popplestone
Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2010 10:58 AM
Subject: Re: [Physical] The.Sponge Newsletter for May 2010
Hi Tony
I would have to disagree with your stance on the importance of
terminology. My experience of people with disabilities in South Africa is one
which tends to support an opinion that we are shackled, not only by social and
political oppression, but by our own expectation that that is what we can and
possibly should expect. This is despite massive advances in South Africa in
the area of formal recognition of legal, constitutional and human rights for
people with disabilities.
I am going to get into trouble for suggesting that people with
disabilities themselves often undermine political, social and material advances
in their situation by allowing society to marginalize their priorities through
perpetuating acceptance of oppressive terminology and expectations. None the
less this is what I believe we do in South Africa. Through terminology we
collude with our own oppression and marginalization.
I do not mean to detract at all from the amazing and important work which
is done by the many dedicated people, workers and activists, who make a
significant difference for people with disabilities in South Africa. On the
contrary, I am trying to highlight how this very work may be hampered by our
own shackled minds. I firmly believe that liberation, as you correctly say,
critically relies on recognition, respect and resources for people with
disabilities. But that empowered identity in turn must essentially begin with
discourse and terminology. How do we make a stand if our very terminology
implies we don't warrant and deserve respect?
This stuff is important folks.
regards
Mike
Michael Watermeyer BA LLB (UCT) MSW Consulting
----- Original Message -----
From: Tony Webb
To: National Accessibility Portal mailing list with topics
focusedonaccessibility for users with physical disabilities.
Cc: The.Sponge Gmail
Sent: Saturday, May 22, 2010 7:42 AM
Subject: Re: [Physical] The.Sponge Newsletter for May 2010
Hi Judy,
Thanks for the positive comments and for being the only one out of the
few thousand recipients of the newsletter who has bothered to speak up on this
controversial topic.
There has been a lot of hype about terminology over the past 20 years
or more, but I don't think any of it has actually put any food in the bellies
of the millions of poor disabled people in SA.
Or helped them get some rehab therapy.
Or helped them get a wheelchair or whatever.
Or helped them get an accessible house in an accessible street.
Or helped them get some education.
Or helped them get a job.
The list goes on, discrimination is still alive and well, and
government departments and commerce and industry and particularly Joe Public
remain totally confused about disability issues.
I love writing but I am a lazy typist and we will have to agree to
differ on the importance of such semantics.
Was it Shakespeare who said " A rose by any other name would smell as
sweet"
Regards
Tony
----- Original Message -----
From: Judy Okite
To: National Accessibility Portal mailing list with topics focused
onaccessibility for users with physical disabilities.
Sent: Friday, May 21, 2010 9:36 PM
Subject: Re: [Physical] The.Sponge Newsletter for May 2010
hello all,
this is a very good initiative,but just one
observation.......'disabled people' is very discriminatory....where i come from
it means somebody who CANT......could you change to 'persons with
disability?'...this simply means someone who can, but they are limited.....
if you decide to change it, please do so also on the website.
Kind Regards,
On Fri, May 21, 2010 at 8:49 PM, Tony Webb <tony.webb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
NEWS FROM THE.SPONGE PROJECT
MAY 2010
SMS enquiries to 072-172 2623
(With your name, town, disability and the info you need)
Email: the.sponge.project@xxxxxxxxx
Website: http://thespongeproject.yolasite.com/
Facebook: The.Sponge Project
INTRODUCTION
* The.Sponge project is about advocating for better rehabilitation
for disabled people.
* We offer an SMS Information Service (072-172 2623) to enable
disabled people to locate their nearest rehabilitation resource.
* We send this newsletter to everyone on our database of resources
(currently over 3000 contacts) to improve their awareness of disability issues
and let them know how they can get more information.
* We invite organisations to send us their contact details using
the registration form on our website.
* We have just received some welcome feedback. In February a blind
lady from a rural area contacted for us for assistance. The SANCB have just
notified that they were able to supply her with a Perkins Brailler and other
devices, and she is studying at Optima College. That is feel-good stuff.
* We welcome your comments on any aspect of this project.
REHABILITATION IS A JIGSAW WITH NOTHING CONNECTING THE PIECES
* We have launched the concept of Total Disability Rehab © to
assist therapists, social workers and others to share information -
particularly those working in remote communities.
* See www.ruralrehab.co.za for an initiative by Karen Lister.
* Our definition of Total Disability Rehab is the delivery of the
services required to treat a disabled child at birth, or a person who becomes
disabled through a disease or injury, thru welfare support, thru the education
of the child, or the re-skilling of adults, thru the dignity and independence
of self or mainstream employment, towards achieving his or her dreams.
* This process is described in the Department of Health National
Rehabilitation Policy (the now famous green booklet 'Rehab for All').
* The Rehabilitation Manager in each district is responsible for
getting representatives of various government departments around the table and
motivating them to collaborate for the greater good of disabled people.
* There are certain key government departments who play an
important role in rehabilitation –
MUNICIPALITIES - Empowerment through the implementation of the
Disability Framework.
HEALTH - Therapy services and assistive devices for all disabled
people.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT - Counselling services and Early Childhood
Development services.
SASSA - Disability and related grants thru one-stop-centres.
EDUCATION – Schools for disabled children and adults of all ages.
LABOUR - Skills development and employment services.
HOUSING – Accessible RDP houses.
TRANSPORT - Accessible public transport for all.
* Please contact us if you would like more details, or you can post
a question on the Rehab/Disability Discussions Listserve (see below)
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