Minority issues being ignored
Two months have passed since a fall onto the tracks at a mass transit station in Singapore led to a young Thai student losing both her legs. Terrible accidents such as these only take a split second to happen but can result in a lifetime of heartbreak and disability.
Road accidents also claim new victims daily and many need long-term help, raising the question of whether enough is being done to improve the quality of life of the many Thais who have suffered such misfortune. The simple answer is no.
While there aren't happy endings to such tragedies, in the case of 14-year-old Nitcharee Peneakchanasak, there is the next best thing. As a result of a royal intercession, the teenager from Trang is likely to receive computerised prosthetic legs that will eventually allow her to walk again.
This willingness to help the less fortunate is part of our national psyche and was recognised by the United Nations in 2001, when the Franklin D Roosevelt International Disability Award was awarded to Thailand in recognition of its ''noteworthy progress towards the goal of full participation of citizens with disabilities''.
Happily the progress cited by the UN has continued, although the goal of full participation has yet to be met. Even though banks, call centres, software developers and other businesses are now welcoming people once shut out of the system because of handicaps, rights advocates claim that the disabled are still the most marginalised and vulnerable group in society.
While the constitution guarantees them equal rights, those who are academically qualified can still find barriers to employment in the government sector. Such occupations as doctor, lawyer, prosecutor, judge, judicial official, civil servant or even a simple city employee can be strewn with obstacles. True, some of the barriers the disabled once faced have been torn down as a result of legislation, policy measures, corporate initiatives and positive discrimination strategies, but there is a great deal still to be done. Regrettably the priority being accorded to righting existing wrongs has fallen of late and the outlook is starting to look bleak.
This indifference is being reflected in the policy platforms of the various political parties contesting the July 3 election which make no mention in their campaigns of catering to those with special needs, even though this affects over a million Thai voters. The clock has been stopped on minority issues, apparently in favour of populist policies with mass appeal.
Slum dwellers urgently in need of improved water supplies, sanitation, better hygiene, child care, education and more effective health services have been left out in the cold as far as election pledges are concerned. So have countless unemployed school leavers and college graduates who are likely to remain as jobless after the election as they were before it. This is because guaranteed minimum or starting wages do not create jobs.
And while there is much talk of stepped up wars on drugs, there is no mention of prison reform or other indications of where all those arrested are to be incarcerated, given that our jails are already packed to capacity, with inmates suffering extreme hardship from overcrowding. Nor has anyone held out hope of a fairer, more humanitarian deal for children born to hilltribe parents who at present live a life of constant rejection. There are many other instances of issues involving minorities being neglected. With 29 days left before polling day, political parties still have time to tweak policies and prove their suitability to represent all Thais and give minorities some faith in the future.
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