Progress Made But More Needs to Be Done, Say Handicapped Rights Advocates
A
December 3 is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Here in the Czech Republic,
things have changed a lot since the communist era, when an independent
lifestyle was virtually impossible for the handicapped. However, advocates say
there is still a lot of work to be done.
B Zdeněk
Škaroupka is the director of Liga vozíčkářů, the Czech association of
wheelchair users. It was established in 1990, soon after the fall of communism,
to address the problems of people with disabilities. Mr. Škaroupka describes
what conditions handicapped people were living under the previous system. “The
situation was that most disabled people lived in institutions. Children and
teenagers were living in social services housing for disabled youths. The
situation was intolerable to me, because the children had very few
opportunities to freely move on their own, for example to go into town; they
were sort of locked up in their accommodation, and their life was, well, the
way life was in those institutions at the time.”
C One
huge difference between then and now is definitely the accessibility of public
spaces. Eva Kučerová, a Prague
resident who relies on a wheelchair to get around, says the situation has
gotten a lot better in the past 20 years. “As far as my personal experience
goes, the changes have been radical. When I was young, for example, right after
my accident, when I was studying, there were no ramps for wheelchairs in the
city’s public transportation system. So as a disabled person, you were always
depending on your family and your own resources.”
D Advocates
say despite some advances, much more needs to be done to help the country’s
handicapped. Zdeněk Škaroupka says: “None of the areas that are problematic for
disabled people have been addressed in a systematic, clear and definite way.
Take wheelchair ramps for example: we have a construction law that states what a wheelchair accessible place
should look like. But the problem is that there are no effective sanctions or
fines in case the construction firm doesn’t adhere to the law.”
E Mr.
Škaroupka added that even though the International Day for Persons with
Disabilities does offer a great opportunity to organize events and conferences,
not enough is done in the Czech Republic
to celebrate it. “It would be good if we could take advantage of the day to
spread the news that there are problems that disabled people have to face and
that plenty of people that surround us have to deal with those problems. For
instance, they could not take a parking spot that is designated to be used by disabled people only.”
construction law – stavební zákon
designated – určený
to adhere – držet se
1) Read the article and match each of the headings to a paragraph.
1
The situation of people with disabilities in the past
2
Difference between then and now
3
Škaroupka thinks we should do more for the handicapped
4 A lot has to be done to help the
handicapped
5
Things have changed a lot in the Czech
Republic
2) Read the article and answer the questions.
1
What is the article about?
2
Who is Zdeněk Škaroupka? What are his opinions?
3
Who is Eva Kučerová? What are her opinions?
4
What does Zdeněk Škaroupka say about wheelchair ramps?
5
How could the International Day for Persons with Disabilities help?
3) Explain the following words.
1
independent lifestyle
2
housing for disabled youths
3
intolerable
4
accessibility of public spaces
5
wheelchair ramp
4) Answer the following questions.
What
was life of the handicapped like in the past? Has their situation improved?
What are typical problems of handicapped people? What are problems of the
blind, deaf, physically disabled?
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