Making disability services accessible for Arab society
Making disability services accessible for Arab society
Within the Arab minority in Israel, approximately 425,000 people have a disability, comprising one quarter of the entire Arab population. AlManarah, Association for the Advancement of People with visual Disabilities in the Arab Society in Israel, fosters social awareness and works towards changing perceptions beyond the inherited stereotypes and stigmas common among Arab society towards people with disabilities.
Seeking to educate governmental and private sector leaders about the need to include minorities, AlManarah gave a presentation last week to over 100 civil servants of the Nazareth branch of the National Insurance Institute (NII)-one of the primary governmental agencies that creates and oversees disability policy.
The focus of the presentation was on the culture of providing service, and making the service accessible, for people with disabilities. This was a joint presentation by Adv. Abbass Abbass, director of AlManarah, and Hussam Abu Bakr, the director of the NII in Nazareth.
Abbass described the revolution of accessibility that has completely changed what it means to have a disability. Specifically, Abbass described the two main classes: accessibility of infrastructure and accessibility of service. The latter is of paramount importance for NII employees, who must have complete mastery of the different techniques for accessibility, ensuring that the recipient of services can attain what he or she needs in an equal, independent, and safe fashion-exactly like any person without a disability.
The ultimate take-away was that that there is no reason for the NII employees to be scared or embarrassed by accessibility (as many are initially). All they need to do is ask, and allow people with disabilities to describe the accommodation(s) they need.
Finally, Hussam Abu Bakr of the NII earnestly thanked Abbass for sharing his expertise, and stressed the importance of cooperation between governmental institutions (such as the NII) and civil society organizations (such as AlManarah) in furthering the status of persons with disabilities.
Disability rates are much higher among Arab children, adults, and elderly than among Jewish Israelis. At the end of 2009, approximately 1.5 million people with moderate to severe disabilities lived in Israel. The percentage of disabled people within the Arab community was twice as high as in the Jewish community: 17.2% of adult Arab citizens suffered from severe disability, compared to 8.7% of adult Jewish citizens.
In November 2009, the President of Israel, Shimon Peres laid the first cornerstone for an Arab village dedicated to Arabs with special needs in the Galilee, south of the city of Karmiel. The village, named Alfanara, will be built next to Kishorit, a community for Jews with special needs.
Read more on the AlManarah website
Read more in the Task Force Fact Sheet on Health.