Government should care for those with special needs

DR RADICA MAHASE

Recently, a social media post stated that the government should not have to care for people with special needs because the government doesn’t have money to help anyone; that it is parents’ responsibility to take care of their children and the government didn’t ask anyone to have children in the first place.

The post stated that many individuals with disabilities will never be able to help the country economically and will always be a drain of resources.

Recently, this perception of special needs seems to be more visible on social media.

At a national level, we project a nation where “all ah we is one family.” Does this "family" include individuals with special needs as well? Or is it survival of the fittest, wealthiest, healthiest, etc?

TT has been an independent nation for 59 years and a republic for 44 years. We have a constitution that says our nation is founded upon principles of “…faith in fundamental human rights and freedoms…the dignity of the human person and the equal and inalienable rights with which all members of the human family are endowed by their Creator."

Our Constitution also states that the nation has “respect the principles of social justice and therefore believe that the operation of the economic system should result in the material resources of the community being so distributed as to subserve the common good, that there should be adequate means of livelihood for all….”

Given this constitutional basis, is it not fair therefore that those with disabilities are given material resources so that they can also have opportunities for advancement?

Or, if we don’t believe in providing any assistance to the special needs population specifically, then we should just ensure that parents/caregivers, many of whom are taxpayers, have access to quality health, employment and training, education, security, social services, etc so that they are empowered to provide for their children with special needs. For surely, if there is an equitable distribution of resources, then maybe parents/caregivers will be able to provide for their special needs children more comfortably?

Surely by now we should have a well-established network of institutions, effectively functioning, which cater to the economic, social and intellectual well-being of all citizens.

Sadly, we are not at that level, because we are so very good at making excuses and year after year, government after government, we continue to fight all attempts to develop, to implement services, to ensure equitable distribution of resources and equal access to opportunities and services.

In recent times we have used covid19 as the excuse for all our shortcomings – that constant cry that the country has no money. However, now is a good time to remember that even when TT was in a better position economically, governments still did not show any interest in improving the status of people with special needs. The special needs population was, and continues to be, relegated to the background. It is not a part of government conversation, and government only sparingly throws in a policy or two, most of which are in theory, so that it can tick boxes when needed, for example when is has to account to international organisations such as the UN.

However, an effective government has to start thinking proactively. Everything is at a standstill right now because of covid19, but we have to find a way to provide for all, to thrive and to co-exist with covid, because that is our new reality. We simply cannot sit back and wait for things to get better.

A good example will be with education – we need to find a way to provide an education for every single special needs child. They should not be denied an education in the name of covid19, but until a more proactive approach is adopted, they will continue to be denied one of their basic rights.

Our National Policy on Persons with Disabilities states that “As a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, this document is also proof of

TT’s commitment to uplifting and protecting the basic human rights and freedoms of persons with disabilities, so that they continue to lead fulfilling and industrious lives” – lots of nice words but definitely not a reality.

So, to end, yes, the TT government needs to care for all individuals with special needs. Otherwise we should change our national motto, “Together we aspire, together we achieve," because that "we" doesn’t include citizens with special needs.

Radica Mahase is the founder/director of Support Autism T&T