. So, the suitcases were quickly unloaded from the plane while
the person with disability stayed hostage inside, time flying by quickly
particularly when one needs to catch another plane for an international
connection.Let us reassure the readers: the Councillor did not remain prisoner on the plane. He finally succeeded in setting his wheels on French soil. But not on African soil as the connection was impossible, due to other inconveniences experienced in the Parisian airport because of the little attention given to persons with disabilities.
Let's be sincere: when similar incidents occur, two thoughts come immediatly to mind. The first one is: so, these things don't only happen in Italy? And, no doubt, the second thought is: thank God I don't have a disability!
Ultimately, this is exactly the source of all mobility problems disabled people experience: the building of a small minority, the representation of a moment where courtesy and reality lightly touch to then go in different directions, without a sound, without uproar. Maybe, it is even more upsetting to realize that it is the same everywhere, that the limits persons with disabilities face each day in Italy are not exclusively national
. It is
even more upsetting that this frustration, which could give rise to a rebellion,
bounces on rubber walls where is pinned the evidence of bureaucracy: the law.
Because legislation protecting persons with disabilities does exist. There are
many laws and they are all extremely positive. They have very unfriendly names:
DPR, D.lgt., D.lg. Sometimes, they even have funny names which are reminders of
geometrical shapes: circulars, which gives a sense of democratic application.
These laws are strangely very clear, and even so they instill a degree of doubt
that is very Italian, and common among all jurists: the clearer a legislative
provision is, the less possibilities we have to see it being applied in reality.
The Decree n. 503 by the President of the Republic, dating back to 1996, bears
no uncertainty and clearly states that its goal is to ensure the removal of
architectural barriers in buildings, as well as public spaces and services.
There is no doubt reading the words: architectural barriers, at least from 1996
and later, do not exist. With the law in hand, let us go in one of the many
public areas meant for public transportation: Bologna's Central Station. You
have to take the train and you are blind: how do you know what lane you
have to go to to get onboard Eurostar? If you are not timid and you are not in
Mestre (where yellow stripes were put on the ground; they
were supposed to be raised for blind people so they could feel the
contrast, but they by now have worn out), you will ask someone, maybe that
person who almost bumped into you to catch up for lost time. And if you are a
person using a wheelchair and your train is on lane 3? Well, Trenitalia has a
special telephone number to call before leaving in order to plan for assistance
"from departure to arrival". Be careful, however: 199.303060 is not a green
number. The assistance is provided by Trenitalia staff ready to help persons
with disabilities from the station area to the train, one of the 1,200 wagons
that are specially equipped, maybe even crossing the lanes (as the law expresses
it). "Large stations" today, according to Trainitalia
are able
to respond to the needs of persons with disabilities, even, for example, to get
advantage of low fares provided by self-service ticket machines (it is not clear
that these are usable by blind people). The future "large stations" will not
have architectural barriers. In other "small stations", work is already being
done, but it will nevertheless always be limited by the status quo. It is
necessary to clear the ambiguity: in substance, what existed before the law is
often not subjected to a complete elimination of the architectural barriers,
these are complex structures and completely devoided of "social conscience" and
respect in regards to persons with disabilities (if truth be said, it is even
very frequently so for abled-bodies).It is a matter of balance between costs and benefits for the constructor or contractor (public or private) who often and gladly places requirements for disabled people in second place in virtue of the law of large numbers. The legislator's intervention, therefore, cannot be disregarded, but without a heedful supervision there is a risk that this be a useless effort. We have to depend on the good intentions of institutions and businesses knowing that they sometines conceal trouble and hypocrisy.
To try to have information on the state of the actual architectural barriers of the properties of the Azienda Case Emilia Romagna in the province of Bologna, for example, gave no results. No one has answered our requests, repeated over time. We must presume that they did not have answers that were particulary enlightening.
Others, on the contrary, have been dealing with issues for some time. Bologna's ATC, for example, anticipates the increasing use of vehicles equipped with access ramps and special places for the wheelchair, as well as the use of voice messaging to announce the various stops along the way. The City of Bologna, finally, has funded projects to ensure accessibility by persons with disabilities of the future underground.
All in all, solutions to eliminate the discomforts that persons with disabilities may experience do exist, such as the initiatives taken on to protect their rights. But, since these are issues perceived essential by only a minority, persons with disabilities have to count on the courtesy of every community which unfortunately does not always allow the implementation of the laws.