DR RADICA MAHASE
Recently, a youth advocate said to me, “Politicians are like a whole other species, like aliens from another planet just visiting our world. They are just observers, not really participants. They are here to look around for a while, see what they can get and then move on. If they think they can get enough then they might choose to stay longer but ultimately they are just an alien species trying to benefit as much from the people rather than really concerned about the people.”
A bit of an exaggerated description, or not?
Why is it that many politicians in TT are not interested in the special needs community? To clarify, when I say politicians, I mean those who are professionally involved in politics, especially those in elected office, from councillors to MPs.
The fact is, there are only a few politicians you will hear speaking about the special needs population. Even when they are campaigning and desperate for votes they don’t speak of the special needs population.
Sometimes, when they are elected to office, they might mention special needs or disabilities sporadically, or sometimes a little more frequently depending on the Ministry in which they are involved. This is usually done when we are observing some UN-designated day such as Autism Awareness Day or the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and even then, it’s not consistent: one year they celebrate, another year they might not.
It is no surprise, therefore, that special needs issues continue to be marginalised at a national level. First, most politicians do not view the special needs population as numerically significant or important in our country. The majority of politicians in this country only "walk the ground" when they are campaigning. They might meet a few members of the special needs population during their campaign and they might even promise parents/caregivers that they will help when they are elected.
The sad reality, though, is that all this is usually just a political gimmick, meant to get votes, and once they are in office it becomes difficult to get an appointment with them or they simply do nothing to keep the promises they made or to assist in any way.
[caption id="attachment_900459" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Independent Senator Paul Richards, left, with autism advocate Celine Federick. - Sataish Rampersad[/caption]
This may also be because those who run for office in TT do not identify with the real issues of the special needs population. They make no attempt to understand the special needs population and they don’t educate themselves about issues or challenges facing this group. Maybe they just don’t see ways they can benefit from the special needs population, and that’s why they barely show interest in them?
If this blatant disregard for the special needs population has to change, that change will have to be a forced one. Indeed, it is delusional to expect politicians to be more empathetic or to become interested in inclusion after they have been elected to office. If that wasn’t on t
