Despite the work of the Equal Opportunities Commission, many people are still biased against people who are physically handicapped. You feel that more should be done to educate the public against it. Write a letter to the press discussing the kinds of prejudices the physically handicapped face. Suggest ways to educate the public and to establish policies to protect them.
Dear Editor,
Hong Kong people have long been well renowned as generous and helpful city dwellers especially when natural disasters, traumatic hazards occur in different places. However, such zeal does not apply to the reality in Hong Kong. For those who are unfortunately physically handicapped, not only do local people not embrace the differences and understand diversity among each other, we even pose prejudice willfully that probably drives them to further desperation. In this regard, do we really worth the title?
To begin with, those unfortunate groups are obviously countering the dilemma of prejudice when fulfilling their career aspirations. A survey conducted by the Equal Opportunities Commission discovered that more than 60% employers do not favour the physically handicapped. Henceforth, if employers do not wish to provide job opportunities, what is their ultimate solution of survival? Such partiality ignoring their capability in work is indeed unreasonable. Although employers have a deep doubt in their accessibility and efficiency at work, the fact is that many of them do perform the jobs well, e.g. paperwork, serving in a restaurant and collecting books in libraries. This testament should undoubtedly justify that for those handicapped, a dream of serving their home city is not a false hope.
Moreover, not only are they often discriminated by employers, children are even sometimes deprived of their education opportunities. It is manifest that our local secondary schools do not admit the unfortunate. To make things worse, the number of schools for the disabled is dwindling such inadequate provision of free education simply portrays the lack of concerns about the minorities.
What’s more, peace should bear the foundation of a city’s social harmony. However, do our community really care about them? The lack of suitable community activities, insufficient social workers targeting disabled people will only inevitably create a sense of alienation in those disabled’ minds which drives them to be even more solitude. Ask ourselves, why don’t we play and chat with them in our communities? Why do we only prefer the able neighbours? Do we rank people who are naturally the same and discriminate those having physical weaknesses?
To remedy the situation which could not be taken lightly, the government, schools, and commoners should make concerted efforts to provide them with love and care. In order to educate the public on equality issues, the government should implement detailed plans with practical deadlines, for example, school talks by committee members, educational websites with attractive games, leaflet distribution in every community centre and organizing a “Day to Day’ meeting joining local students with disabled people to foster a closer bond. By accomplishing these feasible and effective plans, both commoners and students could develop a respectable and considerate manner and enhance their social consciousness about the unlucky minority.
To eliminate the distorted thought that physical handicap is tantamount to no ability at work, the government should spare no pains to establish new policies also. It should fill the loopholes in the welfare system for the disabled, provide guidelines for civil service entrance and employers to rectify the partiality towards able people, and establish more schools and subsidize the schools concentrating on disabled children so as to preserve their natural equal rights in receiving education.
Furthermore, apart from the government, being the well-established fund organizers, the charity organizations should educate the public through providing more opportunities as volunteers for the commoners. This could inculcate a greater sense of caring to our city dwellers.
A city’s value does not depend on the physical glamour and attractiveness, it is what inside the city that really matters. If our minorities could not integrate into the society and are prejudiced by us, then the name ‘international metropolis’ will be totally worthless.