South Sudan: Disability is Neither a Crime nor a Symbol of a Curse

By John Garang Ayii Riak, Bor, South Sudan

Thursday, October 31, 2019 (PW) — People with Disabilities are facing a lot of problems in all aspect of lives in South Sudan and they are ignored and overlooked almost in everything and other people think that disability is either a crime or symbol of curse either from their parents or their own deeds that is why they are born like that. People with Disabilities suffer from mistreatments and Children and young people with disabilities are often those with physical, sensory and intellectual impairments. Historically, South Sudan had been experienced a lot of civil wars since 1955-1972 war which is known as Anyanya One Civil War or Sudan and South Sudan’s First, this war left South Sudan with a big number of people with disabilities and this also ranged it to be number in term of disabled persons.

But again, another South Sudan and Sudan’s Civil War erupted in 1983 twelve (12) years later after signing Addis Ababa Peace Agreement in 1972, hence this increased the numberof disabled persons in the country and now South Sudan is full with disabled people in the whole world in general and Africa in particular simply of two consecutive and long wars in the country according to WHO figures estimated 250,000 persons with disabilities live only in IDP camps in South Sudan and more than 1.7 live with disabilities countrywide said Al Jazeera Newspapers, 2017.

Therefore, South Sudan is full with disabled persons and many learners with disabilities are still denied their rights to quality education, and do not get the supports they need to learn and develop because the inclusive education was not the part of curriculum and it is just recently suggested in to be incorporated in the new curriculum in order to improve the learning of PwDs in the country; this will bring the thousands of children and young people who are wounded or affected during the long and many civil wars that had been happening in South Sudan and so PwDs are facing numbers challenges academically, socially, politically or economically as stipulated below:

• First and foremost, People with Disabilities are among the most disadvantaged people in the country in terms of access to education because the 2008 census revealing both lower literacy rates and as a result of children dropout due to mocking by others by calling or giving them nicknames such as Abukeren (lame person or Amien-dur (blinded person) and many other mocking names, for example students nicked named me one and half leg because my left leg is deformed.

• Movement factor affected disabled learners to access education since South Sudan has very few inclusive and special need schools in the country, disabled Students cannot afford to move far distances from their homes to schools. In emergency situations, moving any distance may becomeproblematic for everyone. For children, young people and adults withdefinite disabilities the problems of travelling – even short distances may be bigger. These challenges may have existed in South Sudan before thecrisis but have now become worse.

• Distance; A lack of schools, due to closures or damage during theemergency, may leave many children and young people travellinglong distances and facing more obstacles or difficulties on their journey. This affects everyone – especially when there are poorroads or weather conditions – but will be particularly difficult forthose who face mobility challenges or who cannot travel alone.

• Rough surfaces and dangerous roads; Roads and pathways may be pot-holed, stony, sandy, or slippery, lined by deep ditches etc., making them impassable for peoplewho use crutches, wheelchairs or other mobility aids, and unsafefor people who have vision difficulties. Key routes may become rougher, partially blocked or toodangerous to use, due to landmines, landslides, rock falls, floods and so on.

• Personal safety; Ongoing violence may put travellers at risk of physical or sexual abuse. Children and young people with disabilities, especially girls, feel much less safe. Their parents or guardians also believe itis safer to keep them at home or in the area where the family is based.

• Unavailable or inaccessible means of transport; Transport systems (buses, taxis, etc.) may not exist, especially inremote rural areas. Where there do exist, they are often disrupted, cease to work, orbecome unaffordable during times of crisis. Vehicles are often inaccessible to passengers using wheelchairs, crutches or other mobility aids, and may be overcrowded so thatproper seating is not possible. Local or traditional means of transport, such as bicycle, cart, caror donkey may be needed for other tasks as communities rebuild, reconstruct or relocate their homes. Such assets may also havebeen lost, damaged or destroyed, presenting a challenge forpeople with disabilities who had previously relied on them.

• Furthermore, disabled persons have a limited accessibility of school facilities such as toilets and classroom because most classes and WASH facilities are designed in discriminative which does not support the movement of disabled learner especially learners who used wheelchairs and there are no child-friendly spaces or non-formal learning centers.

• There is also lack of assistive devices are major physical barriers to education for PwDs such as braille and programedand Perkin computers to help with disabilities.

• Few teachers are trained for special needs compared to the disabled people and among the few that are trained majority quitted the teaching jobs due to poor payment of qualified teachers not only for special and inclusive education teachers but all the teachers nationwide.

•  Public negative attitudes dishearten parents from sending children with disabilities to schools and many parents refuses to send their children to schools simply they will be mocked and we will be looked as source of curse for our children.

• Most of the disabled people are jobless according to the National Disability Assessment of 2012, revealed that PwDs were unemployment, and the 2008 census similarly reported lower levels of economic activity among PwDs, simply, most of the employers either in the public or private sector lack knowledge about the right of minorities and vulnerable groups.

• Politically, PwDs suffer exclusion and discrimination, with their voice rarely being heard in political decision-making.

• Alongside widespread marginalization, PwDs in South Sudan has to struggle with both verbal and physical violence in addition, according to the National Disability Assessment, 82%of people with Disabilities experience daily occurrence of tension and worry, while 12% experience physical violence, and also women with Disabilities is most vulnerable, facing complex psychological, physical and sexual violence.

• To add on, the legal protections granted to PwDs in South Sudan are dormant and too inactive in implementation due to the lack of awareness about the right of vulnerable groups. Although a number of people have an idea of where to report human rights violations, the majority of them don’t report to the legal authority because of mistreatments and fear of being arrested and tortured.

• Lack of or overcrowded classrooms – difficult for learners’ withphysical or visual impairments to move around is one of the challenges facing people with disabilities in the country.

• Lack of or unsuitable furniture – desks and chairs are at thewrong height for some learners; all-in-one bench desks are difficultfor some learners with physical disabilities to use, as is sitting onthe floor when no desks are available. Poorly lit classrooms/spaces (no electricity, small/shuttered ornon-existent windows) – difficult for learners with visual impairmentsto see the board and books; and for those with hearing impairmentsto see the teachers’ facial expressions and lip readinaccessible rooms or toilets (steps, or uneven floors) – difficultor some children to enter the room, or risks of tripping whenmoving aroundtemporary classrooms/structures – may be too cold/hot, unstable, not weatherproof; teachers may not want to makeclassroom layout changes or decorate the walls if the structurecould soon be gone or changed noisy classrooms (if overcrowded or more than one classbeing held in each room; if buildings/walls are damaged or thin,and noise travels between classes or from outside) – will bedistracting for all learners, but may present particular barriers tothose with hearing or intellectual impairments or other learning difficulties.

• Lack of safe play areas for recreation and sport – areasmay be unsafe for all children (e.g. risk of violence or landmines) or may be particularly inaccessible to those with physical orvisual impairments (e.g. uneven surfaces, no fencing to markboundaries, etc.)

• Unfamiliar layout and environment – some learners may findit very challenging to get to know a new school environment. This may be a particular challenge if they need to feel their wayaround, or are used to holding on at certain points for supporttemperature – classrooms can be too hot or cold, due toovercrowding or climate conditions. This can make it difficult forLearners and teachers to concentrate.

• Lastly, but not lest; South Sudan lacks inclusive qualified teachers because teachers are not sufficiently trained in inclusive education and others are professionally unqualified to be teachers. The success of provision of inclusive education depends on the quality of teaching in an inclusive education. Their being at inclusive education is not recognized and their needs are not well known.

In conclusion, I am appealing to our government and her interventional education partners to prioritize the Special and Inclusive Education to help disabled persons, because I cry when I see how disabled persons suffer from being regarded as less human beings by abled bodies. Our people don’t think that disability is neither a crime nor symbol of the curse, rather God’s call as part of His creation. Therefore, I want these disadvantaged humans to be taught to know that, “Being disabled does not mean Un-abled, just Different Abled.”-Said by Mr. Noel Helm. But they can do something for their own lives.

I am interested that the national government and international community should come up with programs to teach life skills to PwDs by developing their capacity to engage in positive behaviors that will nurture their own well-being give them courage and confidence for their life journey. Disability is the biggest problem that needs to be addressed by qualified people with a knowledge of Special and Inclusive Education” as the essential way forwards to improve the lives of vulnerable group such as disabled and females as per MDG of education for all.

I conclude with Dr. Veena Kumari’s quote that, “Enable the Disabled, that I should translate disability into ability; capability, an attractive opportunity and indeed a reality.” This will advance their social positive change. Therefore, it is my feeling that South Sudan cannot progress without special and inclusive education system because is a key principle to development and transformation. South Sudanese government and her international education partners are trying their best to make sure the participation of female in education in the country is equivalent to the males, but still the enrollment rate in the school for female students are still low compare to males.

The government of South Sudan should a National Policy on the Equalization of opportunity for people with disabilities. The policy should demands for recognition of individuals with disabilities to be integrated into all government policy aspects and equal participation of such person in developmental activities in order to increase to access to equal education to all learners include disabled learners.

Therefore, I call upon both the national government and international communities to train many teachers on special and inclusive education, lobby for funding and establish training centers for people with disabilities in order to improve their lives.

The author, John Garang Ayii Riak, is a Tutor and Teaching Assistant (T.A) Dr. John Gerang Memorial University of Science and Technology, Bor, Jonglei State, South Sudan and can be reached at: Email: johnayii2019@gmail.com/ johnagarangayii2017@gmail.com

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