Never Walked In High Heels

I am in an airport terminal that is seven degrees Celsius. I have seen no one in an hour and a half. The last person I saw took my coat off claiming that it would make it easier for me to get on the airplane. I am in a t-shirt; my nail beds are getting blue. My flight was scheduled to leave approximately one hour ago but was delayed unexpectedly due to weather concerns. The last person I spoke to barely knew any English and I had to piece together the little Arabic I knew in order to efficiently communicate with her. I have no idea if the gate has been changed, no idea where anyone is. Nothing. The only thing I do know is that every two minutes a pre-recorded message comes on over the intercom of the airport “Please do not leave your luggage unattended at any time. Luggage left unattended will be removed and properly destroyed.” I can’t help but wonder what they would do if they found a person unattended. I am at London Gatwick Airport, and this is very typical behavior of British airport staff towards disabled individuals.

I find London to be woefully underprepared for the Olympics and Paralympics that are quickly approaching within the next two years. What I find more disturbing than the rampant inaccessibility of the city during modern times is the fact that public transportation is still next to impossible to make use of if you have any form of disability. There are tons of other issues, such as education and home health care that is severely impeding the lives of individuals who don’t necessarily fit into the mold of normalcy that the world seems to assume as the perfected human condition. But the issue of transportation and lack there of is one that is particularly close to my heart. Without accessible transportation available to you, life is static. Transport for London estimates a majority of disabled people in this city leave their homes less than once per week. This is, of course, one way in which London is underprepared. The problems that stem from the lack of adequate transportation for an entire demographic population are far-reaching and decisively complex. Sources I have read recently state that at much as 80 percent of all disabled people who are capable of working are faced with unemployment. While this too is shocking, lack of transportation is a component that contributes to this appalling statistic. individuals who cannot leave their house find it exceedingly difficult to be employed. It is impossible to travel across the city to get into work when inadequate public transportation.

These days, mobility needs to be seen as a human right and even human responsibility rather than simply a function of modern society. If the way a society treats its most vulnerable people is an indication of how civilized its people are, then simply looking at London’s public transport system proclaims that that are still parts of the western world which are barbaric. Here’s hoping such isn’t on display when the entire world watches London in 2012.