Even as the International Day of People with Disability was observed on Wednesday, the differently-abled in the Capital said they hardly see any good news coming their way — neither from the government nor the corporate sector.
“This has become a norm,” says Anjalee Samarth, who is afflicted with muscular dystrophy and runs an NGO in the Capital for the differently-abled and the elderly since 1995.
“People like me look healthy as our disability doesn’t show. But it is very difficult to live with muscular dystrophy. For instance, someone needs to keep turning me at regular intervals at night. The moment I leave the wheelchair, I am totally dependent on others. I can’t stand on my own even for a minute. Someone has to take care of me 24x7, help me bathe, use the washroom, etc.,” Anjalee adds.
“At times, due to non-availability of help, I end up staying thirsty or unable to relieve myself for hours till someone is free to attend to me. In my case, my mother attends to my sister and brother too as they suffer from the same disease. She gets tired because she gets only occasional help to look after us. Sometimes when I ask for water or for help to use the washroom, she says ‘ abhi aati hoon ’ as she is attending to my siblings. At times, I end up waiting for hours. This due to no fault of hers or mine,” says the 32-year-old
Anjalee wasn’t born differently-abled.
“I was an athlete, a Bharatanatyam dancer and a basketball player in college. I couldn’t pursue post-graduation due to my condition, so I opened an NGO,” she says.
Still, people like Anjalee want to live with dignity manage to carry on “by living all by ourselves, especially financially”. She asserts that there is nothing wrong in living with a self-help approach, as it at least helps parents enjoy small breaks.
“We have taken away the joy of their life and make them work for us 24x7. Yet society doesn’t take people like us positively. In case of any trouble, which is frequent, they laugh and say if you are like that, why work or go outside; stay at home.”
Living separately with disability, she says, has its own issues. “People with wrong intentions surround us and try to enter home as helps or friends...”
