site.btaPeople with Disabilities March Through Central Sofia in Protest for Their Rights
A march by people with disabilities, held under the slogan Darkness for Indifference! Light for Our Rights!, made its way through central Sofia, accompanied by performances featuring artists with torches, stilts and music. The event was organised by the Mobility Movement.
Participants carried illuminated symbols as they set off from the Sofia Municipality building, briefly blocking traffic in central Sofia, before continuing to the National Assembly building.
"Our goal is to shine a light on the problems people with disabilities face and to make sure we are seen," Mariana Harizanova, founder of the Mobility Movement, said. She added that the protesters call on the National Assembly to adopt a new law on personal assistance, reform the expert medical commission system, and introduce a system for the social inclusion of people with disabilities in public, cultural and economic life.
"We have serious problems with accessibility, including public and specialized transport and elevators. There is not a single taxi adapted for a person using a wheelchair," Harizanova added.
She explained that the movement had organized three protests so far, but that their demands had not been heard.
"We brought the torches to the windows of the institutions, and if they still don’t notice us, we will stand beneath those windows yet again," Harizanova said.
Rossen Karamfilov said that people with disabilities are not shadows, but have faces and need to be brought fully into the light.
"We want to make it clear that the silence must end, and that we have the right to answers from all the institutions responsible for ensuring that we are treated as equals," Karamfilov said.
/RD/
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