'Wheel-chairs
are not allowed in the hall', he said looking at my assistant above my head.
I
was shocked and ashamed to hear such words in my fiancee's presence (she is a
foreigner). I visited many countries; everywhere shop-assistants or even the
director himself would help the customer come in if he is in a wheel-chair. I
knew that this prohibition could not exist and was illegal.
'Who
are you?' I said in a loud voice. The man did not have a sign with his name
and position. 'Call your director!'
'This
is our director's instruction. Leave the wheel-chair in the place for trolleys!'
The man kept on addressing to my assistant. Probably, he perceived the person
in the wheel-chair as something inanimate or mentally retarded.
'But
the wheel-chair is his legs!' my assistant said.
'Doesn't
matter. You should leave the wheel-chair at the entrance but you may come in
and buy what you need'.
'But
I don't need anything!' My assistant said. "It is HIM who came to your
shop to buy something for HIS apartment!'
We
argued about five minutes attracting attention of other staff members who
preferred to stay indifferent; the man refused to call anybody from the
administration saying that nobody was at the office (of course, it was lies).
I
suggested to leave the shop.
It
took us one hour to calm down. My fiancee said to me, 'In my country (Egypt)
the owner would fire such a worker in 15 minutes. You will do something to
defend yourself, won't you?'
I
decided to act.
On
Thursday I consulted with our lawyer what my rights were violated in this
situation. We called several governmental agencies which, as I thought, should
defend taxpayers' rights. The response of the officers was the same, 'No, we
are not interested'. No wonder, the director's husband is a big boss in the
local government.
So,
what can I do?
I
remembered about 'letter campaigns' which are very efficient in west. I wrote
letters to the President of Mari El, to the Parliament of Mari El, to Office
of Public Prosecutor and to the most popular local newspapers.
Friday
evening the director of the shop called me at home. Our conversation lasted
about half and hour. She apologized a lot, tried to explain that the hall
administrator was a new worker, that he mixed wheel-chairs for the disabled
and wheel-chairs for children, that they had never issued instructions
prohibiting the disabled to enter the shop, that she also had been abroad and
that she was very sorry for the actions of one of their staff members.
I
said that I would accept her formal apologies but the same situation may
repeat in any other shop of Yoshkar-Ola. That is why I must create a precedent
and draw public attention to this problem.
On
Monday I received an official letter from the director. She informed me that
they gathered all staff members on Saturday and explained to them that all
customers have equal rights. She invited me to visit their shop and use the
discount card which she enclosed.
My
response was that I would visit their shop as soon as they make a ramp!
The
story will continue...
This
is the way how our society is changing, developing slowly and painfully into a
'civilized society'.
We
have gone through this process when we created the first marriage agency in
our republic and began to communicate with foreigners.
Now
we have to defend the civil rights again, not only for myself but also for
hundreds people in wheel-chairs.
Please
support my 'letter campaign' and
send me letters expressing your attitude to this situation. Westerners'
opinion still counts in Russia. I will translate and publish some of these
letters in local newspapers. My aim is to make 'a big noise', to change the
attitude of the society to people with disabilities. If the owners of other
shops see how much trouble they can go into, they will never ever try and
violate somebody's rights.
We have a lot of hardships in Russia. Now my dream is to see how disabled people live in the USA, what facilities they have and how they build independent living for themselves. I hope to make many friends through Internet. My bride and I would be happy to invite and host you in our city in Russia!
Maxim
E-mail:
maxim@yoshkar-ola.com
Home
page: http://yoshkar-ola.com/max/