The Challenges Of Living In An Unjust Society As A Physically Challenged Person: A Personal Experience

photo of myself being assisted by a good Samaritan who lives nearby to clean up the mess

Hello Steemians...

---

Thanks for checking on my page. I appreciate this and I can only welcome you to yet another interesting episode. Yes...you may be wondering the reason behind the above choice of topic. Well my experience in the morning today motivated this article.

---

When a society is inhumanely indifference to the plights of her disabled community... Where those who are purportedly saddled with the responsibility of protecting you can turn around to violate your rights even as a disabled in a broad day light and no one would raise an objection! Where majority of the physically fit fellow compatriots think that you are of the same physical strength with them and therefore can compete with you even under emergency situations with no regards or preference... A society without a functional Disability Act, where national jobs are only reserved for the physically fit! When you live in such a society, dear Steemian, maybe you will understand where I am coming from.

---

August 15, 2017 made it exactly 8 years since my stint on crutches, following my unfortunate involvement in an auto accident. However, What happened earlier today made me to shed tears for the first time in well over 10 years. You can imagine the circumstance that brought tears to the eyes of a 33 year old fully grown man. How inhumane can a people be?

---

There was heavy rainfall in a city where I live. As a result, there was traffic jams almost in all the major roads. This created scarcity of Commercial busses and a crowd of people at bus stations. Any bus that managed to waggle its way to the station was always rushed at by mostly able-bodied waiting passengers. First bus arrived, boarded and left. Second bus, third, fourth and fifth bus and I was still there!

---

Not that I didn't want to board any of the busses but I certainly cannot put up the amount of effort that was involved in securing a seat because there was a rush and I know this people; they wouldn't mind trampling on you and your crutches to get going. After waiting for some time, I spoke to about 6 persons to assist me and secure the front seat since that's the only place I can sit and I was running out of time having waited for over 3 hours. Some didn't utter a word; others replied that they cannot guarantee that based on the situation at hand.

---

![image]() *I nearly fell inside this dirty gully amidst the melee*

---

![image]() I felt very bad, damned the consequences and decided to take the bull by the horns and secure a seat for myself. Afterall I used to be fit, I wasn't born disabled. Just immediately, a bus pulled up and everyone made for it. I quickly limbed towards the front door. In the process, l was pushed off balance in the melee that ensued, leaving my support (crutches). I fell like a sheet of paper released into a raging wind. And almost fall into a dirty gully. A good Samaritan who is resident within that locality consoled me and got me a bucket of water to wash off the mess. I returned home thereafter having lost interest to continue the journey.

---

That was my experience today, an encounter that brought tears to my eyes. This is what we face everyday in this part of the world where no preferences are accorded those living with permanent disabilities. From employment denial, social relegation to physical assault even by soldiers in uniform. The manner of abuse has no limits!

---

Remember, I am only physically challenged to a certain extent and not in every respect, and of course definitely not a crippled. However, if a completely crippled man can be viciously abused in most inhumane manner by the state soldiers in a broad day light, that alone speaks volume of societal indifference to the plights of this group of people. The video below shows a crippled man being abused by soldiers for wearing military camouflage! Just that! You can see the substance of their excuses for descending on the poor man - can anything ever be more flimsy!?

---

*Soldiers assaulting a crippled man at Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria on 7th Feb., 2017.*

Video credit

---

I can go on and on and cite cases. What my people fail to understand is the fact that creation is a continuous process. You may wave bye-bye to a dear one now and in the next few minutes you hear that the same person was involved in an accident and died. Now, that is a type of creation called demise. It might be that the person fractured a bone; that's creation. So that you're fit is not by your own making but by sheer luck and His grace. As you continue to enjoy this bounteous privilege, learn to treat those who are not so lucky with respect and honour.

---

It is my ardent prayer that you will never live to experience the fate of my comrades on crutches. Thanking you for reading and kindly UPVOTE and RESTEEM this article.

---

Same Naija Boi,
@eurogee

---