Tweet El Cea: julio 2010

martes, 27 de julio de 2010

sábado, 24 de julio de 2010

Los obstáculos diarios

r a comprar el pan, coger el metro, sacar dinero de un cajero, tomarse un café en un bar... Tareas cotidianas que cada día todos los ciudadanos realizan sin complicaciones, se convierten en un infierno cuando tienes una discapacidad. "No tenemos la posibilidad de circular libremente", denuncian desde el Comité Español de Representantes de Minusválidos (CERMI).

Javier, José Luis y Antonio son un claro ejemplo de ello. Discapacitado motor, sordo y ciego hallan en un tramo de poco más de 800 metros todas las barreras posibles para poder circular y vivir libremente.

El 'Tour de la Discapacidad' que CERMI había organizado con políticos y que después fue suspendido ante el 'plantón' de éstos es un claro ejemplo del sufrimiento que aún hoy viven los discapacitados.

"Hay mucha escasez de señalización visual que nos avise si hay una emergencia o información"

Bolardos, calles mal asfaltadas, rampas por las que no pueden subir, farolas en medio de las aceras, adoquines levantados, malas señalizaciones y así decenas y decenas de estructuras arquitectónicas que para las personas sin discapacidad pasan completamente desapercibidas -son obstáculos salvables-, pero que para la persona discapacitada marcan completamente el desarrollo de su vida diaria.

"Hay muchos de ellos que ni siquiera quieren salir de casa", cuenta Javier Font, presidente de CERMI. Él como muchos de sus compañeros tiene que enfrentarse cada día a la tarea de recorrer la ciudad en silla de ruedas. Una tarea que como él bien dice se convierte en muchas ocasiones en algo imposible de realizar que lleva a algunos a preferir quedarse en casa antes de salir y no poder circular.

"Hay que visualizar las discapacidades que tiene la ciudadanía con la discapacidad (...) Se necesita un análisis en profundidad de qué tipo de barreras, de manera que los propios arquitectos deberían tener interiorizado los obstáculos a las que estamos supeditados los discapacitados", explica Javier.

Sin embargo, las dificultades van más allá de la silla de ruedas. Para Antonio, ciego, las barreras en ocasiones incluso le pueden costar la vida. Las señalizaciones del suelo o las acústicas en innumerables ocasiones están mal colocadas o no se oyen. Un grave problema para las personas con discapacidad visual.

Por ejemplo que esté mal situada la señal que indica un paso de peatones puede llevar a que la persona cruce por un lugar indebido, en el que ni hay paso de peatones, ni semáforo lo que podría costarle un atropello. Y por increíble que parezca en Madrid las hay. Los bolardos, los troncos de los árboles cortados, las aceras en mal estado son una parte de mínima de los obstáculos.

Pero no sólo existen las barreras físicas. Otro de los grandes problemas con los que se encuentran los discapacitados son las barreras de comunicación. Las personas sordomudas no sufren el mal estado de una acera o la escasez de accesos para discapacitados, pero sí sufren no poder ser informado o no poder dirigirse a alguien porque en muy pocas personas conocen el lenguaje de los signos.

"Si quiero ir al médico tengo que pedir dos días antes a un intérprete para que me acompañe y aún así hay muchos médicos que no conocen la figuran del intérprete y no la respetan. O cuando hay un aviso en el Metro, nosotros no lo escuchamos y no hay señalización visual que nos avise si hay una emergencia o información", cuenta José Luis.
El reto: una vida normalizada

Tareas tan corrientes como arreglar unos papeles de la Seguridad Social, ir a Hacienda o a una Junta de Distrito son en muchas ocasiones en una faena imposible de realizar. En España el 90% de las instituciones públicas no están adaptadas a la discapacidad.

El que es sordomudo no encuentra intérpretes, el que es ciego necesita incluso ayuda para saber dónde esta el mostrador de información y el que es minusválido no puede siquiera traspasar las puertas de las Administraciones.

"Nosotros no somos los que no nos adaptamos, es la ciudad la que no se adapta a nosotros"

"Los políticos tienen una mentalidad del siglo pasado en la que se pensaba que la discapacidad eran servicios sociales (...). Hay que intentar ir más allá del concepto de beneficencia con el que muchos ciudadanos se van a la cama", dicen desde CERMI.

Y es que para este colectivo, el reto es tener una vida normalizada y conseguir una autonomía a través del empleo. "Nosotros no somos los que no nos adaptamos, es la ciudad la que no se adapta a nosotros. Nuestra situación es irreversible, sin embargo, sí se puede adaptar la ciudad a nosotros", explican.

Ese es su caballo de batalla: demostrar que todo lo que piden no es sólo para ellos sino que se trata de una inversión de futuro para toda la ciudadanía, desde el que se ha roto un pie y tiene que ir con muletas hasta el anciano que camina con dificultad.

"Se está instaurando el mensaje de que no hay dinero y los políticos lo usan para todo, cuando lo que hay que hacer es priorizar las partidas de ese dinero", asegura Javier.

En efecto cada Administración, cada Junta Municipal, cada organismo tienen sus partidas destinadas a la adaptación, sin embargo, cuando las partidas llegan a buen puerto y se cree que un edificio o una calle se ha adaptado a la discapacidad se comprueba que con rampas con demasiada inclinación, señalizaciones acústicas que no se escuchan o, incluso, con obstáculos en medio de una de esas adaptaciones. La falta de conocimiento hace que se pierda tiempo, dinero y oportunidades.

Pese a todo, en un camino largo, difícil y lento, las mejoras van llegando poco a poco. Un ejemplo es el final del recorrido del 'Tour': el intercambiador de Plaza de Castilla. Un intercambiador recientemente reformado que ha contado con la colaboración de asesores que conocen las barreras de los discapacitados y que cuenta con algunas de las mejoras necesarias como señalización visual, guías en el suelo para ciegos, aceras con rampa...

"Poco a poco vamos consiguiendo mejoras, pero todavía queda mucho camino por recorrer. Por eso hay que concienciar a los ciudadanos de todos los obstáculos que nos encontramos (...) Hay una cierta desidia con la que hay que acabar", afirma Javier.

Secuestro institucional frustrado en Kansas City


Posted on Wed, Jul. 21, 2010
Infant is returned to blind couple after state places her in protective custody
By LEE HILL KAVANAUGH
The Kansas City Star

Erika Johnson will never be able to see her baby, Mikaela.

But for 57 days she couldn’t keep her newborn close, smell her baby’s breath, feel her downy hair.

The state took away her 2-day-old infant into protective custody — because Johnson and Mikaela’s father are both blind.

No allegations of abuse, just a fear that the new parents would be unable to care for the child.

On Tuesday, Johnson still couldn’t stop crying, although Mikaela was back in her arms.

“We never got the chance to be parents,” she said. “We had to prove that we could.”

Tuesday, she and Blake Sinnett knew their baby was finally coming home to their Independence apartment, but an adjudication hearing was scheduled for the afternoon on whether the state would stay involved in the rearing of the baby. Then from a morning phone call to their attorney, they learned that the state was dismissing their case.

“Every minute that has passed that this family wasn’t together is a tragedy. A legal tragedy and a moral one, too,” said Amy Coopman, their attorney. “How do you get 57 days back?”

Arleasha Mays, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Social Services, said privacy laws prohibited her from speaking about specific cases. But she added, “The only time we recommend a child be removed is if it’s in imminent danger.”

Johnson said she knew the system eventually would realize its horrible mistake, but she often was consumed with sadness. Sinnett tried his best to keep Johnson hopeful.

For almost two months she and Sinnett could visit their baby only two or three times a week, for just an hour at a time, with a foster parent monitoring.

“I’m a forgiving person,” Johnson said, but she’s resentful that people assumed she was incapable.

“Disability does not equal inability,” she said.

Representatives of the sightless community agreed that people were well-meaning but blinded by ignorance.

Mikaela was born May 21 at Centerpoint Medical Center of Independence. The doctors let Sinnett “see” her birth by feeling the crowning of her head.

For Johnson, hearing Mikaela’s whimpers was a thrill. The little human inside her all these months, the one who hiccupped and burped, who kicked and moved, especially at night, was now a real person whom she loved more than anything else she’d ever imagined.

In her overnight bag was Mikaela’s special homecoming outfit, a green romper from Johnson’s mother, with matching bottoms and a baby bow.

Questions arose within hours of Mikaela’s birth, after Johnson’s clumsy first attempts at breast-feeding — something many new mothers experience.

A lactation nurse noticed that Mikaela’s nostrils were covered by Johnson’s breast. Johnson felt that something was wrong and switched her baby to her other side, but not before Mikaela turned blue.

That’s when the concerned nurse wrote on a chart: “The child is without proper custody, support or care due to both of parents being blind and they do not have specialized training to assist them.”

Her words set into motion the state mechanisms intended to protect children from physical or sexual abuse, unsanitary conditions, neglect or absence of basic needs being met.

Centerpoint said it could not comment because of patient privacy laws, but spokeswoman Gene Hallinan said, “We put the welfare of our patients as our top priority.”

A social worker from the state came by Johnson’s hospital room and asked her questions: How could she take her baby’s temperature? Johnson answered: with our talking thermometer. How will you take her to a doctor if she gets sick? Johnson’s reply: If it were an emergency, they’d call an ambulance. For a regular doctor’s appointment, they’d call a cab or ride a bus.

But it wasn’t enough for the social worker, who told Johnson she would need 24-hour care by a sighted person at their apartment.

Johnson said they couldn’t afford it, didn’t need it.

“I needed help as a new parent, but not as a blind parent,” Johnson said.

She recalled the social worker saying: “ ‘Look, because you guys are blind, I don’t feel like you can adequately take care of her.’ And she left.”

The day of Johnson’s discharge, another social worker delivered the news to the couple that Mikaela was not going home with them. The parents returned the next day to visit Mikaela before she left the hospital, but they were barred from holding her.

“All we could do was touch her arm or leg,” Johnson said.

The couple began making calls. Gary Wunder, president of the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri, had trouble believing it at first.

“I needed to verify their whole story,” he recalled. “We had to do due diligence. … I found the couple to be intelligent and responsible.

“We knew this was an outrage that had taken place.”

He notified Kansas City chapter president Shelia Wright, who visited the 24-year-olds. Hearing about the empty crib, the baby clothes, Wright recalled, “I felt as helpless as I’ve ever felt in my life.

“I hurt so bad for them. This is unforgivable.”

They rallied other associations for the blind nationwide. More than 100 people at a national convention in Dallas volunteered to travel to Kansas City to protest and testify, both as blind parents and as the sighted children of blind parents. (Mikaela has normal sight.)

They also hired Coopman, who watched the young couple with their baby girl on Tuesday.

“I’m sorry,” she said, wiping tears. “But this should not have happened.”

Johnson kept a journal that Coopman is keeping closed for now. She indicates that legal action will be taken.

“Whether a couple is visually impaired or deaf or in a wheelchair, the state should not keep them from their children,” she said.

Now breast-feeding is a lost option. And the beautiful newborn clothes hanging in the closet went unworn, because their baby was growing bigger in the arms of someone else.

The couple said they had tried to prove themselves to the sighted community since their early years. Sinnett rode his bicycle on the street with the help of a safety gadget. Johnson graduated from high school with honors. But all the challenges they’ve endured over the years shrink compared to the responsibility of caring for 10 pounds of squirming baby girl.

Johnson cuddled Mikaela. Gave her a bottle. Patted her back until she burped. Mikaela gave a tiny smile.

In their 24 years, the couple said, they’ve both endured prejudice from others. They don’t want any other blind parent to suffer the same obstacle they did.

Fifty-seven days are too precious to lose.
The Star’s Laura Bauer contributed to this report. To reach Lee Hill Kavanaugh, call 816-234-4420 or send e-mail to lkavanaugh@kcstar.com.
© 2010 City Star and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.kansascity.com

Sentir orgullo



"Cuando en la actualidad se tratan temas sobre la diversidad de la orientación sexual o de género, todavía muchas personas prefieren cerrar los ojos a la realidad, cambiar el canal de la tele o de su radio, y pasar de largo por las noticias de las revistas que nos les gusta mirar. Pero lo que no pueden dejar de hacer es encontrarse por el centro de su ciudad a dos chicas agarradas de la cintura; toparse por la calle Montera con su vecina la transexual, o recibir la noticia de que su tío carnal por fin ha dicho que es gay...
Desde que el mundo es mundo, mucha gente pretende cerrar los ojos a la realidad, pero esa acción no les da potestad para poder cambiarla. La letra de "Orgullo nacional" trata sobre el amor, y la independencia personal, recordando que sólo hasta que los Derechos Humanos se equiparen también con los de las personas LGTB, no serán necesarias las banderas y las etiquetas... La canción simplemente habla de Orgullo de ser así, de amar y de existir" Nos explica Rut Suso, impulsora y autora de la canción y realizadora del videoclip.

Este colectivo no va lentíiisimo como el de las PDF.
Necesitamos salir del letargo en el que estamos atorados.

Denuncia de unos padres

DEBATIR PARA QUE NO PUEDAN OPINAR OTROS

The beauty advantage



Newsweek
Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Beautiful
Beauty can be its own glass ceiling.
by Tony DokoupilJuly 19, 2010
Video muted: Click volume for sound

Before I defend plainness as a career strategy, let me concede that we should all strive to be leggy, doe-eyed, and beautiful. It certainly beats the alternative—or does it? For all their professional advantages, members of the eye-candy crowd may not sit as prettily as they appear. Few studies have examined the perils of beauty, or the upside of ordinary stock. But those that do offer some interesting reminders—above all, that beauty, like wealth, is both a blessing and a curse.

Consider a new paper in the Journal of Experimental and Social Psychology that found that when attractive people—as determined by what an independent panel thought of their pictures—are evaluated by members of their own sex, the “beauty premium” disappears. The paper’s authors speculate that biology may be the culprit. Male guppies gravitate toward the least sexually successful fish in their school (the better to emphasize their own fine scales), so perhaps humans use similar logic in performance situations, viewing attractive members of the same sex as rivals who need to be avoided.

* How Beauty Affects Your Job, Career and Life
* Newsweek Poll: Our Beauty Bias
* Photos: Beauty Ideals Around the World
* What If Men Followed Female Beauty Rules?
* Essay: Who Defines Beauty?

Even if beauty helps someone land a job—and here is where the burden appears greater for women—too much aesthetic attention can be disastrous. In a study published last winter in the European Journal of Social Psychology, sexy ladies between the ages of 18 and 35 were filmed while scissoring through a corridor, then asked to watch the tape of themselves being literally objectified for their looks. A cognitive test followed, revealing that the women being filmed by men were more likely to make intellectual errors than their peers being watched by women. Being conscious of this type of sexual attention, the study’s author suggests, may crowd out the capacity to focus on other things.

Really beautiful women also face a gantlet of social slings and arrows. They are lusted after, envied, resented. They struggle to connect with peers, and sense that they are being secretly ridiculed. Around the office, at least, they seem to be right. Other women give their attractive female colleagues points for popularity. But they also rate them less competent, less talented, less loyal, and (weirdly) less motherly than women from homelier stock. This leads to another depressing conclusion for the beautiful: people doubt them, assuming that their success is a function of schmoozing—or worse. (It certainly doesn’t help that pretty people in general are more likely to be genuine narcissists, according to a study published last year in the Journal of Research in Personality.)
PHOTOS: A Photographer Turns Her Camera on the Cosmetic Surgery Industry »

Even when attractive women are performing at the top of their game, studies show that beauty can be its own glass ceiling. Pretty women tend to be seen as too feminine, and thus unsuited, for most leadership positions that are associated with masculine traits—one reason, perhaps, why so few women CEOs control Fortune 500 companies or Wall Street firms. Attractive professionals face more subtle snares as well, like unwelcome sexual come-ons, and assumptions about their lifestyle and sexuality. (News flash: sexy people aren’t always sexual people.)

Beautiful men may face a similarly hard road. People might assume they’re dumb, say they sleep around, and accuse them of being bad fathers. But if this is the case, it seems to be as yet unknown to science. The bulk of research on the benefits and drawbacks of attractiveness focuses on women, at least so far. As the objectification of men’s bodies increases in advertising and media, its likely that more research will address the anxiety caused by beautiful men.

I’m not saying that looks don’t matter. But the doors of success swing open widest—and most smoothly—when real skills, hard knowledge, and genuine experience pull the handle. (If you don’t believe me, ask yourself where the most attractive people in your high-school class are today.) That’s why it’s best to fold up your peacock feathers, if you’re lucky enough to have them, and strive for an appearance that is merely a vehicle for attributes that actually get better with age. Physical beauty may help you get your start, after all, but it can also turn people against you—if you try to get too cute.

miércoles, 21 de julio de 2010