Meet Khondokar Jahurul Alam, a man who was diagnosed with polio when he was three, only to become a key figure in the field of disability rights.
Alam, Executive Director of the Centre for Services and Information on Disability (CSID), an NGO, argues that addressing the issue of disability requires a change in thinking.
He is also the county representative of International Council for the Education of Visually Impaired Persons, and the former president of Asia Pacific Disability Forum.
He played a crucial role in formulating the 1995 policy, 2001 law, and the latest law adopted in 2007, for the disabled.
“Many have the deep-seated belief that the disabled have no potential. Even I had this belief as my parents got very frustrated when I contracted polio at the age of three. They were concerned about my future,” he says.
“After passing the SSC examination, I did nothing for seven years, and later appeared in the HSC test. I then tried to do something and I was lucky as I met Dr RJ Garst, who founded the Rehabilitation Institute and Hospital for the Disabled (now National Institute of Traumatology and Rehabilitation) through makeshift rehabilitation camps for the disabled and wounded freedom fighters after the 1971 Liberation War,” recalls Alam.
He says Garst sent him to a vocational training centre for the blind, where he had to supervise the task of making chalk pencils. “That was the beginning. It was a time when government officials used to make Tk450-500 a month but I was receiving as much as Tk8,000, which gave me enormous confidence that I can do something despite my disability. I was later promoted to coordinator, and got a pay rise as well.”
According to Alam, the experience of a London tour of his elder brother was a real eye-opener for him. “My brother, having returned from London, told me the disabled in London took part in many activities, and the society did not think there was anything wrong with being disabled.”
My brother inspired me by saying that I could do a lot despite having polio, adds Alam.
Alam, who says Garst changed his life, graduated from Tejgaon College in 1983 and enrolled in a course at London School of Business. There he observed how the disabled were treated by others. He later obtained a Master’s degree from Jagannath University.
“In 1991, organisations working for the disabled decided to form a forum, and I became the first president which changed my life again. I also became the chairman of an organisation for the disabled in the Asia Pacific region, which was my first international role. I got the opportunity to see the global scenario of the disabled. However, I had to choose between whether to do the job for making money or to lead the organisation. I chose the later,” he says.
Alam claims the government has downplayed the number of the disabled by putting it at about 2% of the total population.
“This is unrealistic. Some international organisations say it will be about 15%,” he says.
Alam’s organisation has so far provided support for many disabled people. Besides conducting researches, the organisation trained 21,000 disabled people and helped them secure jobs.
Addressing disability requires changes in social mindset as well as approach in dealing with the disabled, reiterates Alam, adding that the conception of disability beggars description in Bangladesh.
“Many people in the society still believe that having a disabled child is disgraceful. They also prefer not to disclose to others that they have disabled children, which makes it difficult to get the accurate statistics about disabled people,” he says.
According to Alam, people with disabilities in the society lead a really unattended life, but they need care and love.
