Montserrado County District #1 Representative Rugie Yatu Barry is poised to introduce a Bill that would provide inclusion, employment, and support for Persons With Disability in Liberia. In an interview with the lawmaker at her Capitol Hill office, she mentioned that ‘our’ streets are full of people with disabilities, begging to survive, to meet the present-day reality of Liberia.
She said there is no real law to protect these people who are confronting conditions that could affect anybody today. “We are normal, but tomorrow, we can get involved in an accident or sickness that could leave us with disability. So, if you have disability, it doesn’t mean you are less human than the next person. On these basic things, I thought that there should be laws to guide and protect these people,” the lawmaker added,
Representative Barry said there are people with disabilities who are educated, some college students, but getting employment is very difficult for them, while some are unskilled labourers, stating that every government institution must employ at least two persons with disabilities to cater to their respective families. “If this act is passed into law and government entities employ at least two persons with disabilities, it will make them independent,” she said. She called on the National Government to provide training to help build the capacity of people with disabilities.
“If people with disabilities muster the courage and go to school, why shouldn’t the government create avenues for them to be empowered?” she wondered. The lawmaker indicated that people with disabilities feel stigmatized because of their condition. ‘We should, therefore, include them so they can feel part of society. We need to be deliberate about this. We must make sure to get them involved; they must get a job to do, be educated and trained in other areas, so they can become meaningful contributors to society.
Based on these reasons and many more, Representative Barry has decided to introduce this bill, while calling her colleagues to join in passing it to protect disabled people who are in the minority. The title of the bill is “An Act To Provide Inclusion, Employment, and Support for All Persons With Disabilities Within the Republic of Liberia.”
By Prince Baysah, Contributing Writer
