My-Daybreak.org

It was shocking to read reports that criminals have no qualms about targeting the disabled and the elderly. We are told that even charity based centres are not spared.

Also, the blind are not let alone. They are molested, whether on the streets or in the passageways of their adobe. When they lodge police reports, they are not taken seriously. Braile is not available to them when it comes to filling forms.

The deaf are also disadvantaged as police officers are not trained in sign language.

Incidents of the disable being targeted by criminals never emerged on our mainstream radar before but now seem to be commonplace. The saddest part of it all is that these handicapped victims are overly vulnerable to attack and abuse by criminals at large. And they suffer in silence.

Generally, our country is prosperous and its people compassionate. It is high time a national long term care scheme ( including insurance) for the seriously disabled was launched.

we sometimes groan and moan over minor inconveniences we face, but surely these pale into insignificance when compared with the life sentence of agony and victimisation of these disabled and elderly folk.

We must show zero tolerance for these criminals. The handicapped must be protected; they must feel safe as they go about their daily lives. They must not fear for their lives, their friends lives or their neighbours’. We who are not handicapped are obligated to introduce and oversee measures to better protect the disabled and the elderly.

The government has the interested and intend to protect the disadvantaged. The time has come to turn policy into action. What we must have is a National Disability Scheme.