I have been in Northern Cyprus for a month visiting my brother and his wife. They have decided to spend their retirement years in the sun and have had a very beautiful house built. With gorgeous views of the mountains to the front of the house and an olive grove leading down to the sea at the back, it is a most picturesque spot and such a peaceful place to be.
The only draw back is that there is not much disability awareness in the North of Cyprus at the moment. It was not until the visit was coming to a close, when I found out about a local group of campaigners who are lobbying to get accessibility and equal rights for people with disabilities. I have to admit, though, it was like going back about fourty years in time. I noticed just how few people with disabilities were out and about, and the majority of them were Europeans. Of the Turkish-Cypriot population, in the month I was there, I saw only two wheelchair users and a couple of elderly people using a walking stick. I also noticed that I got stared at constantly, sometimes from curiosity, but many times I received looks of near contempt. I tried to understand why, rather than get unhappy and hurt about it and in the end, just put it all down to ignorance.
It will be a really tough battle for the campaign group to make any progress in N. Cyprus, not just because of the inaccessible public places, but because of the attitudes towards disability they have to overcome. I don't know an awful lot about the Muslim faith, so I can't make assumptions that it might have something to do with the attitudes towards infirmity or disability, but I do know there is something withing the culture of these people that creates a barrier towards, not only disability, but other features of human life that could be construed at 'weaknesses'.
The Cypriots who got to know me soon realised that I am not a weak person and indeed have overcome many obstacles throughout my life. I found it very gratifying to earn the respect of someone who had previously looked at me with pity in their eyes. Some of the people did not even take the time to get to know me, dissmissing me as though I was not even present in their company.
One encounter actually left me in tears. One of my brother's friends came to the house and brought his son with him. He came in and shook hands first with the men in the house, including my husband and another English friend who is a neighbour of my brother's, then he kissed my sister-in-law on both cheeks. The son did the same. I was so distressed because they did not even acknowledge my presence there, did not talk to me, did not even look in my direction. The worst thing was, not one of my family even noticed this slight against me. It almost breaks my heart to write about it now.
This is one bad encounter out of many good ones, though, and I still love Northern Cyprus and the people there. However, I do offer a note of caution to anyone with a disability wishing to visit, to make sure that you are aware of the lack of facilities everywhere.
It is so good to be back where I can take it for granted that if I want to cross the road, visit a shop, get something to eat and go to the loo, I can go out without worrying that the places I go to will be inaccessible. I know we still have a long way to go, but we are so lucky in this country, with all the freedoms we have. Be aware that much of what we have here in the UK has been brought about by the lobbying of campaign groups, just like the one that has started up in Northern Cyprus.
I want to say a big thankyou to those groups in this country that have worked and are still working, mostly in a voluntary capacity, towards the great amount of accessibility we have right now in the UK. More power to your elbows!!
