TECHNOLOGY. It can be a game-changer in the right hands. It can heal, it can unite and if need be - it can raise awareness, like what the non-governmental organisation Dislife.ru did in Moscow.
What did they do? Well, Dislife.ru used technology to tackle a problem faced by wheelchair users from Moscow to Malacca - non-wheelchair users, indeed the able-bodied taking parking spaces meant for wheelchair-users without a second thought.
And I have to hand it to them. The set-up was smart. They rigged a series of cameras, a water-vapor screen and a hologram projector in several shopping malls in Moscow, including the largest shopping complex in Europe, Aviapark.
The cameras would monitor the cars entering the parking space and if a car driving in was not displaying a parking sticker indicating that the driver or passenger was a wheelchair user - the projector would kick in and display a recorded hologram of a Russian wheelchair user.
And the hologram would tell the driver off and urge them to be considerate of those who need the space. When I saw the video, I felt it was a fantastic use of technology to spark social awareness.
Of course, I asked myself if we could use such a set-up here in Malaysia? Do we have as many drivers who would just take over a spot meant for a wheelchair user?
From my experience, the answer is yes. Yes we certainly do. My late better half was a wheelchair user for the last three years of her life, and I discovered that many Malaysians lack a sense of civic awareness when it comes to the use and abuse of parking spaces for wheelchair users.
A few experiences stick out in my mind, with one of them happening at Ikea. We were headed to our car when we saw a security guard arguing with a couple who were insistent that they had the right to park in a spot meant for a wheelchair user.
They only left when the guard told the couple; "Fine, you can park here. I will just clamp your car".
I gave the guard a solid smile and thanked him sincerely for doing the right thing.
Another incident I can recall happened at a shopping complex in Kuala Lumpur. We wanted to use the parking space when a woman cut us off and zipped in as fast as she could.
I of course, confronted her and she used a classic excuse - that she would be there for a short while. However, looking at what she brought out of the car, everything suggested that she would be there for more than "a short while".
Naturally I alerted the guards, and fortunately they took the side of my better half and I. They asked the woman to leave.
However, these were just two instances out of many we encountered as a couple, and the only reason why I remember these two vividly is because conscientious security guards stood up for wheelchair-users.
There were many incidents where security guards either laughed or just stood by blankly as I pointed out to them what was happening.
And it seems that I'm not alone in this, as Dewan Negara Senator Bathmavathi Krishnan - a wheelchair user who has been driving for 36 years - pointed out to me that such abuse is "very rampant".
"It is all under the assumption that the person misusing the spot is going to park for just a while, thinking no disabled driver will come in the next few minutes or hour. They are actually not civic-minded about the reality. If they understood the reality of disabled drivers or disabled passengers in a car and their rights, they would not park there," said Bathmavathi.
She added that attitudes have to change.
"These car parks are wider as they are designed for wheelchair users to get out and get into their wheelchairs. The attitude has to change. Basic civic consciousness is needed. The person who is parking there would have at least seen a wheelchair user or a person with mobility disabilities," she said.
However, I still couldn't help but wonder if Dislife.ru's high-tech solution would be workable here, and indeed the founder of the global welfare group Helping Angels, Poesy Liang proposed a more practical solution when I spoke to her.
Liang, a spinal tumor survivor and artist, called for building owners and management bodies to enforce the rules more stringently.
"I think it has to be enforced by building owners. The management has to do more than merely allocating spaces. They need to enforce the spaces they put out. A lot of managements do not really care, and security guards are not trained to watch out for these things. With these systems in place, drivers who are wheelchair users will have an easier ride," said Liang.
She shared with me one fundamental truth - people need to actually care before the rules can be implemented properly.
"People need to actually care for implementation of the rules to be done properly. We need people to care enough to enforce the rules. The management bodies of all buildings have to care and train their guards accordingly to uphold the rights of those who need to use the parking lots of people with disabilities," said Liang.
And I'm in agreement with her. To be frank, I didn't care until I really saw the challenges first-hand. And having to face them head on opened my eyes.
People with disabilities are people too. Can we try to give them their due respect? I believe we can. I really hope we can.
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