Georgia: persons with disabilities tell about meagre social help and lack of workplaces

Today, ten years after Georgia's accession to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the country's authorities failed to radically improve the lives of people with disabilities, the Ombudsperson, Nino Lomdjariya, believes. Ucha Nanuashvili, his predecessor in the post, regards that only in 50 years from now the country will be able to ensure acceptable conditions for people with disabilities. The latter themselves have to beg in the streets.

The streets in Georgia are insufficiently equipped with ramps, while educational establishments are unprepared for access of disabled people, said Ucha Nanuashvili. According to his story, there are also problems with the employment programme for such persons.

Georgian authorities are taking measures for people with disabilities, but many problems remain, including the availability of public transport, said Tina Bregvadze, the head of the Centre for Social Support and Enlightenment of the Shida Kartli Region.

Pavel Kiriyanov, 58, a resident of Tbilisi, a visually impaired person, says that he has to beg in the subway. "I have a disability pension of 200 laris (74 US dollars) per month," he has explained.

According to his story, he could not go to university because of lack of literature for the blind and funds for education. After the collapse of the USSR, he has been jobless.

Roman, 44, a disabled person, has no housing; 10 years ago, he lost his leg in a road accident and was left jobless with four children.