Disabled marginalised in region’s job market

If, as physicists say, the universe has a way of making people feel marginalised, then the disabled in Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean have every right to think they have been hit with a triple whammy. The disabled are often faced with a wall of discrimination and a myriad of other problems when they try to get a job in the English-speaking Caribbean. Small wonder, then, that a mix of the forces of nature, the tragedies caused by accidents and a lack of laws that bar discrimination and open up jobs and services may be spawning a feeling of marginalisation among the disabled across the region. In a survey of the problems facing the disabled in the Caribbean, the United States State Department made this very clear: English-speaking states have made some tentative steps designed to create opportunities for people with disabilities but their chances of being fully absorbed into the general community are slim. In almost every country, there is a lack of anti-discrimination laws that would help the disabled find jobs, housing, education and other services that they need.

However, a few countries, the Bah-amas, Jamaica, Gre-nada and Barbados have acted to bring them in from out of the dark shadows of society. Even so, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) has a long way to go before it can even come close to matching the aggressive federal, state and local government policies, rules and regulations that offer a helping hand to the disabled in the United States. Take the case of Jamaica, a country with a disabled population of 250,000. That’s more than the populations of Antigua, St Kitts-Nevis and Dominica combined. Of that relatively large number, only about 200 people were gainfully emp-loyed, 90 per cent of them by the government in 2002. To begin with, Jamaica hasn’t enacted any laws that mandate accessibility or address the issue of discrimination in employment and education. However, several government agencies and non-governmental organisations offer services and seek employment for the disabled.