I wonder if anyone is actually looking at the statistics on disability and employment, because if they aren't, they really should be. We may think that these (seemingly) high political wrangles are the only problems the country is facing currently - they are not. We do not need a magnifying glass to see that Malta has largely failed to successfully integrate disabled people into the education system, the workplace and more generally into society.

It is not acceptable that the rate of employment of disabled people hovers between four and five per cent (one of the lowest in the EU), that the vast majority are reliant on their families for assistance, that the vast majority will not get to university, that the vast majority are unemployed and that the vast majority rely on state pensions and unemployment benefits.

This is the case for those with physical and learning disabilities as well as those with mental health difficulties - which require different forms of assistance but the same amount of political attention. People with disabilities are not charity cases: they want their independence, to be mobile without having to rely on family members, to work and to contribute, and the government must do far more to empower and support them to do so. They are an invaluable resource and yet, although legislation is in place to protect disabled people from discrimination, the system has remained inflexible and inaccessible and, in being so, cannot be anything but inherently discriminatory and marginalising.

Independence for people with a disability

This affects real people.

I've bought a couple of tickets to watch the timely play Butterflies are Free that is to be staged in Malta shortly by FM Theatre Productions. The central character of the play, Don, is a blind man who - in an attempt to shake off the domestic shackles of his domineering mother (Marika Fenech) - moves out to pursue his dream of being a singer-songwriter. Obviously, he wants to assert his independence and wants the chance to prove, not only to his mother but also to himself, that he can do this. As the story goes, he falls for a beautiful hippy, Jill Tanner (Maxine Aquilina) much to his mother's displeasure. It is a poignant story and one that deserves attention.

And it struck a chord with what I wanted to write about this week, having coincidentally come across a year-old report from the National Commission of People with Disability (2014). I read in an interview that Luke Mercieca, who plays Don, researched his role by spending some time with a representative of the Torball Society of the Blind. A status update from this society's Facebook page reads: "It is estimated that there are up to 14,000 blind or visually impaired people (VIPs) in Malta and Gozo and this number is set to increase as the population's average life span lengthens." I wanted to know more. Luke, who is passionate about the issue of empowering the disabled, kindly agreed to get in touch with the representative from the society who had helped him with his role and forwarded to him a few questions that I drafted about life as a visually impaired person in Malta.

Within hours, Luke forwarded his reply. Sadly, and perhaps unsurprisingly, his answers substantiated the findings in the 2014 report: the government needs to do far more than it is currently doing to help people with disabilities. For those living with a visual impairment, the representative emphasised that the facilities available were definitely 'not up to scratch'. For instance, bus stops are not speech enabled, so a visually-impaired person cannot know what bus has arrived, or even how long it will take for the next bus to arrive. If they manage to get on a bus, usually by being assisted by passengers, the buses themselves are usually not speech-equipped.

And what about support facilities? Whilst steps were taken to empower the member through the use of technology, this was essentially where the support stopped. Rather than provide a robust, enriching service that brings people together to socialise, the centre in Qormi is not in a good condition - in fact, he described it as "like being in a cage".

So much for equal opportunities for the disabled!                                                                                                                                  

Real opportunities, not words

The above experience is that of just one individual out of thousands. Malta is a laggard when it comes to empowering people with disabilities to function in society on an equal level as those without - and resoundingly so. This is not just a shame, but also a lost opportunity to integrate a section of society that can and wants to contribute so much more than they are currently able to do. We know that this is happening. It is not just a case of raising awareness but of actively investing in our country's infrastructure, be it in education and training, social services, or through - for instance - encouraging private companies to employ and engage people with disability rather than dismiss their application without a second glance.

There is no point in robbing these people of any choice as to how they can pursue their life by leaving them little option but to become almost entirely dependent on government and family pay-outs and support. Nothing can be gained from this state of affairs and it is a shame that there is not more pressure being applied to put it at the top of our social agenda.