Planet Earth, as viewed from a wheelchair
“I got into a traffic accident in October 1991, so the start of my wheelchair-bound life coincides with the beginning of Ukraine’s national independence,” says Mykola Podrezan, a noted traveler, public figure, founder and head of the IP-Fond charitable foundation for the disabled. Before the accident he was a noted DJ in Ukraine, one of the founders of discos. His concert tours had taken him all over the Soviet Union. After the traffic accident, having sustained several surgeries and the rehabilitation period, now wheelchair-bound, Podrezan was back to his usual active lifestyle. He became a noted public figure and social worker. He and his wife organized a rehab center for the disabled. Last but not least, Podrezan has driven his wheelchair across 28 countries, having visited a total of 38.
For him traveling is more than a hobby. Podrezan, driving his wheelchair on the roads leading to 27 countries on six continents, is carrying out a large-scale project, trying to make his Ukraine comfortable and easily accessible to the disabled. His route is similar to that of the Olympic torch carried to Athens, back in 2004. In his own words, “This project is interesting as such, that I use the itinerary to collect photos, videos, drawings, [personal] impressions, and suggestions concerning the way our historical, cultural, architectural, and religious sites can be made accessible to the disabled… No country can exist without patriotism. Something must be done to uphold this patriotism. I believe that such historical and religious sites in Sri Lanka, Great Britain or Ukraine are extremely important for one’s patriotic awareness. Most of Ukraine’s cultural treasures remain inaccessible to the disabled – in other words, millions of Ukrainian nationals are estranged from such cultural and historic sites that are an important component of the patriotic education process. Does this mean that the Ukrainian state has no need for patriots?”
DAILY LIFE: CRIPPLED BY SOCIETY AND THOSE IN POWER
Mykola Podrezan is an example of a wheelchair-bound man who keeps an active lifestyle, although in today’s Ukraine this is easier said than done, considering that most shopping and cultural centers have no wheelchair ramps, that most public transport vehicles aren’t equipped for wheelchair-bound passengers. He can’t even access his apartment’s balcony because the doorway is too narrow.
“Kyiv’s light rail began functioning recently, but not for me. I suggest placing a notice at the entrance, reading ‘No Entry for the Disabled!’ with the crossed wheelchair sign. This would be fair play [on the part of authorities]. I am a Ukrainian national, then who has the right to reduce me to the status of a house arrestee?” He adds that the new bus and trolleybus models with mobile ramps aren’t effective, considering that the driver refuses to handle the ramp, and that a wheelchair-bound passenger can hardly cope with this heavy contraption unaided. Also, the driver often pulls over but not close enough, so a wheelchair-bound passenger has a problem getting to and over the curb. “I’m crippled by society and those in power,” says Podrezan, adding that he felt comfortable in the United States, visiting its museums, using public transport. In Ukraine, the situation remains very complicated.
“After returning home, I realized that, when traveling, I had been regarded as another adequate fellow human. Not so in Ukraine. Visiting the States, the overall impression was that a disabled person was more important than President Barack Obama, that everyone knew how to help and encourage such a disabled person,” sums up the traveler.
STRUGGLING FOR THE RIGHT TO WORK
A wheelchair-bound person is issued the legally required first degree disability papers. Then, if and when this disabled person feels he can still do a job and applies for it, problems start piling up.
“I got in that traffic accident when I was 38. At that time I had two MA’s in construction and public entertainment. My wheelchair was no obstacle in either direction.”
He gives examples when young people, also wheelchair-bound, found jobs but were fired after their employers had sustained an inspection by the local tax administration. They were told that they couldn’t keep their jobs with their disability papers, and that they could keep their jobs by lowering their disability degree. The man keeps wondering how this can be done.
“It’s true that I need constant care because the state has done nothing to make it possible for me to ride my wheelchair into the bathroom, board a bus/trolleybus, visit a theater or a shopping mall.”
He believes that a wheelchair-bound individual can and should remain an active communal member – all daily hardships notwithstanding – especially by helping other disabled individuals. He gives countless examples to prove his point.
PUBLIC ACTIVITY, DESIRE TO CHANGE THIS WORLD FOR THE BETTER
At one time Mykola Podrezan and his wife Natalia, a certified physician specializing in rehabilitation, established a rehabilitation center for people with spinal injuries and dysfunction of the musculoskeletal system at the Zhovten Resort. While that center existed, a number of wheelchair-bound people realized they were full-fledged communal members, that they could travel, have jobs and families. At the rehabilitation center, rule number one was that every wheelchair-bound patient be left alone (no family visits) and aware of his/her independence. Podrezan explains that this was an important part of the course of treatment, forcing the patient to realize that s/he could remain an active communal member in a wheelchair. His foundation has repeatedly held Prince and Princess in the Wheelchair competitions.
One of his pupils, a girl by the name Natalia Osaulenko, winner of the 2000 Princess in the Wheelchair competition, born in Romny, a town in Sumy oblast, sustained a body injury as a university student, quit the university and spent several years in her room. After meeting Mykola Podrezan, she decided to change her lifestyle. She now heads Romny’s branch of the Disabled Children’s Early Rehabilitation Center. She is married, has two children, and is an avid traveler. She has done a great deal to make Romny comfortable for the wheelchair-bound residents. In 2002, Romny was officilly recognized as Ukraine’s most “barrier-free” city.
POLITICAL ACTIVITY: THOSE ‘UPSTAIRS’ DON’T NEED A WHEELCHAIR-BOUND ACTIVIST
“Try to picture a dozen wheelchair-bound individuals approaching the Verkhovna Rada’s podium with posters reading LET US LIVE! Would anyone dare to object, let alone summon SWAT to remove them? We represent a strong political force,” Podrezan says.
He adds that most wheelchair-bound individuals aren’t inclined to struggle for their rights: “One has to change one’s worldview in the first place. Many have adjusted to the situation and are working for large government-run disabled relief organizations. Who would criticize the current regime under the circumstances?”
He believes the younger generation has enough potential to defend their rights, although there is no young leader strong enough and capable of getting these people united.
“Those ‘upstairs’ don’t need a wheelchair-bound activist, simply because they don’t know how to deal with him.” He explains that this is precisely why the current regime has all kinds of leverage to influence such individuals. “The disabled can’t be denounced. My life and that of others [like me] spells constant stress and short supply of what we badly need. I need regular resort accommodations to stay in shape; I need a hand controlled car, otherwise I will stay at home; I need special medications, otherwise I’ll die soon. In other words, there are lots of strings attached.”
EURO-2012: BARRIER-FREE IN UKRAINE?
Ukraine is bracing itself to accommodate a great many soccer fans and tourists during the Euro-2012 events. Among the visitors will certainly be physically challenged individuals. Podrezan says these people will find themselves feeling uncomfortable in Ukraine: “I visited the Olympic Stadium. Its renovation, worth 600 million dollars, did not allow me access to the box office. True, there lots of seats for physically challenged fans, but a closer look shows that the top tier’s beam obstructs the view of the field, let alone the view of the left and right scoreboards. In other words, a wheelchair-bound fan won’t see the score, the names of the team members, the time, and so on.”
Add here transport, restrooms, catering facilities, and cultural sites. All of these will be inaccessible to the wheelchair-bound visitors.
