A blind candidate for the European elections in Greece highlights the problems the visually impaired and other disabled individuals confront.
Fotis Mpimpasis, a candidate for Prasino Kinima (Green Movement), took another non-blind fellow EU candidate on a blind walk in Thessaloniki, demonstrating the everyday struggles facing the visually impaired not just in Greece but Europe in general.
EBU, the united voice of millions of blind and partially sighted Europeans, says there are estimated to be over 30 million blind and partially sighted persons in Europe as an average of 1 in 30 experience sight loss. Mpimpasis says that up to 10 percent of the Greek population has a form of disability with a significant percentage being blind.
Mpimpasis also says that although the blind walk (in the following video) was done in near-perfect conditions, it nevertheless illustrates the mobility problems for the blind. “Most areas in Greek cities are almost out of touch for the blind. You usually come across cars and motorbikes parked on pavements, defective pavements, and restaurant tables that restrict movement,” he tells Greek Reporter.
In addition, there are problems with tactile paving, a system of textured surfaces that helps blind people navigate. When it is absent or poorly maintained, it can be difficult for blind people to know where they are going or to avoid obstacles.
Pedestrian crossings with features like lowered curbs and audible signals can make it easier for blind people to cross the street safely. When they are absent, blind people may have difficulty crossing streets.
The EU candidate walked together with fellow Prasino Kinima candidate Alexis Georgoulis, who was blindfolded throughout the walk.
“It is important that a current MEP agreed to join me in the walk,” he said. “I think that all politicians should do something similar with the disabled. Candidates should walk with the blind, those with mobility issues, and those with hearing problems.”
“They will hopefully get a sense of the problems facing the disabled and perhaps offer credible and innovative solutions,” Mpimpasis told Greek Reporter.
“Greece should be doing better in helping blind people,” he stated. “I have proposed the creation of an Independent Authority on Accessibility that would oversee the mobility problems facing the disabled.”
“For example, in Greece, a disabled person is required to chase paperwork running from one government office to another. A task that is difficult and time-consuming even for the non-disabled. The Independent Authority would help in this direction,” Mpimpasis says, adding that the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis has not responded to his proposal.
“Mitsotakis has been priding himself about how much he cares about the disabled in Greece,” he said. “It’s time to prove that it’s not just promises. Action is needed.”
Blind candidate in European elections
Mpimpasis said if elected in the European Parliament on Sunday, he would press the European Commission to allocate more resources to improve mobility for the disabled.
“Unless a disabled person is a famous personality or is being supported by powerful interests it is really hard to get elected in the European Parliament,” he laments.
In a statement released just before the elections for the European Parliament, EBU calls on candidates and political parties to pay attention “to the expectations of blind and partially sighted persons in Europe, in line with the UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.”
The statement welcomes the adoption by the European Parliament, in May 2022, of an initiative resolution for the reform of the EU electoral law. This includes a new article requiring appropriate measures to guarantee the right for people with disabilities to vote independently and in secret, the free choice of assistance, and accessibility to postal voting and political campaigns.
However, it urges the new European Assembly to improve mobility for the blind. It was proclaimed that “in air transport, it should no longer be possible to deny boarding to visually impaired travelers for ‘safety reasons,’ nor to deny boarding with a properly trained guide dog, and any such denial should open a right to swift and fair compensation.”
Employment of people with disabilities
The European Disability Forum’s 2022 Human Rights report, “Right to Work,“ released on April 27, 2023, points to the clear difference in employment rates of persons with disabilities and without disabilities. This is known as the “disability employment gap.”
The EU average is 24.4 percentage points (with wide differences between countries). Moreover, only 51.3 percent of active, working-age persons with disabilities in the EU are in paid employment, and this figure is at 47.4 percent for young people with disabilities. In terms of compensation, people with disabilities still earn considerably less even though they need more income to face the additional costs of living in a discriminatory and inaccessible society.
Related: Life for the Disabled in Greece a Constant Struggle
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