Protests against budget cuts for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities

03 December 2012 / 21:12:45 GRReporter

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Title photo: Reuters/ Yannis Behrakis

Anastasia Balezdrova

People in wheelchairs, with visual disabilities and hearing impairment, and with Down syndrome gathered outside the ministry along with their companions and relatives to express their dissatisfaction with the cuts of pensions and social benefits, which have brought them to penury, as they claim.

"We say no to the collapse of the welfare state, no to the wages of hunger, no to dismissals," was the main slogan of the Greek National Federation of Persons with Disabilities. Its chairman Yiannis Vardakastanis said, "People with disabilities have never fought for anything more than the right to a decent existence."

"Now, we have to pay for the medicines ourselves. We also need to cover much of the cost of wheelchairs, which often cost more than two thousand euro, from our own pockets. We have a lot of problems," said one of the men who were holding the posters.

He added, "Well, let's make sacrifices. But this cut in income cannot continue forever. They should focus on the wealthy ones and stop cutting from us. This is the easiest way."

According to the protesters, their incomes have fallen by at least 40%. "The situation is dramatic. If things continue like this there will be casualties among the disabled people."

They blamed for the delay in the payment of aid those of their fellow citizens who have been receiving aid for years using fake documents. It was due to the procedure of counting the number of actually disabled persons and detecting the fraudsters. "Because of them, many people have remained without aid for a long period of time. For many people, this is their only income," the disabled were crying.

Their representatives urged the government to address the issue because the appearance of publications which describe cases of fraud "increase public prejudices against us. The services, doctors and politicians from all governments that have created this corrupt system are to blame for the supposed disabled."

After the protest, some of them set off to join a procession to parliament and some protested by placing their artificial limbs against the railings in front of the National Assembly.

Photo: Reuters / Yannis Behrakis