Hundreds of disabled protest

Several hundred disabled people gathered on Thursday outside the national assembly in Niamey, the capital of Niger, in protest against what they say is the shoddy treatment they receive from society, news organizations reported. AFP reported that the protestors included the blind, deaf and other mentally and physically handicapped people. They complained that politicians abandoned them once they obtained their votes. The demonstrators said their patience snapped when officials failed to attend a national day for the disabled on 31 July, the editor in chief of 'l’Alternative’ weekly, Abdourahmane Ousmane, told IRIN on Friday, They said ministers and other local officials chose to attend a ceremony to save the country’s giraffes at a site some 40 km outside Niamey. “They were saying that (the government) saw animals as being more important than the handicapped,” Ousmane said. The protestors also demanded that the government honour laws which guarantee the handicapped exemption from taxes on material related to their disabilities, a 50-percent tax reduction on transport and health charges, training and their rehabilitation in cases of accidents. “These provisions have not been respected,” he said. The protestors also want greater professional opportunities, promotion within the civil service and government-owned firms, and education. Although a few of the country’s deaf and blind can attend a specialist school in Niamey and can get further help abroad, AFP said, the majority beg for a living on the streets.