Fatima Muhammad

Saudi Gazette

 

A group of 40 children, half of them visually impaired, have been denied entry into two entertainment centers in Jeddah.



The two centers on the Corniche and Prince Sultan Street justified their actions, saying priority goes to tourists visiting the city.



Ebsar Foundation for visually impaired individuals, which organized the trips, expressed its disappointment at the decision of the two popular entertainment centers.



Mohammad Bellow, secretary-general of Ebsar, which organized the trips as part of its Building Hope Program, expressed his dissatisfaction with the excuses provided by the two locations.



Speaking to Saudi Gazette, Bellow said the managements at these locations were trying to avoid them by giving flimsy excuses. “This attitude has delayed the launch of the initiative and obliged us reschedule the program,” he said.



Bellow called on the Supreme Commission for Tourism and National Heritage to close down any tourism facility that closed its doors before disabled people.



He stressed that the commission can play an important role to ensure that all tourist locations are disabled-friendly. This, he said, includes training the employees on ways to deal with disabled individuals and providing paths and facilities for people with special needs.



Bellow said Ebsar said the attitude of the entertainment centers made their attempts to unite the visually impaired children with the public and help them live in harmony “a tough job.”



He said this goes against the vision of the tourism authority, which stressed the importance of providing the necessary care and facilities for people with special need at all tourism locations.



“The Building Hope Program” organized by Ebsar Foundation has been continuing for six years ago. The program selects 20 visually impaired children between 6 and 12 years old who are registered with the foundation. The 20 disabled children are merged with 20 normal children of their age who are picked up from the environment around the visually impaired children and from local orphanages.



The foundation then arranges special activities and trips for the 40 children. The aim is to help the two groups live in harmony, cooperate and exchange real-life experiences. The trips include visiting factories to discover new skills and introducing disabled children to normal activities in supermarkets, streets and other public places.