BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – LIKE many other differently-abled people in St. Kitts and Nevis, wheelchair-bound businessman Curtis Matthew continues to be discriminated against.
Matthew, who has been confined to a wheelchair for several years, has found the going tough when dealing with individuals and public figures within St. Kitts and the wider Federation.
The businessman recently spoke with SKNVibes and said that it is somewhat difficult to deal with the discrimination in most cases, since a great degree of bias is not only coming from the man in the street but also individuals in high authority.
This, he posited, paints a negative picture for St. Kitts when it comes to the tourism product.
“I really wouldn’t say it is how they treat me, but it is how they treat themselves, because what the people would do is call me cripple, handicap, why you don’t get out of the public. I was even put down by government officials.”
He also explained that a similar action was meted out to him while he was conducting business at the Inland Revenue Department, where the police were called to have him jailed because he was in a parking spot reserved for an official of the entity.
Matthew related that over the years he has found that the police too have showed him some signs of bias.
“I have a lot of issues with police even if I just stop to pick up some thing. If I go to the Court they have one of them named Douglas who is always on my case…and there are many others.”
He however stated that it is not every officer who shows discrimination towards him, as some of them would assist in whatever way they could.
To this end, he challenged the government to further assist differently-abled persons, as he opined not enough emphasis is placed on that area.
Matthew added that it is costly for him have to import his medication from time to time and also parts for his wheelchair, which are very expensive.
“I brought in parts for my wheelchair and sometimes they charge me over $600. Sometime in the past a guy wrote a letter to Mr. Hewitt and he said that they don’t refund money. But, they don’t hurt me with those things anymore. I didn’t stop importing the things that keep me healthy and mobile, and if they want to charge me excessively for them, then let them charge me. It is a shame for people with disability. I don’t see any reason why disabled people can’t get duty free, VAT free or customs service charge,” Matthew said.
He added that business establishments should look into having more entrances to their building readily accessible to persons with disabilities, as they too have to conduct business.
