Interview with Mr. Eftekhari

The countries of the world for the arrangements of their administrative affairs need the support of different institutions; until they have properly established discipline in the society.

The government of Afghanistan is also composed of different institutions which are created based on the needs of the society and for activities and affairs they got specific policies and procedures.

From the other side the problem in Afghanistan has not only a descending trend but there are some routine cases which are showing that these problems are increasing at the society level.

In our country the people of the society are distributed in different categories where the most vulnerable are the women, children and the disabled persons in the society.

Since some years for the solution of problems of these people different institutions under the framework of the government and non-government are created until they find a solution for the problems and also they create further facilities.

The disability which is a common phenomenon in the international societies but still in our country people with these problems are facing a number of problems; for this purpose there are different national and international institutions working for the betterment of their life conditions.

One of the governmental institutions which is working for the disabled persons is the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD).

For further clarification on the activities of this institution I (Masood Ansar) have conducted an interview with Mr. Ali Eftekhari the spokesman of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) which is going to be presented to you dear audience.

Question: Mr. Eftekhari; at the beginning I would like to know your views about the conditions of the disabled persons?

Answer: Greetings to you dears; I would like to say that based on the current situations of the country the conditions of the disabled persons are not satisfactory because the government has problems from economic and budgetary point of view; therefore the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) could also not cope with this problem properly.  But the only work that this Ministry has done is the consideration of a negligible payment for these people and the other activity which is done is that this Ministry has removed all those burdens which are on the way of these people to receive their payments, where all the systems are converted into computerized systems and all the disabled persons are getting their payments through bank and as a result the disabled persons are not facing problems while getting their payments.

Question: Mr. Eftekhari; the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) in spite of converting the system of payment to banks what else have done for the disabled persons so far?

Answer: I have to say that with giving these payments to the disabled persons not only we are decreasing their problems but increasing because they will be habited of getting this bonus and they will not struggle for their self-sufficiency; therefore we mostly focus to the re-empowering of these people and a good example could be the first re-empowering institutes for the disabled persons which is under construction  and in a very near its construction will be completed and the practical activities which are in the area of awareness and creation of opportunities for these people will start.

From the other side the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) in the area of job search for the disabled persons has some remarkable activities and coordination with some governmental institutions and has always struggled that the disabled persons could be employed from different ways.

Similarly in the agreement that we had with WFP (World Food Program), they have nominated some disabled persons in the distribution process of food materials; with the Swedish Committee Organization we had a better cooperation and coordination regarding the re-empowering of the disabled persons and searching jobs for them, where for this purpose an amount of two million euros are spent by the Swedish Committee Organization. In the agreement that we had with the Ministry of Higher Education regarding the continual of education of disabled persons and the members of their families in the current year we sent one hundred and seventy persons for higher education abroad the country; with the Ministry of Culture it has been discussed to include the gesture based news in their bulletins so that the deaf disabled persons are able to follow the news and many more issues.

Question: Whenever the disabled persons or the members of their families are sent for the continual of their education abroad the country, a percentage of money is taken from them or not?

Answer: I would like to say that all these education packages are for free and for the selection of these people an entry test is taken by the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) and whenever these people are identified then they can use this opportunity.

Question: Mr. Eftekhari; the activities that you just mentioned were useful for the solution of the problems of a big number of disabled persons?

Answer: Based on the number of disabled person I would like to say that these activities were not satisfactory because we were always been witness of the women burning themselves which causes an increase in the number of the disabled persons and the views of the society is also negative towards the disabled persons.

Question: Mr. Eftekhari; there are criticizes that the institutions are neglecting in the implementation of the laws and their practical work is less; how successful the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) regarding the implementation of laws and conventions for the disabled persons?

Answer: Regarding the implementation of the laws and conventions I would like to say that the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) has always struggled for the implementation of the laws and conventions and is always committed to these; but one point is to mention that to practically implement the laws and conventions not only the relevant ministries but all the people of the society are bound to struggle for it because without the support of the people the relevant sectorial institutions cannot do anything.

Question: Criticizes are there from the disabled persons that the sectorial ministries are not aware of the disabled persons’ rights; what activities are accomplished by the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) so far in this regard?

Answer: Regarding the conveying of messages about the rights of the persons having disability, we have conducted sessions with the religious scholars and through them we have done a lot for the public but the real source of conveying about the rights of the disabled persons is the Ministry of Justice.

Obviously I would like to mention about the awareness that the governmental institutions are well aware; whenever you go to the provinces the Ministry of Urban Development has always considered the rights of the disabled persons in the distributions of the fields.

Question: Mr. Eftekhari; in most of the cases of construction why the accessibility of the disabled persons are not considered and where is the problem?

Answer: In the inter-ministries meetings always a focus is given to the disabled persons; over there the sectorial ministries which are working for the disabled persons are present, where these issues are always communicated to them; from the other side the Ministry of Urban Development has always struggled to name the newly established towns in the urbanization process with the names of disabled persons towns and we were always opposing them that the disabled persons should not be separated from the other people of the society.

Question: Mr. Eftekhari; Are the activities that are done for the disabled persons has brought any remarkable change in the lives of them?

Answer: Without doubt that the accomplished activities could change the thoughts of the disabled persons, for example: whenever you are watching a disabled person who has no legs but still he is living with hopes and saying that he can do any kind of work then it is a remarkable effort from the institutions working for disability. Similarly whenever we are watching that some of the disabled persons are keen to go abroad the country for education is a sign of positive change in their thoughts.

Question: How do you evaluate the activities of the non-governmental organizations for the disability, were they able to do remarkable activities in this regard?

Answer: Well; whenever we are talking about the achievements regarding the disabled persons then these achievements are linked with all institutions working for disability and among these institutions both governmental and non-governmental organizations are included.

Question: Mr. Eftekhari; as a final question from you, how is the commitment of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) in regard to the conventions and laws regarding the disabled persons?

Answer: One of the commitments of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) is that to seriously focus to the conditions of the disabled persons, because the lack of attention and negligence regarding the disability issues can raise serious problem to the disabled persons and other people of the society.

Thank you very much that you have followed our discussions until end.