OUT OF STEPPE: DISABLED MONGOLIANS STRUGGLE TO INTEGRATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 ULAANBAATAR 000285

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/CM, DRL, MED, AND EAP/EX
STATE PASS PEACE CORPS
USAID FOR ANE FOR DEIDRA WINSTON
MANILA AND BANGKOK FOR USAID
MANILA PASS ADB USED
TREASURY PASS IMF, WORLD BANK USEDS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM EAID SOCI PGOV KOCI KGLB AMED SCUL ECON MG
SUBJECT: OUT OF STEPPE: DISABLED MONGOLIANS STRUGGLE TO INTEGRATE

REF: 07 ULAANBAATAR 575

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Disabled Mongolians face serious obstacles to full
participation in society, despite advances in special education and
societal awareness. Many of these obstacles are
infrastructure-related. The elation that many disabled Mongolians
felt in August 2007, when Parliament passed nine amendments to
strengthen their rights, has vanished, with the Government of
Mongolia (GOM) failing to implement or enforce key provisions.
Buses and buildings remain wheelchair-inaccessible, companies are
not being forced to comply with disabled-hiring laws, and neither
traffic laws nor cross walk devices protect the disabled, where even
able-bodied Mongolians risk life and limb crossing Ulaanbaatar's
busy streets. The GOM's decision to scrap a transport-fee exemption
for the disabled sparked a June 5 protest by dozens of blind or
otherwise impaired Mongolians. Since January, the GOM has provided
an allowance to state schools that accept disabled students.
Special education needs are partially met in the capital, but
conditions in the countryside are grim. One disabled man who grew
up in the South Gobi recounted having to be carried to and from
school on the backs of fellow students. Many disabled youngsters,
particularly those in rural areas, are kept at home. There
continues to be a powerful stigma associated with having a disabled
child; in some cases, mothers are blamed. Rehabilitation services
are concentrated in the capital. The GOM supports a Paralympic team
but has failed to make 10 percent of Mongolia's sports-education
facilities accessible to the disabled. The June 29 elections will
not be disabled-friendly, advocates say. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) People with physical and cognitive disabilities in Mongolia
continue to face major challenges to full participation in society,
despite legislative steps forward, improvements in societal
attitudes and advances in special education. This is the consensus
that emerged in meetings Poloff held between May 29 and June 4 with
the head of Mongolia's Federation of Disabled Persons; an American
Fulbright scholar who has conducted extensive research on Mongolians
with disabilities; a physically disabled Mongolian who works at the
NGO Mercy Corp; and others. The following topics are keyed to the
relevant paragraph numbers:


3. Background

4. Legislative Advances, But Enforcement Lacking

5. Loss of Benefit Sparks Protest

6. Incentives for Disabled-Friendly Schools

7. Six Special-Needs Schools in UB

8. Countryside Conditions are Grim

9. Individual Suffering

10. The "Invisible Population"

11. Rehabilitation Services

12. A Sporting Chance

13. Election Concerns

14. Comment

BACKGROUND
--------------


3. (SBU) Many disabled Mongolians are still adjusting to the sea
change in treatment/care that began when Mongolia turned its back on
the communist system in 1990. During the communist era, experts
say, care for the disabled was highly centralized, and the focus was
on institutionalization; those with special needs tended to be
socially excluded. Since then, the experts say, many facilities
dedicated to the disabled have closed, and many resources extended
to the disabled have been reduced. When the Soviets left in the
early 1990's so too did their substantial subsidies for health,
education and welfare. Conversely, the level of disgrace associated
with disabled family members has declined in recent years.

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LEGISLATIVE ADVANCES, BUT ENFORCEMENT LACKING
--------------


4. (SBU) Ten months after Parliament was cheered for passing nine
legislative amendments to strengthen or expand the rights of people
with disabilities (reftel),many disabled Mongolians are
disappointed with the GOM's failure to implement or enforce key
legal provisions. Companies with 25 or more employees have ignored
the requirement to set aside at least four percent of positions for
people with disabilities, and have failed to make their workplaces
disabled-friendly, as required by law. Bus companies with 20 or
more buses have not complied with the law that at least half be made
wheelchair-accessible. The President of Mongolia's Federation of
Disabled Persons, Mr. Oyunbaatar, told us that because hiring
provisions are not enforced, disabled people encounter great
difficulty in finding a job. A Mercy Corps program officer who is
physically disabled, said some companies see themselves as exempt
from the law. He told us that executives of a security company
questioned how, given the nature of their company, it could possibly
meet the hiring requirement. Later this year, Parliament is likely
to approve the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities. On paper, Oyunbaatar said, Mongolia continues to
promote the rights of the disabled. But in reality, he said, many
disabled Mongolians remain unaware of their entitlements, and many
able-bodied Mongolians are ignorant of the rights of the disabled.
He also complained that GOM allowances to disabled Mongolians (whose
disabilities are evaluated by local commissions) are only available
to adults; nothing is provided specifically for children with
disabilities. (Note: All Mongolian children, disabled or not, are
eligible for general GOM allowances. End Note.)

LOSS OF BENEFIT SPARKS PROTEST
--------------


5. (SBU) Parliament recently passed an amendment that will require
disabled and elderly Mongolians to start paying
public-transportation fees, from which they are currently exempt.
The regulation will take effect on July 1. To ease the transition,
the Government has proposed a 6,000 Tugruk ($5.17) transportation
stipend for these individuals, but this is widely considered
insufficient. On June 5, dozens of blind or otherwise impaired
Mongolians responded to the Parliamentary decision by holding a bold
protest at Sukhbaatar Square, chaining themselves together and
crawling on their hands and knees to the UB Mayor's office. (Note:
Event photo available from EAP/CM. End Note.)

INCENTIVES FOR DISABLED-FRIENDLY SCHOOLS
--------------


6. (SBU) An American Fulbright Scholar researching disabilities in
Mongolia believes that the GOM is making a good-faith effort to
incorporate special needs children into the state school system (in
line with Millennium Development Goals). She told us that the
tendency to exclude the disabled from society, which ran deep during
the communist era, is being reversed, and that the guiding principle
in Mongolian educational reform is "inclusiveness." Since January,
she noted, the Education Ministry has been providing an allowance to
schools that educate disabled kids. While this is a welcome
development, the Fulbright scholar noted that there is no
requirement that the allowance be used to support disabled students.
She also notes that the lack of a disability-classification system
gives schools considerable wiggle room in who to admit. For
instance, she asks, could a student who wears glasses be defined as
disabled? If so, a youngster who is confined to a wheelchair might
be less likely to gain access to classes.

SIX SPECIAL NEEDS SCHOOLS IN ULAANBAATAR
--------------

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7. (SBU) Experts note that there is no law that prohibits students
with disabilities from attending regular public schools, but that
there is a common belief among teachers that students with special
needs should be educated at special schools. However, such schools
are few and far between. Ulaanbaatar is home to six state schools
dedicated to children with special needs; four are focused on
youngsters who are vision- or hearing-impaired, and the other two
are committed to educating those with other disabilities, including
mental retardation. (Note: A 1998 survey by Mongolia's Health and
Welfare Ministry indicated that 4.8 percent of the population -
115,000 people - had a disability, and that of this group, 30,000
had mental disabilities. Some western researchers dismiss the
validity of these statistics. End Note.) There is little awareness
that special education schools exist, the Fulbright scholar said.
In the countryside, even families who have a disabled child and know
about the special education available in Ulaanbaatar may be unable
to send their child to the capital, because the cost of living there
is substantially higher.

CONDITIONS IN COUNTRYSIDE ARE GRIM
--------------


8. (SBU) In the countryside, the situation for disabled children is
considerably bleaker. Able-bodied children from nomadic families
often live at local school dormitories, many of which suffer from
neglect; life is difficult there for those without disabilities, but
for youngsters with disabilities, harsh conditions present often
insurmountable obstacles. A Mercy Corps rep, estimates that of
Mongolia's 365 counties, between five and ten have schools that are
accessible to the disabled. He noted that some schools are
configured to enable heavy cooking supplies to be delivered to the
back kitchen, but lack front-entrance wheelchair access. According
to the Fulbright scholar, who previously served as a Peace Corps
Volunteer in eastern Mongolia, most teachers lack training for
special-needs children and face difficulties in incorporating such
students into a standardized classroom. Further hindering the
learning process is a severe lack of specialized learning materials,
such as Braille textbooks.

INDIVIDUAL SUFFERING
--------------


9. (SBU) A disabled person provided a profile of his experience. He
suffers from arthrogryposis, a rare congenital disease that afflicts
the joints. He spoke about his experiences as a physically disabled
boy growing up in the South Gobi (but cautioned that his case is
unique, in that he was able to receive medical treatment in the
United States). He said that in his middle and junior-high-school
years, he relied on friends to carry him to and from school on their
backs. At school, he needed their help to move from one class to
another. Bathroom breaks could be humiliating. The "commuting"
service was not rendered for free; in exchange, he did his helpers'
homework. He said the only exemption he received was from physical
education classes, during which he wrote essays on sporting culture.
He said the greatest obstacle that physically disabled children in
Mongolia face is infrastructural; they simply cannot make use of
buildings, roads, restrooms and other facilities. For the
cognitively disabled, he said, the main problem is societal
attitudes that diminish the value of such individuals.

THE "INVISIBLE POPULATION"
--------------


10. (SBU) Although reliable statistics are unavailable, experts in
the field say many disabled children are kept at home, becoming part
of what the Fulbright scholar calls the "invisible population."
Shame is a motivating factor, but not the only one. There is a
powerful social stigma associated with children with disabilities.

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Several studies by western researchers have documented cases in
which mothers have been blamed for giving birth to a disabled child.
For this reason, some families have opted to hide the child; in
other cases, the father has abandoned the family. Because of the
shame associated with disabilities, many families refrain from
seeking public assistance. Making matters worse, parents of humble
means -- and there are many in this category -- have no choice but
to work, and are unable to be home during the day to care for the
child. Mongolian corporate giving is a new concept; few firms see
much public relations or commercial value in donating.

REHABILITATION SERVICES
--------------


11. (SBU) According to the Fulbright scholar, rehabilitation
services are concentrated in the capital; these services frequently
fail to reach disabled residents of rural communities. Families
with children who require prostheses face prohibitive expenses; it
does not help matters that, as children grow, they require new
equipment. The GOM provides wheelchairs to those who need them, but
supply falls drastically short of demand. Since 1999, the GOM has
operated a National Rehabilitation and Vocational Training Center;
disabled students are among the 120 and 200 people who undergo
training each year in tailoring, carpentry, secretarial skills and
baking. Although this training ends up distancing some disabled
children further from the regular education model, many NGOs
enthusiastically support vocational schooling, which they see as
providing disabled youth with a crucial skill set for survival.
Other rehab services are provided by such groups as the Mongolian
Association of Blind People (which also provides financial support
and employment assistance); Takhilt, which assists those with spine
and back injuries; and Ninjin, a group that runs a prosthesis
factory.

A SPORTING CHANCE
--------------


12. (SBU) New regulations stipulate that at least 10 percent of all
sports-education facilities and gyms must be equipped for the
disabled. However, advocates for the disabled say they have little
faith that this requirement will be enforced in any meaningful way.
On the international sports front, Mongolia will reportedly field a
Paralympics team this year, for the third time since 2000. (Note:
Athletes with physical disabilities compete in the Paralympics;
those with cognitive disabilities compete in the Special Olympics.
Both are recognized by the IOC. End Note.) Mongolian athletes are
expected to compete in athletics, judo, shooting and archery.
Oyunbaatar said that previously, the GOM offered 120 million Tugruks
($103,488) to any citizen who could win an Olympic gold medal. For
Paralympic gold medalists, it offered one-tenth that amount. That
has now changed, however; the prize amounts are equal.

ELECTION CONCERNS
--------------


13. (SBU) Oyunbaatar met in January with leaders of the General
Election Commission (GEC) and identified three goals to facilitate
the disabled community's participation in the June 29 Parliamentary
elections. First, he suggested, all parties should announce their
platforms on TV with sign-language translation; second, candidate
lists should be made available in Braille; and third, disabled
candidates should be supported. (Note: In 1997, the national public
TV broadcaster began offering broadcasts in sign language. End
Note.) In reply, the GEC reported to Oyunbaatar that discussion of
such measures was "stuck" in Parliament; there was virtually no
chance the suggestions would be embraced in time for the current
election cycle. (Note: No disabled candidates have registered for
the upcoming elections. End Note.)


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COMMENT
--------------


14. (SBU) Although the shame factor, the isolation of disabled
children, infrastructural shortcomings and the lack of law
enforcement paint an ugly picture of life for disabled Mongolians,
there are hopeful signs. Internet use in Mongolia is booming, and
with it, new windows are opening for disabled people with limited
mobility. Meanwhile, Save the Children has launched a project
called "Ger Teacher," which deploys teachers on "house calls" to
educate disabled children and others who are isolated. By all
accounts, education is key, and the GOM's provision of allowances to
schools that admit disabled children is a step in the right
direction. But for disabled Mongolians to take their full place in
society, the Mongolian people will need to rethink their stereotypes
and biases of those with disabilities. END COMMENT.
MINTON