Blind people stage three-day protest in Morocco over jobs

From Magharebia in Morocco:

Morocco successfully averted a tragic conclusion to a three-day demonstration last week outside the offices of the Ministry of the Family, Solidarity and Social Development. Dozens of blind or visually-impaired protesters demanded "exclusive priority" for civil service jobs, with respect to their particular needs.

They finally left the ministry headquarters last Thursday (January 8th) on the condition they be received the following Monday by Minister Nouzha Skalli. The minister had refused to send in security forces to intervene, preferring to focus on dialogue to convince the protesters to leave. The crisis began January 5th, when more than 80 jobless citizens, many of them with impaired vision, stormed the ministry headquarters in the Agdal neighbourhood of Rabat.

Protesters managed to force the door to the fourth-floor terrace, where they squatted and made threats against the ministry if Skalli refused to speak to them in person.

"We want the minister to have a dialogue with both groups to find a solution," said Abdnaji Ghamouza, representing the group of blind protesters. "Our goal is to be integrated into the workforce."

For her part, the minister affirmed her readiness to receive the protesters once the conditions for a dialogue were guaranteed, foremost of which was the safe evacuation of the building. The tense situation endured for three days and several rounds of negotiations.

The minister was even obliged to work in an office open to the sky.

"We want to play our part in the civil service. We won't accept empty promises," said Ghamouza. "Sight-impaired people need concrete action to be taken."

The government is working to achieve social integration for this category of persons, Nouzha Skalli said on Thursday after the protesters had departed peacefully. Several ministries are already considering ways of identifying jobs suitable for disabled people in line with their experience and the ability of the Moroccan authorities to accommodate them.

"I am willing to work unstintingly, with the support of the government and the goodwill of everyone concerned, to help the disabled – and the sight-impaired and blind in particular – to find suitable employment," the minister affirmed.

In May of last year, she wrote to the prime minister on the subject. Within days, Abbas El Fassi issued a circular calling on government departments to consider job applications from unemployed vision-impaired and blind persons in an "exceptional, swift and sympathetic" manner.

Under a 1980 law, the blind and visually-impaired are entitled to education and vocational training to help prepare them for suitable jobs. They are also given prioritised recruitment for certain posts within the public and private sectors.

"Many efforts have been made since then to aid the economic and social integration of people with special needs," Skalli explained. "The national action plan drawn up to this end has identified a number of priority areas, ranging from raising awareness and tackling prejudice to professional integration by way of education and legislation."

So far, 60 jobs have been set aside for blind and visually-employed workers at the Ministry of National Education, Higher Education, Scientific Research and Training. Thirty more were created at the Ministry of Justice, 16 at the Ministry of Health, 10 each at the Ministry of Equipment and Transport and the Ministry of the Interior, 9 at the Ministry of the Family, Solidarity and Social Development and 2 at the Ministry of Culture.