[nfbwatlk] FW: [List] Deaf people band from taking flight

Sun Sep 25 23:43:39 UTC 2011

-----Original Message-----
From: list-bounces at cfb.ca [mailto:list-bounces at cfb.ca] On Behalf Of
Elizabeth Lalonde
Sent: Sunday, September 25, 2011 4:25 PM
To: Elizabeth Lalonde; list at cfb.ca
Cc: Erin Ford; Stephanie Mündel-Möhr
Subject: Re: [List] Deaf people band from taking flight

Following is a post from someone and my response to it regarding this
airline issue.
I think this is an illustrative issue regarding the topic of discrimination
and human rights.
One worth discussing.
  So I am pasting the discussion below.
---
The first post is from another  person.
Below this person's comments are my own comments.
------
"While this is in fact a terrible situation, and while I truly feel for all
the people affected by it, I wonder how discriminating this really was. Yes,
all these people were stopped from getting on the flight. yes, this is a
terrible thing. But while it may in fact be discrimination, perhaps the
airline really did feel such a high number of (what they considered disabled
people) in one place may cause a concern if, for instance there were to be a
major technical difficulty and the plane had to be evacuated. I think this
was an incredibly huge miscommunication, and I definitely believe the
airline has some very serious explaining to do - what are these
aformentioned safety concerns? But I wonder if they meant it to be
discrimination. I think it's very easy to throw the D word around,
especially when it's against people like us or someone we know. But I
sincerely wonder how often discrimination is the reality.

-

Elizabeth's response

Response

I agree, we should not fling around the word "discrimination" too freely. It
is true that the airline probably did not mean to be deliberately
discriminatory. 
The problem occurs when someone's well-meaning ignorance trounces upon
someone else's human rights.

There is a famous quote that says

"I don't want my road to hell to be paved by someone else's good
intentions."

Anyway, I agree it is always best to deal with an issue calmly and with
respect. 
There are occasions though, when we must stick up for our rights, and think
of those who will come after us and who may experience the same poor
treatment.

 It can often be a fine balance. Can't it?

Warmest thoughts

Elizabeth

----- Original Message -----
From: "Elizabeth Lalonde" <elizabeth.lalonde at shaw.ca>
To: <list at cfb.ca>
Cc: "Erin Ford" <erinford at fido.blackberry.com>; "Stephanie M|ndel-Mvhr" 
<sled2009 at gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, September 25, 2011 1:10 PM
Subject: [List] Deaf people band from taking flight

This kind of thing could easily happen to a group of blind people too.
Terrible.
-

September 25, 2011

Home > National

Anger as deaf people banned from taking flight

Published: 22 Sep 2011 10:44 GMT+1

Updated: 25 Sep 2011 18:45 GMT+1

A group of 22 holiday makers with hearing difficulties who were prevented
from
boarding an Air Miditerranie flight for "security reasons" will have their
case
reviewed by the state authority for defending human rights.

The group, including 18 deaf people, three with hearing difficulties and one
person without hearing problems, had already checked in their bags for the
flight from Marseille to Bodrum in Turkey when they were told they would not
be
allowed to board.

"Just as we were about to board, someone from the company told us we
couldn't,"
Fabienne Guiramand, the daughter of one of the women in the group, told AFP.

"We tried to explain to the person who was liaising between us and the pilot
that we were all perfectly self-reliant," said another passenger. "Apart
from,
perhaps, two people who can't speak, everyone was capable of talking and
making
themselves understood. Several were wearing hearing aids."

The airline said on Wednesday that they "regretted" the incident but there
were
important security reasons.

"In the procedures of Air Miditerranie, the deaf are considered persons of
reduced mobility," said a spokeswoman, adding that in such a case the
airline
would normally assign a member of cabin crew for every five people.

The company denied it had discriminated against the group, but admitted that
it
had made "communication errors" and that the pilot should have spoken
directly
to the group.

"It was unfortunate on our part," said the spokeswoman. "They felt they were
being excluded because of their disability when, in fact, it was just for
security reasons."

"There was no reason to stop them boarding," said Cidric Lorant, president
of an
association for the hard of hearing, Unisda (Union Nationale pour
l'Insertion
Sociale du Dificient Auditif).

"These are people with hearing difficulties but they are able to understand
security guidelines and travel autonomously," he told AFP.

Solidarity minister Roselyne Bachelot took up the case on Wednesday,
referring
the matter to the state-appointed ombudsman for human rights, the Difenseur
des
droits.

"On an airplane, a deaf person is in the same situation as someone who
doesn't
speak the language of the cabin crew," she said on Wednesday. "Should we
only
allow people who speak English or French to board?"

The Difenseur des droits confirmed on Wednesday evening in a statement that
they
were examining the case and would "hold hearings if required."

twitter.com/matthew_warren

Matthew Warren (news at thelocal.fr)

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