PHNOM PENH: Representing the Minister of Social Affairs, Secretary of State Em Chan Makara met with 130 persons with disabilities who make their living singing on the streets of Phnom Penh to discuss their plight and make suggestions on how to change their livelihoods.
Additional dignitaries and relevant departments attended the November 2 meeting to hear about the challenges faced by street singers and to find solutions on how to find them alternative work that provides more dignity to the individual and the nation.
Sec. of State Em Chan Makara, who is also head of the Disability Action Council, promised the crowd that the Ministry of Social Affairs would earnestly hear their requests, consider them and take appropriate action to better meet their needs.
He stressed the importance of Cambodia’s adoption of the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in addition to Cambodia’s own National Strategic Plan on Disability, which aim to improve the livelihoods of persons with disabilities, eliminate discrimination, and provide full access to society.
The Sec. of State told the crowd that while people have a right to perform and sell things on the streets, the Royal Government is concerned about public health, dignity for the disabled and the threat to national honor posed by what is perceived as “begging.”
"As you know, our country has a volatile climate. Sometimes it’s very hot, rainy, windy, or stormy, which can seriously affect your health. There is a lot of traffic on public roads and at traffic lights and sometimes there is negligent driving, which can endanger lives and cause injuries or other disabilities," he said.
"People surmise that your actions are begging. They are not activities that promote your rights and dignity, which is contrary to the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the national law. Your actions in public places do not help raise the profile of our country, but it destroys public order and affects our tourism sector," he said.
Director of Phnom Penh’s Department of Social Affairs Mom Chandany said that persons with disabilities who are residents of Phnom Penh can return to their home district and apply for a Disability ID card through a program launched earlier this week.
People from the crowd made suggestions on action the Ministry can take to help them, including facilitating their access to singing and playing music at weddings and other events. They also asked for the Ministry to examine the possibility for them to join the state framework. More importantly, they asked that the government allow them to continue performing on the streets so that they have income.
Undersecretary of State for the Ministry of Social Affairs, Chap To, encouraged the street performers to find a suitable job by taking out loans from banks or macro-financial institutions.
Em Chan Makara will review and study any proposals to help persons with disabilities lead a better life, while also encouraging the impoverished performers to obtain interest-free loans from Chamnan Microfinance to better their livelihoods.
He added that the Royal Government has a policy to provide support to persons with disabilities, but that cannot help enough. He said he would review the standards of support in accordance with current economic needs.
He also promised to prepare strategies with the relevant ministries and institutions to provide professional skills training to persons with disabilities to help improve their situation.
