Prejudices and barriers still exist, and the Municipality of Bar and the Organization of the Blind for Bar and Ulcinj are a positive example of cooperation aimed at improving the quality of life of citizens with vision loss or impairment, i.e. people with disabilities. A lot has been done, but there is room for progress, which they will work on together in the coming period.
This is the conclusion of today's "Open Parliament" session, which the Bar Municipal Assembly (MA) organized in cooperation with the Organization of the Blind for Bari and Ulcinj under the slogan "Bar - a city without prejudice and barriers", on the occasion of International White Cane Day - October 15th.
Branislav Nenezić, the head of the Bar Assembly said that the desire of today's session is to, in some way, point out all the problems that people with impaired vision and those without vision have every day in the Bar Municipality, and all the cities they visit, and to look back on everything that the Organization of the Blind for Bar and Ulcinj and the Municipality of Bar have done in the previous period.
The ninth "Open Parliament" was attended by members of the Bar Municipal Assembly and representatives of municipal secretariats and companies founded by the Municipality of Bar. Nenezić pointed out that the invitation was also sent to the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, but that department of the Government of Montenegro did not respond, nor did it respond to the letter.
White Cane Day is international and is celebrated every October 15, said Nenezić, and its focus is on blind and partially sighted people, while the white cane is their symbol. On October 6, 1964, by a joint resolution, the US Congress passed a law approving the celebration of International White Cane Day on October 15 each year. The then US President, Lyndon Johnson, signed the law a few hours after its adoption.
"The white cane has two important roles for the visually impaired - it serves as a traffic sign that warns road users of the presence of a blind person, and it helps blind people navigate independently in unfamiliar areas," explained Nenezić.
He noted that, according to the World Health Organization, there are 39 million blind people in the world, or five people per thousand inhabitants. We are all witnesses, he assessed, that the modernization of technology has significantly facilitated the functioning of people with impaired or blind vision, but in everyday life there are problems that make it difficult for them to move freely.
At the beginning of the session, the documentary film "Encounter" was shown, which talks about the life and challenges of people with impaired or lost vision. After the formal part of the session ended, in front of the local government building, Nenezić and councilor Darko Janković walked with white canes, their eyes covered, to symbolically show support and mark International White Cane Day.
Veselin Joketic, Director of the Organization of the Blind for Bar and Ulcinj, said that they gladly accepted the offer of the assembly leadership to organize this session in cooperation with them and mark this day.
"A day when we want to point out the problems these people face in their everyday lives and work, but also to give some suggestions and guidelines so that the coming period is filled with as few prejudices and barriers as possible," said Joketić, noting that they should do this not only today, but throughout the year.
Joketić has repeatedly praised the cooperation with the local administration and its bodies, claiming that they have always been attentive to them and that the doors of the Bar municipality are always open to them. He mentioned positive practices, such as the adaptation of the municipal website for persons with disabilities (PWDs), the infrastructure of local businesses and services, and continuous financial assistance through budget funds...
Ivan Pekić, Assistant Secretary of the Secretariat for Communal Affairs and Transport, presented everything that this body of the Municipality of Bar has implemented in the previous period to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities in Bar.
Some of the activities carried out include installing sound signals at traffic lights at two intersections, installing tactile paths, adjusting parking spaces, administrative procedures, round tables, meetings... The plan is to install sound signals at two more intersections with traffic lights.
Councilwoman Smiljana Vukicevic (United Montenegro) said that investing in adapting the city and services to people with visual impairments should not be perceived as a cost, but rather a contribution to equality and equity.
She suggested that the Bar library, or the municipal information service, purchase a Braille printer with built-in software for translating texts. The library should have books in Braille and audio books available, she said, and employ a professional who knows the script.
She believes that it would be useful to display a map in the lobby of the municipal building in Braille and a guide to municipal services. In addition, she stated that all municipal documents should be adapted for people with visual impairments, and that the Tourism Organization should create material that is adapted for them...
Joketić informed that the National Library and Reading Room "Ivo Vučković" in Bar already has an audio library, and that they have a Braille printer in their organization and that it is available for use by anyone who needs it.
Previously, as he stated, the Tourist Organization's brochures were made in Braille, but they will definitely contact them to have these materials updated.
Councilor Darko Pekić (The URA Movement) assessed that people with visual impairments, or PWDs, have a great will to live, which he considers inspiring, because it motivates them to fight.
He praised the work of the Organization of the Blind for Bar and Ulcinj, and said that they participate in numerous projects, and that they are active at the national and international level, so that numerous PWDs have been employed through their projects.
lamb Aljina Sabovic raised the issue of the fact that the competent authorities do not react in a timely and constructive manner in cases of taking up parking spaces intended for people with disabilities and asked why the city beach in Bar does not have access for people with disabilities.
"We have a chain link fence and a 30-centimeter walkway in the marina parking lot. We have pallets to the shore. What about the walkway to the beach," she asked.
Ivan Pekić responded that he was sorry that, for justified reasons, there were no colleagues from the Municipal Police, but that he knew that the problem she had raised was difficult to solve, and he was sure that this service was prompt in punishing vehicles parked illegally in spaces designated for people with disabilities.
On this basis, he claims, thousands of fines have been issued, and the problem the municipality faces is an insufficient number of municipal police officers and inspectors, since the law requires that there be one police officer for every five thousand residents.
He explained that the issues related to the Bar beach are within the jurisdiction of the Public Company for Coastal Zone Management, and promised that the Municipality of Bar will appeal to that company to change this.
Goran Macanović, director of the Association of the Blind of Montenegro, praised today's session and particularly highlighted the positive practice of the Municipality of Bar, which plans funds from its budget for organizations dealing with the rights of persons with disabilities, in addition to the competition for the allocation of funds for non-governmental and civil society organizations.
"The financing system is one of the important prerequisites for the activism of people with disabilities. The model that exists in Bar is a model that should be applied by other local governments. Unfortunately, Bar is alone in such an excellent financing system. The recommendation for the representatives of the city of Bar in the Union of Municipalities is to initiate and suggest your good example to other local governments," said Macanović.
Novak Raznatovic, an activist for the rights of persons with disabilities in the former Yugoslavia, said he was impressed by today's gathering, especially the fact that this topic is being discussed in the local assembly. He praised the fact that the International White Cane Day is being marked under, as he said, a symbolic and beautiful slogan.
"Unfortunately, there are still many deeply rooted and widespread prejudices among the people, and this gathering will certainly contribute to alleviating and eliminating this stigmatization," he said, adding that "in his time" he could not have expected that a local assembly would listen to their problems.
Councilor Darko Janković (Europe Now Movement) said that he was glad that the cooperation between Joketić's organization and the local administration was successful, and that he was sure that all of this could be improved and that they should work in that direction.
Secretary of the Organization of the Blind for Bar and Ulcinj, Marija Božović, expressed her satisfaction that they had gathered in large numbers to mark the International White Cane Day. She also praised and particularly emphasized the quality of the cooperation they have with the Municipality of Bar, which she said is long-standing and surrounded by mutual respect and trust.
"We are aware that barriers and prejudices always exist and that the challenges can be great, but what encourages me is that today, perhaps more than ever, this topic is being discussed and that today we are all much more empowered to talk about it out loud and to try to show with our suggestions and examples that things can and should move forward," she said.
The city of Bar was, is and will be a city without prejudice and barriers, she concluded, and a city that will make all its citizens equal, unique and dignified.
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