Sam Dean, an advocate and aspirant for Montserrado County’s district #8, wish to benefit from his Constitutional rights and universal rights like any other Liberian or individual on planet Earth, but his rights implementation faces huge challenges in Liberia.
Physically challenged means any individual with a physical disability or handicap, or a person who has physical disabilities and infirmities.
Sam is no exception. But in Liberia, people with physical disability and infirmities face discrimination, stigmatization, and so on, which Dean is entrapped with.
In Liberia and elsewhere, their disability becomes their nickname or is attached to their profession and position for society’s easy recognition.
For instance, their full name is replaced with, “a blind man” or “a blind woman”; “a deaf man” or “a deaf woman”; “a crippled pastor” or “a crippled driver”; “a blind representative-aspirant”, “a handicapped community chairman”, “a blind lawyer”, and so on.
They are often overlooked by the society and the government—to the point that their rights are unequal to those of physically fit citizens.
But Sam is tired with the marginalization and has threatened a law suit against the Guarantee Trust Bank (GT) and the Liberia government.
He is a client of the GT Bank on 13th Street, and his request for wheelchair ramp construction and loan were denied by the bank’s authorities, according to him.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I invited you here today to inform you of the critical and detrimental situation that I have been subjugated to by the Guarantee Trust Bank of Liberia (GT) for no reasons, other than the relevant fact that I am a person with disability of the first magnitude and confined to this wheelchair for life,” Dean told a bevy of journalists during a press conference.
Few years ago, he said he asked the GT Bank to grant him access to the ATM at their Sinkor branch by building a wheelchair ramp for him to have reasonable accommodation to access his finances.
“This request came in the wake of my ATM card getting stuck in the ATM on one weekend by their security,” he lamented.
As a result of the mentioned embarrassing situation, he and his family had to starve for that weekend.
That was not the only ordeal: he had to give his ATM card to strangers to cash his money because the security deliberately refused to help, and there was no one to crawl him up the stairs with his wheelchair.
Following these experiences, he filed an official complaint to the bank and they decided to step in and build a ramp, but later destroyed it, citing that “they did so on the instructions of the Lord Mayor of the Monrovia City Corporation”.
He quoted the bank authorities as saying “the MCC Mayor said that they needed that space to park cars and generate revenue for the city”.
“I was compelled to call the Mayor to ascertain from him whether their assertions were true or if they too were lying. But he answered in the negative, that “at no point in time had he ever instructed the GT Bank not to install a ramp for citizens with special needs, of whom I am chief”, he explained. He said Major Jefferson Koijee negated the bank’s claim.
“Another wave of discriminatory streak emerged when this same entity refused to grant me a loan. Having passed over US$50,000 through this institution over the years, I now thought it was high time I asked for a loan to complete a rehabilitation project for at-risk youths and persons with disabilities,” he continued to explain his ordeal with the bank. “When I made my application, the bank stalled at an official response, but verbally told me that ‘it was the festive season, and they did not give out loan during this time.”
Following the bank’s advice that he wait until after the festive season and reapply, he engaged it again, but was told “this is an election year and the government could change anytime and I could lose my job”, he said, suggesting that he wait until after elections.
But the bank’s excuses were invalid because Dean is a civil servant and government is continuity—one just does not easily loose his or her job at the change of government.
Still desperate for the loan, he contacted Toe, who is the Risk Manager, but Toe dashed his hope finally, saying, “The GT Bank does not give loan to persons with disability as they are less likely to pay it back.”
“I am qualified for the loan. My pay grade exceeds the threshold and I even have collateral to match, but because I am a disabled of the first magnitude the bank decided to discriminate against me,” the advocate said.
The Constitution of Liberia, Article 20 (a) provides for, amongst others, that justice shall be done without sale or denial.
The oppression contravenes Article 9 of the United Nations Convention on the Right and Dignity of Persons with Disability (UNCRPD), which implies that “accessibilities are preconditions for persons with disabilities (PWDs) to live independently, participate fully and equally in society, and have unrestricted enjoyment of all their human right and fundamental freedom on equal basis with others”.
The Liberian government is accused of supporting discrimination against people with disability because the 2019’s report filed by the government to the UNCRP corroborated that persons with disability are indeed turned down for loans because of their disability.
The Constitution frowns on institutional discrimination. However, there is nowhere in the report where the government holds a position to curtail or, better still, eliminate it through prosecution.
“As we all know, nobody asked to be disabled the same way, nobody asks to be Nigerian or Liberian. It just happens,” Dean said. “Hence, it is my fervent prayer as an advocate that Liberia will actualize the International Declaration on Human Rights, the CRPD, criminalize discrimination, marginalization and stigmatization of persons with disability and treat all of its citizens as equals.”
However, he has vowed to sue the bank and the Government of Liberia (GOL) for stigmatizing and marginalization people with disability.
“Disability is the only club no one needs membership to join. So, let us be kind to one another exercising love and tender mercies,” he added.
The bank’s public relations, Matthias, confirmed the construction and the subsequent destruction of the wheelchair ramp, arguing that it was the Monrovia City Mayor’s mandate.
He stated that the bank does not discriminate, but has a set benchmark for loan qualifications, but he refused to reveal the standard for loan qualification, and walked from the sight of the reporter unceremoniously.