Reporter Juvinal Cabral (Citijen Journalist)
Timor-Leste’s law does not limit anybody to exercise their rights as citizens, including voting in the election, but the implementation of the law continous to face challenges, especially for people with pshycosocial disability. The challenge that pshyco-social disabled persons encounter is not just about participating in the election but also in everyday life. They are often discriminated and treat unjustly in public also in their own family. Exclusion, separation, stigma and not allowing access to public services are the suffering that people with pshycosocial disability face everyday.
Universality and equality is clearly guaranted in the Timor-Leste’s Constitution. Article 21 of the Constitution espesifically mentioned the right of people with disability. It says that people with disability have the same rights likes other citizens. However, in practice discrimination continues to take place against people with disability, particularly those with psychosocial disability. Many of them have no electoral card therefore they cannot exercise their rights as citizens.
In an interview with a pasient that recovered from psychosocial illness, Apolinario Soares de Deus, from Municipal of Ermera, said that he got mental illness in 2004 untill today. He said that even he is recovering and still on medication. His illness often re-emerge when his family and society shows disrespectful treatment. He tried to exercise his rights in the election but he faced discrimination in the process of getting electoral card.
“I tried to go get my electoral card so that I can vote in the election. In that place they told me that people who have the face like you no need electoral card and no need to vote. I heard that clearly and I don’t react to it because if I react things will get worse”, Apolinario expressed.
Upon his recovery Apolinario went to People Disability Association (ADTL) asking to do volunteer work. He got the change, and learns a lot from ADTL. He also learn the correct terminology for people with disabilities, how to approach people with pshychosocial disability and about the rights of people with disability.
“I would like to ask my family and public to please stop discrimination against me and people like me. Also I would like to ask government to treat all human being equally and provide assistance in time of voting”, Apolinario added.
Similar story told by a recovered mental illness pasient Maria auxiliadora Soares Pinto (age 27), from Baucau Municipality. In terms of voting in election during her sickness, her mother is the one helping out in taking her to the voting station. After she recovered she went by her self to vote.
“In 2017 election I was lucky because I have a mother who have loving heart to help me and has the the capacity to take me to the voting station to vote. In 2018 election, I recovered already from my illness therefore I went to vote by my self”, Maria auxiliadora reflected upon her voting time and her sickness in the office of PRADET, Manleu.
Even she recovered she still continue facing discriminatory treatment by family and public. “They call me crazy”, Maria said. She was shocked and feeling down with that calling. But she learned already on how to handle such public attitude.
She appeals to the government to prepare better condition for people with disability to vote in the election and to increase their participation.
“For us, psychosocial disable community, we need electoral card so that we can vote by ourself. For our friends with physical disability they need ramp and accessible voting cabin. For those that visually despair they need brail voting paper. Our vote is secret, only the one that vote knows whom or what they are voting for”, said Maria in her appeal.
She asked the public for not using indignified words for calling people with disability. If public don’t know what words to use they should come and learn with people with disability.
People with psychosocial disability have shown that they are keen to participate in the election. Their keenness was not met with good support from their own family, community and also public. A Team Leader of Mental Ilness Support Services (PAMM), Nicolau Vicente Soares stated that participation of people with disability in really low because they only get the support from their families.
Society in general are not value the importance of election’s participation by the psychosocial disable citizens. Electoral staff is not put much importance to their participation. Hence there is also challenge when people with psychosocial disability lives far away from their family. These are barriers that psychosocial disable citizens are facing when it comes to election. Nicolau has real data from their work in regards to election participation by psychosocial disable citizens.
“Our data is showing that in the last election, May 2018, those that come to get our services at the Center for Psychosocial Rehabilitation, which is about 21 of them, only 7 of them vote in the election, 3 women and 4 men. All seven of them are recovered from their psychosocial illness”, Nicolau explained.
Nicolau is also explained that not all families of psychosocial disable citizens are eager to take their depedants to the voting stations because it is risky for the public but they may also just don’t know how to support the pasient.
“But the problem that psychosocial disable citizens’ facing is not just about participate in the election, they are also being ignored in terms of getting government subsidy support”, Said Nicolau.
According to PRADET the total population of people with disability is 38 thousand and from this data 3% of them are those with psychosocial disability and they lives across all municipality.
“We are targeting 7 municipalities, that is Aileu, Ainaro, Dili, Atauro, Liquisa, Baucau and Same. We registered most of them but we are not closing our door for people from other municipalities. We do provide our services to those who refered to us and need our assistance”, Nicolau added.
PRADET has also doing socialization work with local authority, police, and youth to have better understanding about psychosocial disability. This is done so with the objective to reduce stigma and discrimination. PRADET has also provided recommendation letter to the recovered mental illness patients so that they can get their electoral card from STAE.
The Association of People with Disability (ADTL) also echoes concerns over the participation of people with disability in election. The Director of the Association, Cesario da Silva observed that majority of people with disability participated in the election because they are ancouraged by local authorities and political parties. In some cases people with disability themselves were making effort to exercise their right.
“In Presidential Election’s law, people with aggressive psychosocial disability are not allowed to participate in the election. But in the general election, the law allowed those that recovered from their illness could exercise their rights, including those that in ongoing treatment. However they may need to be accompanied by their family member”, said Cesario.
In terms of number of people with disability that participated in the election, Cesario cannot provide exact data. He knows that total number of people with disability is about 38 thousands and within this number 25 thousand of them are in productive age group. But he cannot really tell how many people with disability are actually vote in the election and he said that the association is trying to work with Ministry of Justice and STAE to provide electoral card.
“ADTL works with Ministry of Justice and STAE to facilitate the provision of electoral cards to the people with disability. This is not as easy as it said because the process takes a long time and people who suffered psychosocial disability since they were children may not have all the necessary document”, Cesario explained further.
ADTL have asked the Ministry and STAE to consider that condition. Also requested their support to the people with disability so that they can also execise their rights like others. ADTL have also communicated and encourage family of people with psychosocial disable persons to support them to organize their electoral card.
The Director of the Election Administrative body, STAE, Acilino Manuel Branco stated that the electoral process is an inclusive process. STAE provide equal opportunity to all citizens, including those with disability.
“I have noted that during election people with disability always accompanied by their family members to come to the voting station. Our law does not limit anybody’s participation; instead our law provides ways to the people with disability to choose somebody that he or she trusted to help with the voting. Even staff of STAE can provide assistance if needed and trusted by the people with disability. For those with agresive psychosocial illness they may vote only when they recuperated”, Acilino explained.
It is already in the STAE’s plan to widening opportunity for people with disability to participate in the election. STAE’s data on the number of people with disability need to be improved, including their geographical location. It is also in the plan already that STAE will work closely with people with disability organizations, such as ADTL, RHTO, and local leaders to provide information, data and also to do electoral education.