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Antoni Tsaputra: Fighting for Indonesia's disabled
(Courtesy of Antoni Tsaputra)However, the 38 year old, born in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, has not let a wheelchair slow him down â or end his dreams
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(Courtesy of Antoni Tsaputra) (Courtesy of Antoni Tsaputra)
(Courtesy of Antoni Tsaputra)
However, the 38 year old, born in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, has not let a wheelchair slow him down ' or end his dreams.
He's been to Australia, where he studied journalism and communications on a scholarship ' and he's come back to Indonesia, eager to share the different perspective on the disabled that he's seen Down Under.
Antoni works at the Social Affairs Agency of the Padang municipal administration, where he designs programs for empowerment of persons with disabilities. He also runs the city's local chapter of the Indonesian Disabled People Association.
'I and my college here started the organization,' Antoni says. 'We have been doing a lot of things to advocate for people with disabilities. We have organized a lot of seminars and workshops and talked to governments about the importance of fulfilling the rights of persons with disabilities. We are very lucky because the local government has provided us with funding, Rp 15 million (US$1,316) a year. We also have managed to secure an international grant from disability rights funds.'
Things were different before the UN passed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and before the Indonesian government enacted a law to implement the convention, Antoni says. 'People with disabilities were seen as objects of charity, who desperately needed help [or were] powerless, helpless and problems for society. Sometimes they were considered as beggars and poor people.'
The problem currently facing the disabled in Indonesia did not stem from handicaps, he said, but from the non-disabled who could not or would not change their attitudes to accommodate others.
In Australia, things were different, Antoni said.
He studied for a master's degree in journalism and mass communication at Griffith University in Queensland on a scholarship from Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). The experience changed his perspective on what being handicapped meant.
'When I returned from Australia after completing my postgraduate program, I felt that my physical disability in Australia was not really a problem when I was interacting with people, enjoying myself, on public transportation ' all the activities all normal people do.'
Why? 'Accessibility is provided,' he says. Australians 'see the disabled as another type of human being, not something different'.
Studying at Griffith helped to expand his network. 'AusAID has given opportunities to attend seminars and workshops on disability rights. I made acquaintances with a lot of wonderful disability rights activists in Australia. I learned from them about a lot of activities to advocate for disability rights because there are a number of DPOs there,' he said, referring to disabled person's organizations.
Antoni was invited to Parliament House in Australia for the local launch of the World Report on Disability in 2011, alongside speakers who included Kevin Rudd and Julie Bishop.
The event called on governments to further help the 15 percent of the global population who are disabled.
Antoni, who is of Minang heritage, has been married since 2011. His life served as the inspiration for a novel, Sedikit Di Atas Cinta (A Little Bit about Love) published by Republika in 2013.
The launch of the book ' written by Sastri Yunizarti Bakry, a noted author from West Sumatra ' was attended by prominent local figures such as Padang Mayor Fauzi Bahar, among others.
'This book should not only tell a story about me,' Antoni says. 'It should just be a story about a persons with disabilities who has great perseverance in achieving his dreams to study overseas,' he says. 'What I expect from readers is to respect values of respecting people with disabilities [and help] realize their rights. As long as they give disabled people their rights, the barriers will be removed.'
Central to Antoni's belief is an expectation that the government can understand the importance of providing accessibility for people with disabilities. 'You can't build Rome in one day. Yet as long as you have commitment, keep working and stay focused on your track to fight for people with disability, Indonesia will be like Australia as it is now within one decade.'
'I'd really like to see Indonesia as an inclusive country ' a better place to live for everyone,' he adds.
'We could start from Padang, because right now I and my college at my organization have been working to encourage the Padang municipal government to pass a bylaw for the protection and fulfillment of disabled people's rights,' Antoni says.
'We people with disabilities designed the draft facilitated by local government. We know what we need. We don't want a bylaw designed by the local government and house members without involving people with disabilities.
'Most Indonesian people with disabilities have started fighting for their rights. The issue is best seen as rights-based,' Antoni says.
