'Will the World Social Forum listen?'

The opening session of the World Social Forum on Friday witnessed something unusual: a protest against those who protest.

As an eminent panel that included the likes of Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, actress and ex-member of the Rajya Sabha Shabana Azmi and novelist Arundhati Roy talked about the Iraq war, gender issues and American imperialism, a motley group of people shouted: "WSF shame, shame".

They were physically challenged people who had come to attend the WSF in order to raise issues concerning them.

"WSF is not accessible to us," T S Giri, a 53-year-old man who was struck with muscular dystrophy when he was 11 months old, told rediff.com

"There is no barrier-free environment here," Giri, based at Kharagpur, West Bengal, said.

"Disability is a minority," Meenu Bhambhani, afflicted with polio, said. "Here all minority groups have come, but has any attention been paid to disability? And we talk about sensitivity?

"We say politicians and bureaucrats don't listen. Does this social sector hear?"

Also Read Go to World Social Forum coverage page

"Our disappointment is at two levels," said Javed Abidi, their leader and head of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People.

"First is at the programme level. I would like to say that the earlier social forums did not even have disability on the agenda. We really pushed hard for it. The National Disability Network and all organisations associated with it really pushed hard for it. We said if you are coming to India and if you are having the World Social Forum in Bombay, then you can't have it without disability on the agenda."

He said they were given all kind of assurances. "We were in touch with the top people of the WSF. And we were assured that they had noted our concerns and disability would be given its due share. But what we find is that disability is not there on the agenda of the plenary.

"What is worse is that they have given us a venue that is extremely shoddy and has a capacity of just 200 people.

"The venue is near a dump; there are holes in the ground; there have made a very shoddy ramp, where my wheelchair cannot go. It is the pits."

Shortly, a WSF official, W R Varadarajan, came and suggested a formula: a statement expressing regret to be read out at the end of the plenary.

But Abidi rejected that. "That would be like an easy face-saving formula."

Varadarajan also suggested that a bigger and better venue could be organised, but Abidi dismissed that idea also. "What are they expressing regrets about? Why can't they allow a speaker [from one of us] on the plenary?"

But Varadarajan said that would not be possible as the international council of the WSF had decided these things. "If we take a decision to allow them to speak at the plenary, then this issue will be debated till the next WSF. They will say Indians were trying to impose their agenda," he told rediff.com

"They will say just because we have asked them to host this thing they are dictating terms and are interfering with our decisions," he added.

"It is amazing that the World Social Forum is being bureaucratic," Abidi said. "By making an exception and allowing someone from us to speak at the plenary they would be setting an example. If a wrong has been committed, can't it be set right?"

Finally a statement was read out at the end of the plenary.

But that was not enough to pacify Abidi and his group, who held a small candlelight vigil.

Abidi said the organisers had invited them on Saturday to discuss the issue, and that they would take a decision on whether to stay or leave only after that.