Words by words / The conversation about the BTS Accessibility Issue with the Deputy Bangkok Governor, Mr. Amorn K. (TH / EN)

The following story was a conversation between me and the Deputy Bangkok Governor, Mr. Amorn Kitchawengkul.
We’re been talking about the BTS Accessibility and human rights issue that,
since last year, the Supreme Court ordered Bangkok Metro Administration and BTS,
to complete enable full accessibility on BTS sky train system.

Let me break out and post it here for easier to read and find out.
Thanks to Teacher Awn for the great translation, we will change the world together.
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Mr. Amorn:
Promoting an equal human right is one of our priorities.
The City of Bangkok even agreed to provide elevators for BTS train lines before got the order from the Supreme Court.
The delaying of making a progress is mainly from getting permissions to build those elevators in front of shops and on top of underground infrastructures.
Hopefully, we are able to install more elevators in every train lines soon.

Saba:
Thank you, for your update.

We have been asking for the equal human right in the past 30 years.
We have never asked for any impossible achievement,
it’s only common thing but people just ignore and forget about it.

Building roads, overpasses and sky trains for the use of the communities are good.
But building them “inaccessible” for people with disabilities, and seem common in our society is unacceptable.
This issue has left unspoken for many centuries.

In theory, every human being is having the same rights.
But for people with disabilities, our rights naturally decreased by physical impairment.

As I said, we didn’t ask for any impossible achievement.
We have only asked assistance for being more mobility.
Having physical impairment, having less opportunities and getting not enough education.
Can you imagine how lives of people with disabilities could be?
48 years of being disabled, I have tried living my life in unequal living conditions.
It sad but true, the fact is that I don’t’ even have a place to urinate at work.

As a disabled man with less opportunities, I want to be a positive force to make this positive change happens.
Yesterday, myself as a chief of railway system following team from the Transportation For All group.
We had a meeting with the transportation minister.
He informed us that the prime minister of Thailand had a strong policy to support the equal human right project.

All the promises delivered are still wind in the air.
The only way to ensure that we are on the same page is, they need to get the project done as soon as possible.

Amorn:
You are welcome. I’m also anxious when the project got delayed.
The mayor of the city of Bangkok is soon going to have a good news to share for the 30 of accessible taxi services in Bangkok city.

Saba:
I would like to add some more information for following and working on the project.

1. This VDO clip was aired on February 3rd, 2015.
There was 5% progression of the project you informed us, which is no improvement at all on these days.

2. On December 7th, 2015, I did a survey on every BTS strain stations.
I found out that 21 of them haven’t provided elevators for the passengers.
There only 16 of them started installing the elevators, but there was no more 5% work being done.

3. Please be reminded that in each BTS train station needs 2 elevators.
One from the footpath to the tickets office and from the tickets office to the platforms.

4. Having a single access to elevators isn’t applied for all BTS train stations.
In different BTS train stations there are various inconvenience ways to access to the stations for people with disabilities and elders.
We need a well-planed survey and get it done by our representative from each area of disabilities.

5. Every one of us knows that it won’t take much space to install an elevator.

6. We do realize that it isn’t easy to relocate those infrastructures to install an elevator,
but there should be some progression of the project in the past year.

7. The City of Bangkok has ability and various possibility ways to deal with those complaints.

8. BTS has as equal responsibility as the City of Bangkok to get the project done.
When we complained to them, they passed to the City of Bangkok.
They are planning to expand the train services and providing more carriages.
Honestly, I don’t think what they are doing is appropriate.

The information we provided for you came from the discussion between myself as a chief of railway system following team of Transportation For All group and people with disabilities.
I already pass this information to the transportation minister on our previous meeting.

Regards,
Accessibility Is Freedom.

Mr. Amorn:
I’m fully acknowledged, thanks so much. รับทราบและขอบคุณครับ
Tomorrow morning, I’m going to check on the improvement in each BTS train station.
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Post Log:
– Michael Yon : https://www.facebook.com/MichaelYonFanPage/photos/a.235978145664.135781.207730000664/10153396291515665/?type=3&theater