I wrote this letter today to The European Disability Forum:
please join me in writing your own letter to;
Tel: + 32 2 282.46.00
Address:
39-41, Rue du Commerce
Director October 12th 2007
Carlotta Besozzi
European disability forum
My name is Mosken xxx, and I am writing to you from Norway. I used to be a government lawyer in Norway, but am now disabled due to severe back problems. Because of extreme pain, I am unable to sit for more than a few minutes at a time, and am unable to walk for more than a couple of minutes, meaning that I spend my life lying down.
The Internet, however, has made it possible for me to join the world and use my skills again. Working from my bed, I have increasingly become an advocate for the disabled in Norway. The last six years I have been running an online support group for people with chronic pain .
According to the new regulation on the rights of air passengers with disabilities, it is illegal to refuse booking or boarding to a disabled person. The regulation's description of disabled people does however not seem to include passengers having sitting problems. At least this is a reasonable interpretation since the specific problems for persons with back problems are not addressed anywhere.
The EU commission seems to have overlooked that the most notable disabilities for people with back problems is a reduced ability to sit. A person with a sitting disability caused by excessive pain will be unable to sit for long periods of time, and will thus have a need to lie down.
I have personally been refused to fly because I am unable to sit for more than 5 minutes at a time. Even I am willing to pay for a bed seat on business class, so far no airlines let me travel if I am unable to sit for at least 40 minutes during take off, landing and turbulence. The airlines refuse people with sitting problems the right to travel by air on safety grounds.
Many people around the world are suffering from back problems today, and most of them have reduced ability to sit. The opportunities of air travel should be open to people suffering the disadvantage of reduced sitting ability, not only people with reduced mobility. As it is today, people with a sitting disability have no effective opportunities for air travel.
I know that The Back Pain Association in Norway would like to bring this to the attention of the EU commission. The rights of those with sitting disability seem so far to be an unrecognized disability problem in Europe.
I wonder whether the European disability forum is aware of this problem for people with reduced ability to sit? do you have any plans to include this group of disabled people in your work for awareness? And would you please inform the European commission about how people with sitting disability will be unable to fly in spite of the new regulations?
I hope to hear from you in the near future!
Kind regards,
Mosken xxxx



Mosken

jilly

