The Amazwi Villager

Written By Constance Rahlane

On 5 September, disabled people in Acornhoek marched on the road from Tintswalo Hospital to Plaza. In the heat, they sang songs such as Thina si lwela a malungelo yethu (We are fighting for our rights). Some used wheelchairs, while others walked with sticks, and the blind were guided by friends or family. Certain people held signs saying, “With my wheelchair, how do I get into ABSA?” Police, traffic cops and an ambulance escorted the marchers and controlled the traffic.

Protestors walked to Acornhoek’s ABSA bank. They danced and sang along the way, “Down with ABSA, down! Forward with disabled people, forward! How can we get inside the bank using wheelchairs?”

When the crowd arrived, the bank manager, Peter Mangena, was called outside. He stood and faced the protestors with a smile. His face was painted colourfully and he dressed in blue and red for National Casual Day, a day on which South African residents are challenged to wear special stickers and “dress differently” to show that they are wide awake to the needs of people around them. The theme for 2008’s Casual Day, a fundraising project benefiting persons with disabilities, was “Wake Up!” The manager, who was observing the day along with other ABSA staff, was full of smiles, observing the march. One woman in a wheelchair struggled to climb the stoop; she could not get inside the bank. Another deaf person climbed the stoop and tried to speak with the manager in sign language, but the manager didn’t understand. The manager asked him to write down his needs, but the deaf man refused. Fikile, a blind woman, went forward with a paper to be signed by the manager. She waved her hands and searched for the manager until she touched him. “Show her where to sign,” shouted the crowd. But Fikile couldn’t find where she needed to sign the bank document.

This was all part of the march. “We have the right to bank our money,” said Fikile. One protestor read a memorandum to the ABSA manager, “We raised the complaint in 2006, but the bank has not yet responded to our grievances,” said the protestor. “ABSA and Tintswalo are friends. ABSA helps disabled people in different ways. That’s why we are here. We are not here to fight.” The protestors asked the manager to give them one of his employees, who they can train in sign language. And they also complained about a lack of accessibility for people using wheelchairs, and the need for more assistance to the blind.

The manager said, “Thanks for bringing this to our attention. As bank manager we will make sure that your needs are fulfilled. I thank you for the way the march was handled.” Mr. Mangena also promised to send one of his employees to be trained in sign language, and apologized that their grievances were not answered in 2006.

At the end of the march, the protestors shook hands with the manager, and all were given a red juice bottle to quench their thirst. “ABSA is our friend. That’s why we forward complaints to it instead of other banks. We are not fighting with ABSA; we just need them to make it accessible to us,” said one of the marchers.