Stefanos Kasselakis met and discussed with Marina Triantafyllidis, philologist and visually impaired person today, International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The president of SYRIZA PS discussed with her the problems faced by people with disabilities in the whole range of their daily lives, underlining the necessity of accessibility to everything and stressing the priority of SYRIZA PS in this direction.

In a post on social media, Mr. Kasselakis states:

“Today, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, there are two ways: For a politician to speak “outside the dance”. Or listen. I met Marina Triantafyllidis, philologist, visually impaired person. I believe that if you watch excerpts from her narration, you will feel as I did. The need to truly become Europe, to offer accessibility to everything, support, education, work, a society for all. From our side, we will not think of a single euro so that people with disabilities can have independent, equal lives. Otherwise, an economy for the few makes no sense.”

The president of SYRIZA PS accompanies his post with a video that includes excerpts from the discussion they had. “Can you be happy in Greece?”, asks Mrs. Triantafyllidis, who points out that “there are many issues that need changes to be able to say that a person with a disability can live with dignity in Greece”. Underscoring the issue of accessibility, she points out that you don’t see people in wheelchairs moving outside as the sidewalks are made and adds that there have been times when she has fallen and been hit. Mr. Kasselakis asked her if she has been a victim of discrimination when trying to find a job, and she replied that when she was looking for a job, she saw very clearly that there is prejudice. “I’ve experienced things that have disappointed me to a huge extent and there were moments that brought me to my knees but that didn’t make me give up despite the disappointment,” he stressed.

He also pointed out that when you find a job, this implies a reduction in the welfare allowance. “There are a lot of people out there who are with you and stand by you, not because they recognize a disability but because they love our fellow man, the uniqueness of each one of us,” said Mr. Kasselakis.