Jamaica must rebuild with accommodations for persons with disabilities - Morris

 

As Jamaica continues to recover from the impact of Hurricane Melissa, Opposition Senator Professor Floyd Morris is calling for the government and key stakeholders to ensure that persons with disabilities are not left behind in the national recovery effort. 

 

Senator Morris warned that in past disasters, the disabled community has often been overlooked and said this moment presents a critical opportunity to correct that pattern. 

 

He stressed that disability inclusion is not charity, but a fundamental human right. 

 

He also urged lawmakers to push for lasting policy changes and challenged corporate Jamaica to demonstrate that inclusion is being built into the country's post-hurricane recovery in a real and meaningful way.

 

"It can be done and it must be done if we are talking about rebuilding an accessible Jamaica for all. The schools that are required to be reconstructed must be built with accessible features for children with disabilities. The health facilities that are going to be reconstructed must be built with accessible features for persons with disabilities. Those houses that will be built, whether they are container homes or concrete homes, must make accessible provisions for persons with disabilities. It cannot be that we are going to be reconstructing our society and continue the isolation and exclusion of persons with disabilities," he charged.

 

Making an impassioned plea, Senator Morris, who is visually impaired, called on the Jamaica Public Service Company to ensure careful placement of light posts during the restoration process. 

 

"I am looking forward to JPSCo when they are installing their light poles across this country, they must stop installing it in the middle of the sidewalk that impede and restrict wheelchair access and cause all sorts of problems for blind persons across this country. They need to take those light poles to the edges of private property, where it borders private property and government road, not in the middle of sidewalks," he urged.

 

Senator Morris was speaking at the recent International Day for Persons with Disabilities 2025 public forum.