Our task seemed pretty simple – go forth and see how accessible downtown Brussels is for a disabled person in a wheelchair. “How hard can that be?” asked the three rather ignorant able bodied people themselves who set out from the premises of Serve the City in the EPEE building on the afternoon of Saturday 19 Feb. With one of us in the wheelchair, one pushing and one guiding, we immediately hit our first obstacle – the stairs leading down to the ground floor of the EPEE centre. There was no way we were going to be able to get out with one of us actually in the chair. The stairs are simply to steep and there is no elevator in sight. Our next challenge arrived the minute we hit the outside pavement and we encountered the first of what seemed hundreds of cobbles in Brussels. What may have seemed quite charming and practical to the Belgian road builders of yesteryear, is today an uncomfortable and tricky nightmare for a wheelchair.
Our journey to the square was pretty uneventful and we managed to navigate the chair along the narrow pavements despite the irritating promotional boards that shop owners put on the pavements – who would have thought how much pavement space they take – and curbs, some of which are pretty steep.
Our next stop was a coffee at a tavern on the square. Getting into a café seemed pretty easy (despite a lack of access ramps) and we decided to enter La Brouette Taverna. Here we found it was the patrons who helped open the door and made space for us at a recently vacated table. We received absolutely no help at all from the staff who seemed disinterested and unfriendly. I noted that when they took our order, they hardly glanced at the person in the wheelchair and focussed all their attention on Jérémie; but then maybe this was because he speaks French … We went to check out the toilet which was totally inaccessible for disabled persons as you had to take two flights of stairs and navigate narrow corridors and doorways.
We then wanted to see how difficult (or easy) it would be to do something pretty ordinary and seemingly simple like, say for example, buying a birthday card for your beloved 72 year old mother. We did a quick tour and to our horror noted that there are very few shops which you could access without assistance. We finally found a shop which seemed accessible. As we entered, we were pleasantly surprised by the shop assistant who immediately opened the second half of the door so we had easier access and gave us a warm smile. The shop was relatively spacious and we had space and time to carefully select a special card. What was interesting to note was how absorbed people are and tend to mind their own business – it was only when we asked them to move so we could get nearer to the cards that they quickly reacted.
Ok, we said, so we could not use the bathroom in the tavern, lets see if there is a public toilet we could use. We are happy to report that there was a well signed toilet in a nearby gallery where, for 50c, you could have a wheelchair friendly pee.
Then we went to Brussels Central Station to check out how easy it would be to catch a train. Thanks to the recent renovations the city has done, access to the building was really easy. There are clearly marked wheelchair signs and buying a ticket would be a breeze at their wheelchair allocated ticket booth. When we arrived, we noted a number of policemen standing around so we stopped about 2 metres from them and pretended we did not know where to go. Not one of the six offered to help; in fact they did not even acknowledge our existence!
Time was running out so we started the journey back to the centre. As it started to lightly rain, we took the easy way home and had a pretty uneventful trip. However, we did pass a few museums and noted that wheelchair ridden art lovers are better to opt for a virtual experience as a physical one would be a challenge – the number of stairs and inaccessible entrances were appalling to say the least.
Being an able bodied person in a wheelchair practically speaking was a life changing experience. I for one will never look at a shop or tavern doorway in quite the same way again. What struck us the most was how able bodied people respond to you. This for was the hardest part. People choose not to notice you. There is an occasional smile, a sympathetic look and even an attempt at an offer to help but people generally do not get involved. Driven by guilt, relief, guilt from relief or a simple ignorance, people clearly do not want to get involved. This is so sad as even something as small as opening a door, or giving a helping push over a particularly steep curb, makes such a large difference to the person in the wheelchair.
On the up side, window shopping in a wheelchair is way more fun as you actually get to see what is in the shops by being at a lower level to those walking.
Our conclusion …. Catch a wake up Brussels; disabled people in wheelchairs also have a life!
