“We could have dispensed the government from this demand if it had given us compensation for disability,” the letter said.
Rabat – The National Coordination for the Blind Unemployed Graduates in Morocco has sent a letter to Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani and Minister of Solidarity Jamila El Moussali to demand direct support for the blind during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The organization also called for “transparency and equality in generalizing support for the blind and the people with special needs in general.”
“We could have dispensed the government from this demand if it had given us a grant or a compensation for the disability we emphasized on, in numerous demand files,” the organization said.
“The current situation [has put us] between the hammer of the painful reality, the anvil of poverty and fragility, and being among the triangle of terror,” the letter continued, referring to COVID-19, poverty, and a lack of support.
The community highlighted in the letter the “long battle” they have faced while “delivering the true image of their struggle in obtaining human dignity and social justice.”
The organization described the general situation of the unemployed blind community as “tragic” and “deteriorating” as they stopped practicing their daily activities due to the state of emergency.
The group indicated that very few individuals with special needs who have a Medical Assistance card (RAMED), along with non-RAMED holders, have benefited from government support so far.
Stipends for RAMED holders began benefiting spouses of deceased beneficiaries as well as beneficiaries suffering from an illness on Monday, April 13. The stipends are acquired from the national COVID-19 response fund and aim to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on Moroccan households.
The (CVE) has also organized measures to financially assist non-RAMED holders who work in the informal sector and have been directly affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
Like the RAMED stipends, non-RAMED holders are receiving financial assistance through King Mohammed VI’s Special Fund for the Management and Response to COVID-19.
Families of two people or less will receive stipends of MAD 800 ($78.22), while families of three to four people will receive MAD 1,000 ($97.78). Families of more than four people will benefit from MAD 1,200 ($117.33).
Read also: Over 200,000 RAMED Holders in Morocco Benefit From Stipends Per Day
