Disabled people´s marathon in Gaza to highlight their suffering

Dozens of disabled people participated sunday in a wheelchair marathon in the Gaza Strip to highlight the suffering of the disabled.
The marathon, organized by emaar Association for Development and Rehabilitation in collaboration with the Palestinian General Federation for the Disabled, was held on the occasion of the "World Handicap Day", which falls on December 3rd each year.
Participants raced in wheelchairs for the 200-metre, while a similar marathon was held for those with amputations.
At the opening of the marathon, Emaar Imad Islam, director of rehabilitation at the Emaar Imad Islam Association, urged the United Nations to intervene to provide facilities and remove obstacles for people with disabilities in Palestine in general and the Gaza Strip in particular.
More than 47,000 people are disabled in the Gaza Strip, he said, while 35 percent of the gaza´s disabled are disabled.
He called on international donor institutions to support people with disabilities, and to challenge their disability and integrate them in a positive and positive way into the community.
Khaled Kanan, an official with the General Federation of The Disabled, said the marathon aims to "highlight the issues of disabled people who suffer greatly in Arab societies, especially Palestinian society."
He stressed the need to enhance the opportunities for the disabled to integrate them into the community and give them the full rights of the Palestinian basic law, especially with regard to jobs.