You have to see them to believe them. People with reduced mobility face real odysseys to perform everyday tasks like leaving a subway station.
A situation that Carlos Correa recently experienced, and it is an exceptional case. Because he is the Spanish Paralympic weightlifting champion. It was his upper body, capable of lifting more than 170 kilos, that allowed him leaving a Rodalies station in Tarragona. The elevator has been out of order for 15 days.
“We end up looking for an alternative, like riding on our ass. We don’t talk about what happens to two or three people. They personally suffer what I suffered,” says Carlos.
The one who couldn’t find a solution was Sara. She spent two hours unable to leave the San Fernando dock in Cadiz. In her case, she was forced to take a train to a station that was accessible to her.
They have been there for months with constant breakdowns in elevators and escalators. The associations are demanding that everyone can use public transport under the same conditions.
“It’s like being in a prison. With no way out,” explains Carmen Marrugal, president of AICA.
Universal accessibility is regulated by law to ensure that no one is discriminated against when using services intended for everyone. But this obligation is not always respected and it is very rarely reported. Montse is a TikToker who shows the obstacles she faces every day with her wheelchair.
They demand something as simple as being able to move around the world without barriers. Because accessibility is not a luxury, it is a right.
