Here is the URL for her petition.

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/r9f12n16/

Tamar Mag Raine
[log in to unmask]

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.
Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
-George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950

IM: tamarmag48
Oakland Mayor's Commission on People with disabilities


> [Original Message]
> From: Chester Worwa <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 9/1/2004 5:07:08 AM
> Subject: Re: FW: [berkeley-disabled] Disabled girl making waves-go girl!
>
> Where's the link to the petition?
>
> --- Tamar Raine <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > Good for her! yay! Go sign the petition.
> >
> > Tamar Mag Raine
> > [log in to unmask]
> >
> > The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the
> > unreasonable one
> > persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.
> > Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable
> > man.
> > -George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950
> >
> > IM: tamarmag48
> > Oakland Mayor's Commission on People with
> > disabilities
> >
> >
> > > [Original Message]
> > > From: Michai Freeman <[log in to unmask]>
> > > To: berkeley-disabled
> > <[log in to unmask]>; golden_embers
> > <[log in to unmask]>
> > > Date: 8/31/2004 7:09:49 PM
> > > Subject: [berkeley-disabled] Disabled girl making
> > waves-go girl!
> > >
> > > Girl With Cerebral Palsy Fights for Rights
> > > 9-Year-Old Wants Wheelchair-Accessible Restrooms
> > on Airplanes
> > > By KRISTIE RIEKEN, AP
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > COPPELL, Texas (Aug. 16) - Rasha Kawar, who
> > suffers from cerebral
> > > palsy
> > > and depends on an electric wheelchair to get
> > around, is determined to
> > > live like any other 9-year-old girl - and travel
> > like one.
> > >
> > >
> > > Rasha has begun a crusade to make airplane
> > restrooms bigger after
> > > having
> > > a hard time negotiating one in her wheelchair
> > while flying home last
> > > summer from a visit with her grandparents in
> > Israel.
> > >
> > > She started an online petition asking Congress to
> > pass a law that
> > > would
> > > require all new airplanes to have at least one
> > wheelchair-accessible
> > > restroom. The petition is up to almost 5,000
> > signatures, and lawmakers
> > > and organizations that help the disabled are
> > taking notice.
> > >
> > > "It is one thing to be stuck on a plane with no
> > accessible bathroom,"
> > > said Stephen Bennett, president and CEO of United
> > Cerebral Palsy.
> > > "It's
> > > quite another when a 9-year-old takes it to the
> > level she has."
> > >
> > >
> > > Last summer, Rasha and her mother burst into tears
> > when they couldn't
> > > get Rasha's clothes back on after she used a small
> > airplane restroom.
> > > Her mother, Laila Kawar, said Rasha looked at her
> > and said: "This is
> > > so
> > > unfair. What are we going to do about it?"
> > >
> > > When she got home, Rasha typed a letter to
> > President Bush. It took her
> > > almost three weeks.
> > >
> > > Rasha has little control over the muscles in her
> > body, but can control
> > > her head. She can talk, but people who don't know
> > her well have a
> > > difficult time understanding her. Instead, she
> > communicates by using a
> > > pointer, attached to a piece of headgear, to type
> > out words on a
> > > computer keyboard. Machines translate her words
> > into audio or written
> > > text.
> > >
> > > Despite her limitations, she attends public school
> > in suburban Dallas
> > > with the help of an aide, and will enter the
> > fourth grade this month.
> > > She learned to read at age 4 and finds it
> > exasperating when people
> > > assume she is mentally disabled because of her
> > wheelchair.
> > >
> > > "I am smart," she said. "My body just doesn't do
> > what I want it to."
> > >
> > > The White House responded to Rasha with a letter
> > signed by President
> > > Bush, but it did not address her problem, her
> > mother said. That's when
> > > Rasha and her mother decided to start the online
> > petition, which has
> > > signatures from people around the world.
> > >
> > > Many people who sign the petition include short
> > notes. One reads: "My
> > > 8-year-old disabled son and I have had this
> > experience too many times.
> > > With all the space on airplanes, it is grossly
> > unfair not to allocate
> > > a
> > > few more feet so that disabled people can travel
> > with dignity."
> > > Another
> > > wrote, "You opened my eyes to something I could
> > not see. I proudly
> > > stand
> > > beside you."
> > >
> > > Supporter U.S. Sen. John Cornyn contacted the
> > Federal Aviation
> > > Administration, which in turn contacted the U.S.
> > Department of
> > > Transportation. The department sent Rasha a letter
> > explaining the
> > > federal guidelines relating to accessible
> > restrooms and said the main
> > > barrier to including those restrooms on all
> > airplanes is cost.
> > >
> > > "Many airlines are losing huge amounts of money
> > these days," wrote
> > > Robert C. Ashby, a regulation and enforcement
> > attorney at the
> > > transportation department. "It's hard for the
> > department to tell them
> > > to
> > > lose even more."
> > >
> > > He said accessible restrooms would cost about
> > $12,000-$13,000 each,
> > > but
> > > the major loss for airlines would be space. Adding
> > one restroom would
> > > take away two to four seats on most airplanes,
> > which he said
> > > translates
> > > into millions of dollars in lost revenue.
> > >
> > > The Americans with Disabilities Act does not cover
> > airplane restrooms,
> > > he said, but the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986
> > requires that airlines
> > > be accessible to people with disabilities. That
> > act requires airplanes
> > > with two aisles to have one wheelchair-accessible
> > restroom. Those with
> > > only one aisle, like the one the Kawars were
> > traveling on, are not
> > > legally required to do so.
> > >
> > > Rasha and her mother plan to send her petition to
> > the major airlines
> > > as
> > > well as the Department of Transportation later
> > this summer. The United
> > > Cerebral Palsy organization is helping Rasha
> > collect more signatures
> > > by
> > > posting a short note from her and a link to her
> > petition on their Web
> > > site.
> > >
> > > Rasha says she will work as long as necessary for
> > the change. She
> > > knows
> > > the fight will not be easy, but for a girl who
> > faces daily battles
> > > with
> > > her own body to do the most basic tasks, dealing
> > with adversity is
> > > second nature.
> > >
> > > "Rasha has lots of determination," her mother
> > said. "She does not
> > > accept
> > > that she cannot do things."
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > 08/16/04 05:45 EDT
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
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