she films her disabled father, humiliated at a priority cash register

Sarah was shopping in Orléans with her father, who had multiple sclerosis. Despite his disabled card, it was impossible to obtain priority access to the cash desks. Sarah filmed the scene, which went viral on Twitter. She denounces the treatment of invisible disability.

Sarah Nedjar, 25-year-old Orléanaise, is a freelance journalist. According to her, this is what gave her the instinct to film the scene she experienced that morning of October 21, with her father Kamel. He has a European Disability Card because he suffers from multiple sclerosis, a neurologically degenerating disease that causes damage to the spinal cord, which causes, among other things, tremors, stiff limbs and loss of balance. "MS also affects psychologically, explains Sarah, whose father was diagnosed when she was 7 years old. He has moments of hyperactivity and others, of depression. The illness causes him to stay home very often. " The young woman, who lives in Nîmes, goes to Orleans to see her parents as soon as she can. She was just having a short stay with her family when the incident happened. His initial project: to present Kamel with brochures for a center specializing in welcoming people with MS, but also to take a walk with him.

A violent refusal

Still in the heat of anger, Sarah says: "That morning, I suggested we go to Bricorama *. My dad is a DIY fan and he wanted to do some work in the house. When we got to the store, I saw that my father was in a good phase: active, smiling, he was talking to salespeople… Like all dads who are a little embarrassing when they do that. But how can we blame him? He doesn't go out much, he doesn't see many people… We were both happy. " That day, there was a crowd and the shelves were robbed. Father and daughter quickly realize that the store is in liquidation. First problem: impossible to get hold of a caddy, which would have allowed Kamel to lean to relieve his limbs. "So we decided to buy only two small plaster bins, almost sold out, and to come back with my mother in the afternoon for the big items", explains Sarah. She and her father then go to the checkout and come across a queue of "forty or fifty people". Father and daughter walk up the line, Sarah pulling out Kamel's official disability card. "This is the newer model, which looks like a driver's license, she explains. I introduced her to the cashier and asked her to please give us priority. But she said, 'Don't you think everyone would want to walk past? "Https://www.aufeminin.com/"

"At that moment, my father and I were holding each other by the arms, says the young woman with emotion. He hugged me, for fear that I would explode or perhaps because he was in pain. We looked at each other. .es, dumbfounded. I wanted to politely explain to the lady: 'Pardon me, we have a card that certifies that my father …'. She just did 'Shhh! Go behind like everyone else "https://www.aufeminin.com/". Sarah was overcome with anger, who still managed to keep a calm tone. "I asked: 'Do you speak like children to us? And the card, is it valid everywhere in Europe, but not in the Bricorama of Orléans?' By reflex, and then because I felt that it would help me not to get carried away, I took out my phone and I filmed. Beside me, my father was silent. He pretended to back in line. That's when I realized he was used to this kind of reaction … It struck my heart. I told him to stay with me and I continued filming, to explain our situation. All the people were looking at us. Not a single one reacted to let us pass. "

A lively exchange ensued, which can be seen in the video. “I was all the more upset that I worked as a cashier at Leroy Merlin, says Sarah. I know that elderly people, disabled people, pregnant women, we must help them. It is written in our contracts. But nothing was happening ". At the end of "six or seven minutes", a person from the store team eventually arrives and places the father and daughter in line, after a dozen customers. These people then invite the duo to walk past.

More means and education

The end of this painful situation? No, explains Sarah. His father asks to go back to the car alone. "He was on the verge of tears to have been treated like that. I let him go and wanted to re-film the line in the store. At that point, a man who had let us pass said to the cashier: 'For people like that, you need a taser.' She replied: 'Sure' https://www.aufeminin.com/ ". Words that we hear in the video of the young woman. "Right away I thought it wasn't because of the disability this man was asking for from a taser, but because his name is Kamel, she recounts. Using police vocabulary, criminalizing my father like that, coming from a white man talking about a North African man … "

The journalist is more positive about other clients, believing that their attitude is more a matter of ignorance than of the will to harm. "We perceive people who are not in a wheelchair or with a white cane as being necessarily able-bodied. While 80% of people with disabilities are carriers of an invisible disability. For example, 4% of French people are deaf .es or hard of hearing Not to mention psychiatric pathologies, autism… " The important thing, according to her? Educate the population. "In the car, my father explained to me that he did not like to take out his card because he was subjected to remarks, even attacks, Sarah gets upset. It has even happened that he is pushed, while he has serious balance issues! There are also people who look at him as if he has 'disabled privilege'. The card is not a Disneyland wire cutter, it is official recognition by the state, which requires psychomotor tests to be passed and which gives rights! "

For Kamel's daughter, it is clear: her father goes out as little as possible because of the symptoms of the disease, but also out of fear of people. She believes that it is up to the whole of society to change. "When I was a student, I gave my dad a trip to London. Heaven for him: adapted sidewalks, restaurants with dedicated reception, priority checkouts in each store … All the little things that eat up her daily life were adapted. Even more than the cashier, I blame the system that allowed this situation, clearly common. " Positive point: the hundreds of messages received on Twitter since the publication of the video. "Lots of people testify, disabled people and people with disabled parentsSarah rejoices. My father is super happy with the support from internet users. We hope that all of this will encourage companies to invest and people to educate themselves. So that neither my father nor anyone else has to go through all of this again. "

* Contacted by aufeminin on Thursday October 22, 2020, the Les Mousquetaires group, which owns the Bricorama stores, has not yet responded to our interview request.