Job hunter becomes the hunted: how disabled worker proved his ability

More integration for the disabled in the workplace will help dispel discrimination among employers and the public, a disabled businessman said. David Youssef, the 38-year-old Director for the Middle East and Africa of Goodhealth International in Dubai, contracted polio as a child and now suffers from partial paralysis.

The Palestinian entrepreneur who grew up in Lebanon told how he was turned down for more than 250 jobs when he first arrived in the UAE in 1994. The father of two, who travels, works out regularly and high-dived as a teenager, said, "When I first got here six years ago, I could not get a job. I applied for so many, yet nobody seemed to find me employable.

"I can't prove that it was because of my disability, but I am a qualified person so it was surprising." After so many rejections, he decided to start out on his own.

"I became self-employed, and was so successful that I am now the one who is being head-hunted. I feel a great sense of achievement because those who turned me down initially are now after my skills."

Although facilities for the disabled have improved dramatically in Dubai, more work towards integration in schools and the workplace is necessary, he said.

"Things have improved a lot in the last six years, but better acceptance is still needed. I am not a fan of forced employment simply because a person is disabled, but there are many people out there who have great skills that can be utilised.

"Most of the jobs here do not require great physical exertion, and could easily be carried out by someone with a disability, but the attitudes of many employers do not make this possible." He said that educational integration would help.

"The trouble is that children are separated into different schools, whereas many disabled kids could attend mainstream places. This is better for their confidence, and helps able-bodied children accept differences from an early age."

Youssef said laws taking into account special needs people also need to be properly enforced to help improve the public's respect for the disabled. "Often our needs are not taken seriously enough. In the UK or U.S., things like illegally taking disabled parking places are punished with clamps and a heavy fine, but here it is not happening

"Recently, I visited Safa Park with my wife and two daughters and found someone had parked in the disabled spot. I politely asked the man to move because I can't walk very long distances and needed the space.

"He took umbrage at my request, and point-blank refused to move his car. We argued about it and in the end he was about to punch me. I gave up eventually and parked somewhere else, but this kind of thing should not be happening.

"I have become a far stronger person because of my disability and the word 'can't' is not in my vocabulary. I was encouraged and supported constantly by my parents, who fought for me to attend a mainstream school and have as normal an upbringing as possible.

"At times it was hard because children can be very cruel, and integration is not an easy thing, but it's better than the alternative which means no progress at all."