Before I start this post, I wish to apologise for my long absence. The truth of the matter is that I haven’t been well for a long while and so, I wasn’t up to writing on here- - although I’ve been regularly updating my blog, ZoneMind. I admit that these were difficult times and I needed time to think about my life and to reflect on the future ahead. Not that this is a process that will ever finish and I feel the need to explore my life through a different perspective, in this case from the point of view of Buddhism. I have said many times that I respect the fact that everyone has a right to believe what he or she wishes - as long as this doesn’t cause harm to others.
It’s here that I come to the topic of my post, which is the misconception that disabled people are sick people. I realised that this idea is still prevalent after a disabled friend of mine received an invitation to attend a mass for “the sick” on the occasion of the events that happened in Lourdes, France where it’s claimed that the virgin Mary appeared to a young girl and where many claim that they have been healed. Putting it in those words might give you the impression that I am a non-believer. But the truth of the matter, I have a healthy scepticism about miracles. While I can’t rule out the possibility of miracles, I don’t think that living hoping for a miracle is a good way to live a life. But then I ask, why did my friend receive an invitation intended for these so-called “sick people”.
The simple answer is that, more often than not, disability is associated with sickness or disease. To be exact, impairment is associated with sickness and not disability. This is because disability is the disadvantage imposed on us as people with impairment in refusing to include us as other members of society. In this sense, the link between impairment and sickness implies that disabled people lack an aspect of being human and that they need to attain the approval of the non-disabled world to be accepted and, even then, on non-disabled terms. While disabled people, like anyone else, can get sick, this doesn’t imply we are sick, broken or unfortunate. Even those who are sick most of the time and would be considered “sick people” shouldn’t be defined just but that situation.
Unfortunately, this idea that disabled people are sick is not limited to particular religious outlooks but are also endemic to the medical profession. The consequences can be disastrous for the person who is defined over and over as faulty and as not fully human. We’re not sick people. We’re not special people either. We’re only different and these labels only serve to disable us further.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Saturday, December 03, 2011
International Day of disabled People 2011
Today is international day of disabled people. Although there is still much to be done to ensure disabled people, like myself, have true equality and full inclusion in our countries, I must admit that a lot of positive progress has taken place. In this post, I wish to share a few thoughts on one such important development - the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Disabled People by the United Nations.
The Convention is a significant step forward because it redefines the old idea of ‘disability’ that predominated action in the field of disability which was mainly medically based favouring treatment and rehabilitation, to one that acknowledges that a large part of disability is created by an society that takes little or no account of those members having sensory, physical or intellectual impairment, mental health issues or other hidden conditions. In short, the Convention introduces the idea that disability exists in relation to factors that are, for the most part, external to the person. This relational model shares many features to the social model (despite the fact there are differences).
That is why when the Convention was formally adopted by the UN on December 13th 2006, one can say that we made a breakthrough insofar as having our rights finally acknowledged and the fact that our disability is mainly due to the failure of society and the environment to cater for our physical or mental differences. In short, finally we had a tool by which we can direct our governments to ways in which they can truly provide us with our human rights. It’s true that there are countries which haven’t yet signed it, and even less which ratified it but, I think, it’s up to all of us within the disability community and our allies who must make our voices heard. It can be frustrating, I know, but we must own the struggle to ensure that disabled people don’t remain simply objects of pity and charity but they are involved in society on an equal level to that of non-disabled people.
A final point I wish to make that I think is important is that the UN Convention is not creating new rights that are specific to disabled people. Rather, it is providing states with clear practical guidelines on how to ensure our rights are safeguarded and necessary action to achieve equality is taken. In truth, if you consider that impairment can affect all of us at some point in our lives, especially in old age, the Convention is also there to ensure that the quality of life of the future you will not regress just because you have acquired an impairment. Inasmuch as this day is one dedicated to disabled people, it is also a day that reminds me of the fact that we should celebrate difference and our ability to strive on in spite of the obstacles we still face in our society and our environment.
To read or download the UN Convention, please visit the UN Enable website where you’ll also find a lot of other useful resources related to the Convention.
The Convention is a significant step forward because it redefines the old idea of ‘disability’ that predominated action in the field of disability which was mainly medically based favouring treatment and rehabilitation, to one that acknowledges that a large part of disability is created by an society that takes little or no account of those members having sensory, physical or intellectual impairment, mental health issues or other hidden conditions. In short, the Convention introduces the idea that disability exists in relation to factors that are, for the most part, external to the person. This relational model shares many features to the social model (despite the fact there are differences).
That is why when the Convention was formally adopted by the UN on December 13th 2006, one can say that we made a breakthrough insofar as having our rights finally acknowledged and the fact that our disability is mainly due to the failure of society and the environment to cater for our physical or mental differences. In short, finally we had a tool by which we can direct our governments to ways in which they can truly provide us with our human rights. It’s true that there are countries which haven’t yet signed it, and even less which ratified it but, I think, it’s up to all of us within the disability community and our allies who must make our voices heard. It can be frustrating, I know, but we must own the struggle to ensure that disabled people don’t remain simply objects of pity and charity but they are involved in society on an equal level to that of non-disabled people.
A final point I wish to make that I think is important is that the UN Convention is not creating new rights that are specific to disabled people. Rather, it is providing states with clear practical guidelines on how to ensure our rights are safeguarded and necessary action to achieve equality is taken. In truth, if you consider that impairment can affect all of us at some point in our lives, especially in old age, the Convention is also there to ensure that the quality of life of the future you will not regress just because you have acquired an impairment. Inasmuch as this day is one dedicated to disabled people, it is also a day that reminds me of the fact that we should celebrate difference and our ability to strive on in spite of the obstacles we still face in our society and our environment.
To read or download the UN Convention, please visit the UN Enable website where you’ll also find a lot of other useful resources related to the Convention.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Adventures on Arriva!
A way back in July, I reported how in Malta, an accessible public transport service had been introduced. Now, after using it for my 5th time, I can say that I’m satisfied on the whole but acknowledge that there needs to be better time keeping. However, I definitely think that the service we have today is far better than we had before.
For starters, riding on a bus may not mean much for the general public. However, as a wheelchair user who has been excluded from using public transport for more than 10 years now, it is progress. Again, it might not mean much for the average person but being with other people on regular transport does give me back some dignity. Don't get me wrong, I will still make use of the accessible van for work and such and I have made good disabled friends on my travels. Yet, there’s no denying that the accessible transport I use remains a segregated form of transport and inasmuch as it is improved, it still separates me from my community and was the only choice I had up to now.
Of course, the new accessible public transport is far from perfect. I spent one hour waiting for a bus the first time I used it. On later dates, the waiting varied from 15 to 30 minutes which is quite frustrating and forget getting to an appointment on time unless you plan ahead. And yet, I cannot really complain that much and you know why? Because for the first time, I can grumble and complain with the public. You see, my discomfort is a shared thing. It’s not just users of the ‘disabled vans’ they wrongly sometimes referred to) as) who are inconvenienced but every body (disabled or not!!
To wrap up, I want to make it clear that I believe that the service still needs fine tuning. However, if I had to compare the new public transport service with the one we had before, Arriva! wins hands down. Yes, it has been claimed that our old fleet with all the coloured buses gave them character. To this, I say, I rather want a bus I can use rather than one I can only look at as it passes me by. At least now, I can be up there with other passengers! after all, we must look ahead and not live in a past that so often is idealised and hence distorted.
For starters, riding on a bus may not mean much for the general public. However, as a wheelchair user who has been excluded from using public transport for more than 10 years now, it is progress. Again, it might not mean much for the average person but being with other people on regular transport does give me back some dignity. Don't get me wrong, I will still make use of the accessible van for work and such and I have made good disabled friends on my travels. Yet, there’s no denying that the accessible transport I use remains a segregated form of transport and inasmuch as it is improved, it still separates me from my community and was the only choice I had up to now.
Of course, the new accessible public transport is far from perfect. I spent one hour waiting for a bus the first time I used it. On later dates, the waiting varied from 15 to 30 minutes which is quite frustrating and forget getting to an appointment on time unless you plan ahead. And yet, I cannot really complain that much and you know why? Because for the first time, I can grumble and complain with the public. You see, my discomfort is a shared thing. It’s not just users of the ‘disabled vans’ they wrongly sometimes referred to) as) who are inconvenienced but every body (disabled or not!!
To wrap up, I want to make it clear that I believe that the service still needs fine tuning. However, if I had to compare the new public transport service with the one we had before, Arriva! wins hands down. Yes, it has been claimed that our old fleet with all the coloured buses gave them character. To this, I say, I rather want a bus I can use rather than one I can only look at as it passes me by. At least now, I can be up there with other passengers! after all, we must look ahead and not live in a past that so often is idealised and hence distorted.
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
On this day... my birthday!
On November 8, 1981, I was born. As I celebrate my 30th birthday, I can't help reflecting on how significant this day is. For, if you think about it, this day was when it all started, when I took that first breath of air with my own mouth. We say that life is a miracle that it has become a cliche. Something we say out of habit rather than reflection or much thought. This same "miracle of life" quickly becomes the source of a lot of complaining and, in fact, some of us have even come to the point when we wished we hadn't been born at all. But, then, is this because we take life for granted. Believing that we should always get what we expect or what we want.
I am 30 today. Yet, as I write that number, I realise that over the years, it's not just my age that has changed. Indeed, I'm not the same baby boy born back in 1981. I am not the same 5 year old starting primary school. I am not the same person who loved to write. I am not the same person who was admitted to hospital. Or the one who graduated. Or the one who attended Church. That is my past. That is who I was.
Mind you, the past remains an influence on my present but it is something that I have no control over. It would be foolish to keep clinging to what was as if we could reclaim our youth or innocence. It is also foolish to believe that we are who we are today because we worked for it and that we can lay claim to independence and autonomy. Indeed, my re-discovery of Buddhism and my recent experiences has made me aware that much of who I am today isn't a matter of my personal decisions - although our decisions play an important part in our life. On the contrary, we are who we are today because of the experiences we have in our life, the things we learn and the people around us and those we meet in our lives.
Thus, on this day, I must reflect on who I am and where I am heading and ask myself what have I done over the course of my 29th. Of course, this year was full of its ups and downs; moments I am proud of and others I am not quite happy with and I made new friends and went through new experiences. But inasmuch as I would like to believe I made it through out of my self-determination, deep inside I know that all the people in my life - friends and even enemies, family and strangers, things I read or heard and so on, played a crucial role in getting me through the hard times and also where there in my happy times.
So, what I want to say is that I am grateful for all this and more. I wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for the persons in my life. And even if we don't get to say it often...
Thank you for making my life possible!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Pretending to be Deaf… for Cash?
During the summer holidays, we move for a few weeks to our summer house. While, the move is quite a headache - especially for me - I get to enjoy eating out on the weekends. This is far easier in summer as there are a good number of restaurants that set up their tables on the promenade. It’s quite nice to dine in the evening facing the sea and feeling the breeze and listening to the sound of the sea as it rocks the fishermen's boats..
It was on one of that nights that a young lady who was probably from an Eastern European country placed a few ornaments on our table accompanied by a note in Italian. I was particularly disturbed by the note which was read to me. Indeed, this note was telling us that she was a deaf person who didn’t mean to bother us. However, she was only asking us to give her a minimum donation of 5 Euro, and, in exchange she would give us one of the ornaments as a thank you.
While I felt sorry for the young lady, I also knew that it would be wrong to give her money - even if she was offering me a gift in return. I knew that charity wouldn’t improve the girl’s situation. But, I also knew that my Deaf friends wouldn’t be happy to know that persons like this girl were going around telling people how tragic their life was because they were deaf by handing out notes only aimed to pull at people's heartstrings telling them how their lives without hearing was such a sad and tragic one.
Undoubtedly, other people gave in to their emotions. But I was more suspicious when she opened her pouch to give change to her new clients to reveal stacks of Euro news. And, then, I asked myself whether she was deaf in the first place. I am now almost certain she was not. It was just an act. She was not even poor but was probably being exploited to do this by someone else as what I would discover is a scam. Indeed, when I arrived home, I wanted to do some research on whether the episode that happened on that night had happened elsewhere. You know what? I was right, similar incidents were reported across Europe as a scam (refer to this article).
What is sure is that this incident says a lot about the attitudes that still exist in our society about disabled people. Many of us cannot imagine a life without music, noise and speech. However, being Deaf is an experience shared by millions of deaf people worldwide who enjoy life as much as we do. Deaf people who go to school, study, work and have built their own families and, yes, have children of their own too. Perhaps our own prejudice about the ‘tragedy’ of living a life without hearing emerges out of the fact we try to imagine how it’s would be like to be deaf when we’ve come to take hearing for granted. Unfortunately, our assumptions are based on a degree of ignorance, if not plain arrogance as we consider those who are Deaf as ‘less fortunate’ than us.
The truth is, however, that we are considering things only from our point of view. We underestimate that we, as human beings, can adapt and thrive in our different ways. Undeniably, this isn’t implying that acquiring a hearing impairment later on in life is not painful and requires us to make significant changes in our life. What I’m saying is that we should understand that a life that would appear unbearable to us can be a full life and we, who are different, are whole human beings. Indeed, we have much to learn from our human diversity and take a step back before making unsound judgments.
It was on one of that nights that a young lady who was probably from an Eastern European country placed a few ornaments on our table accompanied by a note in Italian. I was particularly disturbed by the note which was read to me. Indeed, this note was telling us that she was a deaf person who didn’t mean to bother us. However, she was only asking us to give her a minimum donation of 5 Euro, and, in exchange she would give us one of the ornaments as a thank you.
While I felt sorry for the young lady, I also knew that it would be wrong to give her money - even if she was offering me a gift in return. I knew that charity wouldn’t improve the girl’s situation. But, I also knew that my Deaf friends wouldn’t be happy to know that persons like this girl were going around telling people how tragic their life was because they were deaf by handing out notes only aimed to pull at people's heartstrings telling them how their lives without hearing was such a sad and tragic one.
Undoubtedly, other people gave in to their emotions. But I was more suspicious when she opened her pouch to give change to her new clients to reveal stacks of Euro news. And, then, I asked myself whether she was deaf in the first place. I am now almost certain she was not. It was just an act. She was not even poor but was probably being exploited to do this by someone else as what I would discover is a scam. Indeed, when I arrived home, I wanted to do some research on whether the episode that happened on that night had happened elsewhere. You know what? I was right, similar incidents were reported across Europe as a scam (refer to this article).
What is sure is that this incident says a lot about the attitudes that still exist in our society about disabled people. Many of us cannot imagine a life without music, noise and speech. However, being Deaf is an experience shared by millions of deaf people worldwide who enjoy life as much as we do. Deaf people who go to school, study, work and have built their own families and, yes, have children of their own too. Perhaps our own prejudice about the ‘tragedy’ of living a life without hearing emerges out of the fact we try to imagine how it’s would be like to be deaf when we’ve come to take hearing for granted. Unfortunately, our assumptions are based on a degree of ignorance, if not plain arrogance as we consider those who are Deaf as ‘less fortunate’ than us.
The truth is, however, that we are considering things only from our point of view. We underestimate that we, as human beings, can adapt and thrive in our different ways. Undeniably, this isn’t implying that acquiring a hearing impairment later on in life is not painful and requires us to make significant changes in our life. What I’m saying is that we should understand that a life that would appear unbearable to us can be a full life and we, who are different, are whole human beings. Indeed, we have much to learn from our human diversity and take a step back before making unsound judgments.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)