DISABILTY IS NOT INABILY

We live in hostile environment where the rights of people that we consider “normal human beings” are not respected. The issue of “people living with a disability” should be everyone concern because they are condemned to discrimination from their physical condition.

Marginalizing practices towards people with disabilities and disadvantaged people have existed for a long time. My grandparents, my parents, I and even my great-great grandparents were born into this system. Marginalizing practices towards people with disabilities seems persisting and requires everyone evolvement.

I am curious by "nature; I like to know the why of everything. In 2004 I was 5 years old; my grandfather used to come every evening at our house. He is among Christian figures in our local community. He used to share the word of Gods and his childhood experience. One evening he came to see us; I was the first to introduce the conversation. I asked why Muzungu and Awezaye were different from us and why people discriminate theme.

Muzungu is a young boy with albinism; he was named Muzungu (white) because he has a white color. Other children called him kassa or Ndundu (meaning Albinos)

Awezaye was born with cerebral lesion. He was born in precarious conditions, his family was not able to provide appropriate treatments so he developed a mental retardation.

Muzungu and Awezaye were our neighbors but adults’ people forbade us to play with them saying that they are curses. My friend’s grandmother had even told us to spit on the ground each time we meet them to avoid their curses.

My grandfather answered me that during the Greco-Roman antiquity period, malformation was considered a very serious problem.  Practices established during that period for disabled children was to expose, which means getting them out of town; to an unknown place and letting them die. Exposing disable children means handing them to divinities (gods).

 At that time, any abnormal birth was interpreted as a punishment from the gods. It was a case considered a threat to the human race. Disable people were not integrated into society, the society used to consider the disabled as threats to the social order.

The lack of information in the past is a source of several discriminatory systems that we are currently struggling to abolish including “the issue of gender”. I feel very bad when people marginalized for the things they in no way contributed to.  

"Disability is not Inability" is a welcome sentence placed at the entrance of AEPIFA( organization of women living with disability).

This is a powerful message that we must preach our societies.

Our societies consider them less than the others

Our societies gave them a feeling of not belonging to this planet

Our society has  given them the feeling of being uncomplete and that they can't do anything by their own.

 They certainly can't walk, talk, see, or listen, but they have plenty assets that can contribute in making this world wonderful.

if there was affordable way to reduce our natural imperfections that I call perfect imprecations: color, biological and racial affiliation, etc., I think we would all have taken this path.Since there is none, we are condemned to live together and accept our differences. Our differences define strength. Believe me without our differences, this world would be very boring. Let this world be a free space for all.