 It
was a straightforward request. One of our British subscribers
explained that she had a disability and wondered what the
lives of persons with disabilities in the Majority World
were like. Would NI consider doing an edition about it?
It made immediate sense. Most mainstream coverage about
people with disabilities living in the global South seemed
to zoom in on particular projects or 'heroic' individuals.
There was little about day to day life. It was mostly ventriloquistic,
talking
for 'the disabled' rather than
letting people speak for
themselves.
For me the challenge was quite different. How could one
hope to portray the myriad issues that matter to diverse
groups of people from different backgrounds with any semblance
of coherence? Even within the disability movements there
are concerns about who gets to have their say. Class, gender,
race can be just as fractious within the disability spectrum.
One thing, however, was clear. The old slogan, 'Nothing
about us, without us' is just as valid today as when it was
first coined. Some of our contributors are first-time writers;
some provided us with oral testimonies - all had something
compelling to say.
Disability is still viewed as difference, and our response
to difference can be somewhat irrational. Disability is
actually quite common (about 10 per cent of people have some
kind of disability). Many of us who aren't disabled today
will experience it
as we age. It's natural - unlike the attitudes it provokes. |
