I talked to young people with disabilities, especially intellectual disabilities, about how to promote inclusion and build peace, and I am proud to share with you their messages that I divided into three parts: he, the person with a disability; the family; and the community.
First, at the individual level, persons with disabilities have a strong potential and multiple abilities that need to be nurtured and developed.
«Stop telling us what we cannot do; we are ready to help you discover our abilities.
We are people first and with support, we can change the world», said Manal.
«Like every child and young persons, persons with disabilities need access to education and other services to unleash their potential,» said Meri Poghosyan, education specialist - inclusion at UNICEF. «All education partners have an obligation to include children with disabilities in the regular programs. More efforts are needed from different services to ensure that children with disabilities are identified and appropriately supported».
Second, to grow and have confidence in themselves, children need to stay in their families. They need the love and tenderness of parents, they need to argue and even fight with their brothers and sisters to learn how to face and solve problems, and they need to learn the rules of society with their peers.
«I have confidence in myself because I was raised in a very strong family that respects me.
I make my decisions because my family supported me; they listened to me and respected my decisions.
I say loudly what I have to say; my family taught me that I have the same worth as everyone.
To help us better, the family needs support. The voices of the families need to be heard in order to find answers to their questions», Manal continues.
«The demand is in line with UNICEF’s work with the Lebanese government on strengthening inclusive education and advocating for promoting family-based alternatives to residential institutions», added Poghosyan.
Finally, the message of youth for their community was also strong and clear.
In 2017, UNICEF’s Knowledge, Attitude and Practices survey in Lebanon revealed that only one in four persons thought that children with intellectual disabilities should be integrated into society. «UNICEF is working with partners on social-behavioral change communication interventions to move from misperceptions around children’s abilities, fear, over-protection, pity or indifference to normalizing disability, increasing its acceptance as part of human diversity, and viewing people with disabilities as contributing members of society».
«People with disabilities are discriminated against in society. They are invisible and do not participate in the life of their community. This creates a fear due to ignorance of disability. This is reinforced in societies that do not accept the difference and that do not have laws to protect people with disabilities», says Mia.
«We are in this world to stay and we want to live happily and participate in the life of our community so that together we work to make this world a better place to live», she concludes.