Beyond disability |
On this International Day of Persons with Disabilities, I received a letter from someone who has not merely read about disability — but has lived it, every single year, month, and day. Written in the first person, the letter reads like a manuscript, revealing what society has long overlooked. It raises questions not just for local communities, but globally, about how we perceive, respect and empower people with special needs — questions I invite every reader of this page to ponder and answer. It reads:
"I have a name, but let me call myself a disabled person. Why? Because this is what my identity is becoming as I live around, although I own this disability fully, unapologetically. My parents own it too, with love, sacrifice and silent strength. But there is someone who still struggles to accept it — society.
Not out of hatred, perhaps, but out of discomfort, unfamiliarity and a fear of difference. The real challenge lies not in living with disability, but in living in a world that is uncomfortable acknowledging it. Sometimes I........