Advocating Disabled Rights

The Jewish News

By: Richard Bernstein
December 29, 2010

Much of my life's work has focused on upholding the rights for disabled people in America.  Despite the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, clearly providing guidelines to level the playing field, it is still too challenging for disabled people to make independent lives for themselves in the United States.

Still, I find myself amazed that countries not so far from us arc generations behind in how they perceive and treat disabled people.

Recently, when I was asked by the government of Ecuador to visit the country to help them in their own quest to develop rights for disabled people, akin to what we have here, I had no idea what I would witness there.  Nothing in all of my work here could have prepared me for what people with disabilities face in that developing South American country.

Upon stepping foot inside Ecuador, I soon was struck by the harsh realization that not only were people with disabilities largely unsupported, they were viewed as cursed, the by-product of evil-doing relatives generations before them, without having uttered a single word or performing a single act to define who they truly are as human beings.

In rural areas outside of the major cities and university communities, disabled children are not permitted to live indoors with their families and are therefore banished to live with the animals.  They are forbidden to go out  in the community because it would be perceived as being a bad reflection on their parents.

It would be easy to judge them; but as I began to think about how the Ecuadorian culture was modeled and how these perceptions were formed, I understood that many of them have just never known any other way to think about a disabled person’s possible role in society.

It is important to understand that Ecuador has an inherently profound cultural respect for athletic achievement and idolizes its athletes.  Their abilities provide Ecuadorian citizens with pride and hope.  Knowing this, the Ecuadorian government set a course to use athletics as a way to change the perceptions of its people toward the disabled community.

In coalition with the Ecuadorian government, the mainstream news media and Ecuadorian universities, I was requested to help demonstrate achievements possible for disabled people if given the opportunity.  Having heard of my dedication to supporting disabled rights, coupled with my passion for and participation in athletics, time and time again overcoming my own disability, it seemed my story would be a compelling start to help them achieve their goals.

Breaking down the misconceived perceptions of disabled people has become a top priority in Ecuador. The vice president of Ecuador, a wheelchair user himself, expressed to me how deeply he cared about improving the lives of disabled people in Ecuador.

He wanted his country to serve as a model for developing nations, about bow amazingly spectacular the lives of disabled people could be when they are given the opportunity to live free of ill-formed stereotypes and restrictions.

As I traveled the country, I spoke to various groups of students in universities. And I participated in two major interviews with highly respected news outlets about using athletics as my vehicle to demonstrate the successful achievements and contributions people with disabilities can have in society.

I explained, cane in hand, that completing 13 marathons and one Iron Man Triathlon are successes surely one could not have achieved as a "cursed" individual.

Clearly, more work needs to be done.

You can't solve a cultural dilemma such as this in anyone speech or interview.

My next step is to return to South America.  By working in conjunction with athletic organizers, the government and media outlets, I hope to continue to assist the shift in the way Ecuador and other developing nations treat their citizens with disabilities.

To prove a point, I'm already scheduled to compete in a triathlon in the Galapagos Islands to serve as a continuation effort to destroy ill-formed perceptions of disabled people.

Back home in the United States, the journey for disabled equality may never end.  However, having seen how much work is ahead for countries like Ecuador, I realize how blessed I am to live in the U.S. because of the great strides we've made for people with disabilities by maintaining our focus on being a land of inclusion.