So, I want to share with you the vision and dreams we as persons with disabilities have of how the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - CRPD will create an inclusive world.
Having a disability will be usual, as usual as not having one. It will be very interesting to see and hear how diverse and different human beings are. Nobody will try to change or repair our bodies, because we have a disability, unless we ask for it. Nobody will try to influence, change or repair our minds, because we have a disability, if we don't want it. We will be respected as persons with dignity and qualities.
This will not only be a question of ethics and moral, it will be a legally binding principle, written in the laws of every country.
Everyone will be equal before the law, so nobody will be declared legally incompetent, because of a disability. We will have legal capacity to act: signing documents and contracts, making financial transactions, owning property, getting married, being parents if we wish and voting in our countries. We will not be protected, more than anybody else would, against risks or mistakes.
If we need support in any decision making, nobody will try to act on behalf of us, without our permission. Everything will be done to make us act ourselves in any way we are able to.
Our language will change: Everyone will communicate with us as persons with disabilities, persons with intellectual disabilities, persons with psychosocial disabilities, persons with deafblindness and not speak on behalf of us without our permission.
There will be no levels of functioning. Everyone is functioning all right. We look at everyone's different capacities.
We are all involved in this processes, women, children and indigenous peoples with disabilities, also those of us who belong to a cultural minority or are getting older and have a disability.
It will therefore also be unacceptable to lock us up. Whether we are children, adolescents or adults with disabilities, we can not be locked up, because of our disabilities, for shorter or longer time in prison- or hospital- like institutions against our will. As children we will grow and develop and as adults we will live in the family, in family like settings or independently as we wish. That will be usual.
Doctors will give us the information we need, to decide if we want treatment or not. We can refuse a treatment. If for example a person with deafness does not want to have a Cochlear Implant, the person will not get it. Psychiatric medications, electroshocks, sterilisation and all kinds of other medications and medical interventions will not be forced on us.
Nobody will press us to receive services, like food or shelter, on the condition that we become members and advocates of certain programmes, religious groups, organisations or companies.
Nobody will press us to undergo certain treatments as a condition to be admitted to education or rehabilitation.
All kinds of compulsory treatments against our will be considered torture.
We will fill the schools at all levels, because we finally get education on the same level as everybody else. The schools will be accessible to all of us. We will learn Braille, sign languages, tactile communication or any other form of communication, and every day life skills including mobility in our own appropriate ways. We will develop and learn as much as we want. We will enrich society and economy, including our own, getting and creating jobs according to our skills and wishes. We will be activists, politicians, lawyers, artists of all kind. We will participate in all political decisions concerning us including the development of programmes. All the information we need to work, to think, to be active members of the family and to fully participate in society, will be accessible in the formats, modes and methods we need. We will be a very visible part of the public life and public transport , because we can go anywhere we want.
Yes, and we will have privacy. Nobody will destroy our diaries or poetry or show it to others because we have a disability. We will appear as persons in the media, persons with capacities and not as stereotypes.
The birth of this inclusive world for persons with disabilities will redefine humanity, reconstruct the human being and forever change the discourse on human rights.
Let us make it happen together: Nothing about us without us.
Dear friends from USA and the World,
Our warmest regards to the "Disability Mentoring Day"- this is big day for us-persons with disabilities. I have wonderful news from my country- Kosova regarding the Campaign for the Disability Mentoring Day, this is third year that Kosova successfully organizes DMD event-striving to became traditional.
In this Campaign we achieved to involve the Government-based on US DMD model. With DMD idea-the best idea of the century-you have encouraged us to open the window of opportunity aimed in improving the position of the persons with disabilities throughout the world. The DMD Campaign is among the best ideas that happened at the end of 20 century; let me compare the revolutionary idea of DMD- with importance of the invention of steam-engine, the invention of the Internet.
The idea of DMD came from USA and now is becoming the idea of the world.
We, the persons with disabilities, support the idea of the DMD because it enhances the perspective of persons with disabilities, and challenges the perception for the persons with disabilities, the role and their contribution in the society.
This year, the Campaign became even more successful, it has been approximately 1000 mentor-mentee initiatives, including Government, media, private businesses and NGO's.
Throughout the Campaign US Office in Prishtine supported us and we are extremely grateful to them.
The DMD ceremonies in Washington, Prishtina and else in the world, occurs at the same time, so we would take the advantage of this moment to congratulate all DMD participants with the best wishes and future successes.
Dear friends from USA you supported and stood by us, while we learned how to fight challenges ahead of us. You taught us that in order to change the perception on persons with disabilities and their abilities to contribute to the society the time in needed, changing the set of mind is process- and that we are part of that process, bearing in mind that we-as individuals and as community should be more proactive in achieving this goals.
Throughout our joint experience we realized how unjust and unfair the stereotypes regarding disabilities are in determining our position in the society.
Let the unity leads us forward, and our enthusiasm for helping disabled people achieves the levels that were unimaginable before DMD.
The warmest regards,
Hiljmnijeta Apuk, President
