It is natural for the scale of priorities to shift during
wars and armed conflicts, so that yesterday's necessities become today's
luxuries, and the focus is on preserving people's lives, helping them, working
to end the war, and then the rebuilding process.
اضافة اعلان
The situation for people with disabilities, especially in
less developed countries, which are often the arena of war, seems to be
completely the opposite. People with disabilities, under normal circumstances
already face exclusion and discrimination, coupled with a lack of representation
in their respective countries.
During war, they are even more vulnerable, and face the
least chance of survival, including being the last to be evacuated or rescued.
Now, imagine the situation of civilians with disabilities in
Gaza, which has been subjected to unprecedented bombing and destruction for
over two months. If the residents of a house sense a raid or are alerted to
evacuate, the opportunity for wheelchair users to escape is almost nonexistent
unless they are carried while shells are raining down from every direction.
During war, they are even more vulnerable, and face the least chance of survival, including being the last to be evacuated or rescued.
This, of course, poses a danger no less significant than
that of remaining in the targeted house. However, if the person is deaf, they
become the last to receive information about the approaching danger, and they
may have sensed the raid after it occurred due to vibrations in the ground or
the walls falling on them.
At this stage (the moment when the bombing occurred), the
fate of a blind person is akin to that of other individuals with disabilities.
Even if they are aware of and recognize an approaching danger, there is no way
to escape and run in such circumstances unless the disabled person finds
someone holding their hand, and volunteers are ready to risk slowing down the
escape due to the presence of another person with them.
The situation becomes even more agonizing if nobody can
escape, and everyone is trapped under the rubble of destroyed homes. The images
captured by journalists' lenses from Gaza depict civil defense crews and
neighbors shouting from above the debris: "Is there anyone... is anyone
alive?" If they hear a response, they commence efforts to locate and
potentially rescue the individuals. However, if the person under the rubble is
deaf, they won't hear or respond. If the person is blind, they won't perceive
any stick or light sent by the rescuers attempting to locate them. A wheelchair
user will be unable to move in any direction to adjust their position for a
safe rescue.
If, despite these challenges, a person with a disability is rescued, they are
likely to be the last to emerge from under the rubble and subsequently the last
to reach the hospital for treatment, having lost more time than others.
However, if that person doesn't survive, they will certainly be the last to be
buried and prayed over, if circumstances allow for it at all.
In response to the severe shock caused by the US and most
Western countries' failure to condemn and halt the daily killing of civilians
in Gaza and the West Bank, most institutions and stakeholders in the Arab
region announced the cancellation of celebrations or events associated with the
International Day for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities or the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
In Jordan, the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities decided to utilize these two occasions as a reminder of the
conditions faced by individuals with disabilities in crises and wars. They
presented, during an event attended by a significant presence of international,
UN, and local bodies, the situation in Gaza as a vivid example of what persons
with disabilities encounter in cases of emergencies and armed conflicts.
Estimates from the World Health Organization indicate that
the percentage of disability in any society is at least 15 percent of the total
population. This percentage is inevitably higher in conditions of siege and
limited services, which the Gaza Strip has been experiencing for more than 17
years.
Cases of disability increase with successive wars in Gaza. Among the 50,000
wounded since the current assault on Gaza began, tens of thousands of
Palestinians with disabilities will continue their lives coping with one or
more disabilities. Instances of amputations and loss of sight appear to be
numerous due to the nature of the shells used by the Israeli army in its
bombing of civilians.
Relief organizations and international bodies, despite their
efforts to address the needs of the people of Gaza, do not appear to have
included essential and crucial tools and medications for individuals with
disabilities.
Medications for epilepsy, psychiatric conditions, and
autism, as well as essential equipment such as wheelchairs, crutches, and other
supportive tools, were not even listed in the medical aid passing through the
Rafah crossing after being checked by Israel.
Of the approximately 1.9 million people in Gaza, people with
disabilities face the greatest challenge, as their access to water and food,
which are already scarce, seems more difficult than others. Even reaching and
using toilets in such circumstances is an almost impossible task, considering
the lack of toilets. Even before this war, most schools were not equipped to
address the needs of people with disabilities. Now that these schools are
turned into shelter centers, the problem of disabled people who survived and
made it to those newly established shelters will continue to be difficult.
Individuals who had a disability before the war in Gaza have
witnessed their conditions worsen, and any rehabilitative services they
received have likely lost their effectiveness. They now face double the needs
and must exert twice the effort to return to their pre-war state.
The situation becomes even more agonizing if nobody can escape, and everyone is trapped under the rubble of destroyed homes. The images captured by journalists' lenses from Gaza depict civil defense crews and neighbors shouting from above the debris: "Is there anyone... is anyone alive?" If they hear a response, they commence efforts to locate and potentially rescue the individuals. However, if the person under the rubble is deaf, they won't hear or respond. If the person is blind, they won't perceive any stick or light sent by the rescuers attempting to locate them. A wheelchair user will be unable to move in any direction to adjust their position for a safe rescue.
In a poignant example, a Palestinian child who lost their
right arm from the shoulder expressed their anguish in a television interview,
saying, “I was hoping to become a photographer when I grow up. Now I will not
become a photographer. I don’t even know how I can live without my arm.” This
heartbreaking message reflects the plight of tens of thousands of people who
have become disabled in Gaza. It underscores the need for supporting entities
to develop psychological and physical rehabilitation programs, enabling the
victims of this war to accept their new reality and realistically envision
their future.
Advanced and innovative methods should be employed in a
holistic rehabilitation process, making extensive use of assistive technology
to assist both newly and previously disabled individuals, including smart
prosthetics, screen readers, and other tools.
Countries worldwide must recognize that training specialized
personnel and establishing emergency plans and services to meet the evacuation,
rescue, and first aid requirements of people with disabilities are urgent
necessities. Wars and natural disasters can occur anywhere, and it is
unacceptable for those most at risk in normal circumstances to be relegated to
the bottom of the priorities list for relief and rescue agencies.
Despite the profound pain experienced by advocates of human
rights, especially persons with disabilities, due to the tragic conditions in
the Gaza Strip, the significance of International Disability Day and
International Human Rights Day can be realized if there is a genuine
commitment. Emergency plans and services of countries must prioritize providing
immediate assistance to people with disabilities in disasters, crises, and
conflicts, ensuring they are not the last to receive help.
Dr. Muhannad Alazzeh
is a Member of the United Nations Committee for the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). He is a former member of the Jordanian Senate
and is an international legal and human rights commissioned expert. He is the
chairman of Community Media Network a Jordanian NGO.
Disclaimer:
Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Jordan News' point of view.
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