“In a way, we are now at a crossroads”
People with deafblindness, who make up between zero point two per cent to two per cent of the population, are a very diverse but often hidden group that is overall more often affected by poverty and unemployment. Is there progress in integration? An interview with Sanja Tarczay, President of the World Federation of the Deafblind (WFDB).
You said at the summit that the GDS is the hub for inclusion. What do you mean by that?
Sanja Tarczay: Just look at the Civil Society Forum that was part of the program. There were many different perspectives present by persons with disabilities, by government representatives, by different experts that were working tirelessly on getting to new solutions to connecting, networking, deliberating on important topics. Those different perspectives and that diversity managed to create a rich hub, a rich inclusion hub in transfer of knowledge – it was a great place and a great space for public discussions regarding the topics that are being disregarded lately.
And that's why it's very important that not only persons with disabilities are here, but all the actors that are important in creating inclusion.
Please forgive me the naive question, but why is there a need for a Global Disability Summit?
I think that's not really a naive question, but something that should be questioned. Why? Because when we look into the past, where do we stand? Let me rephrase it. I can give you an example of Germany: In 2013, I was visiting Germany because many of my deafblind colleagues asked me to come and support them with education, with explaining support services to their government. And besides that, we organized a deafblind march without any support. And for deafblind people, that's a huge problem. We managed to organize it here in Berlin, and we went in front of the government advocating for our rights. That's actually connected to your question, because why is it important? International cooperation is the reason. If this didn't happen, Germany probably wouldn't be that very far with deafblind rights. Now deafblind persons here have support assistance. And they're not isolated anymore.
When it comes to the implementation of human rights for people with disabilities, why do we see so much failure?
I wouldn't phrase it as a failure. I would definitely say that there is a small but certain progress. I can give an example of my own country, Republic of Croatia. When I started my National Association of Deafblind Persons, deafblind people didn't exist anywhere: Not in the law, not in the support system, anything. Last year, we finally got a law of personal assistance and communication mediators that managed to formalize this support legally. So, back to what you were talking about: It depends a lot on the state you're in, but it also depends on the effort and the strength of organizations of persons with disabilities and their involvement. Maybe there are some streams that influence the picture of persons with disabilities as well. You can always emphasize all the failures, but realistically there are some progresses.
I think it is very important to recognise that the rights of people with disabilities do not only apply to people with disabilities. We can all get a disability, especially as we get older.
For example, losing sight or hearing or having some kind of physical disability just for being old. Hence, I think it's important to focus on everyone's rights equally.
People without a disability usually don't think about this…
Yes, that's very true. I mean, people feel like: Oh no, that's not going to happen to me. But the thing is, it happens. It happens to everyone. It's all a question of perspective. Nobody's going to be forever young and we cannot keep our youth forever. That's why I try to emphasize that.
Your organization works globally - do your activities also come into contact with topics such as food and nutrition?
I think that we need to cooperate more with food experts and nutritionists. Because many persons with disabilities are more liable to all kinds of illnesses and sicknesses due to lack of support or due to lack of access. So I believe that this place could also be a great place to network and to connect everyone who plays a role in order to start that initiative. And in a way, it's connected to your previous question as well: I know that there are cheap and simple solutions for healthy nutrition as well. And I think that the industry of healthy food is also problematic in that regard.
What is the situation in the global south, is the issue of access to food a particular issue for deafblind people?
That's a very delicate point because in Europe and let's say North America and Australia the situation is somewhat better regarding those topics. But in some countries in Africa and some other parts of the Global South, they are still struggling with survival, with the basic survival. So it's a whole different level. I mean, some of them don't have access to food at all, let alone adequate food. And I think that actually this is a very good question. And it's a problem that we don't think enough about these things either.
You said that there is a little progress. Hence, where will we be in ten years?
That's really hard to foresee. In a way, we are now at a crossroads. I always believe in goodness of humankind, and I always believe in the optimistic approach. I mean, now we see the situation in North America that significantly influences the world. But we also have the war in Russia and Ukraine. We also have many other conflicts that are ongoing at this point, like Gaza as well. And I am very well aware of those conflicts. But regardless of that, I don't think I'm sure what will happen in ten years, but it will certainly be better.
