Report: Major Abuses Committed at Guatemala Hospital

The International Day of Persons with Disabilities was observance this past Monday with this year’s theme calling for the “removal of barriers to create an inclusive and accessible society for all.”  Sadly many barriers continue to exist against the disabled around the world such as the recent allegations of abuse in Guatemala.

An investigation by the Human Rights Office of the Archbishop of Guatemala and Disability Rights International (DRI) concluded that abuse was rampant against patients at the Federico Mora psychiatric hospital.  The joint study claimed that approximately 300 children were kept in isolation cells, and that hospital staff and convicts of a nearby prison often abused patients. 

The report also noted that patients lack proper treatment and die from curable illnesses. As a result, there is a high risk of HIV infection and this is made worse since the hospital allegedly lacks the resources to treat those exposed to the virus.

“We found a climate of terror. Even authorities at the hospital are afraid of their own staff.  Authorities told us they cannot remove known abusers because they fear they will be killed or threatened by gang members due to the links between staff and the Mara Salvatrucha (street gang),” observed DRI attorney Sofía Galván via a statement on the organization’s website.

Today’s Video: The Minor Fall, The Major Lift

Note: In honor of the International Day for Persons with Disabilities celebrated earlier this month, some of our some of our daily video segments this week will focus on the disabled community throughout Latin America.

In November the legislature in the Argentine province of Mendoza backed an initiative to comply with national law on the disabled. The measure protects the rights of the disabled in Mendoza and also expands public health coverage for disabled individuals. (For example, disabled individuals where previously excluded from the local public health system once they reached the age of twenty-one years regardless of the seriousness of their condition).

For over a decade the families of disabled individuals attempted to push through the plan though they were unable to gain much headway. Their efforts received a much-needed boost from “Caiga Quien Caiga” (“Whoever May Fall” in English), an Argentine TV news show that is presented in an irrelevant manner.

The following video from “Caiga Quien Caiga” shows how Mendoza’s disabled community, with help from the program, helped bring about necessary and long overdue changes:

Video Source – YouTube via LATVARG

Online Sources – United Nations Enable, Diario Uno, Wikipedia

Today’s Video: Empowerment Through Employment

Note: In honor of the International Day for Persons with Disabilities, which was held on December 3rd, this week's daily video segment will focus on the disabled community throughout Latin America.

Telethons were recently held in several Latin American countries including Chile where over $40 million was raised for the medical treatment and rehabilitation of thousands of disabled children.

The 27–hour event was presented by "Sabado Gigante" host Don Francisco and included appearances by musicians such as Diego Torres and Juanes as well as President Sebastián Piñera. (Piñera’s speech was briefly interrupted by a group of student protesters calling for educational reforms and a greater role by the state in caring for the disabled).

It’s up for debate whether the “Teletón” serves a useful purpose or is degrading towards the disabled. Yet an appearance by the head of one Chile’s National Disabled Service called much-needed attention to a problem facing millions of disabled individuals throughout the Americas: the lack of employment opportunities.

According to María Ximena Rivas, over two-thirds of employable disabled Chileans (nearly 1.4 million people) are without work. Rivas urged the government to make changes to existing labor laws in order to prevent discrimination and mistreatment against disabled individuals.

The following video shows the benefits that come from giving disabled individuals the opportunity to work. This 2006 clip from a report on Chile’s TVN shows how a blind impresario hired 25 mentally disabled individuals to work at his small factory:

Video Source – YouTube via jfvslice

Online Sources – El Mundo, Univision.com, La Republica

Today’s Video: Protesting for Disabled Rights in Bolivia

Note: In honor of the International Day for Persons with Disabilities, which was held on December 3rd, this week's daily video segment will focus on the disabled community throughout Latin America.

The theme of this year's International Day for Persons with Disabilities, was “Together for a better world for all: Including persons with disabilities in development.” Across the world disabled individuals strive for inclusion within society including promoting mainstreaming and accessibility for all.

Last month a group of 55 disabled Bolivians and their caretakers marched along roads in order to call attention to discrimination and the lack of opportunities in the disabled community. Despite laws made to protect the rights of the disabled the protesters claimed that they are marginalized and treated like second-class citizens. Some marchers, like the one in the video below, blamed President Evo Morales for failing to follow through with his pledges to help disabled Bolivians.

Today's Video: Empowerment

Today marks the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and according to the U.N. people with disabilities worldwide still encounter discrimination and marginalization:

(U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi) Pillay said disabilities were widespread. "Estimates indicate that more than 10 percent of the world's population have a disability themselves or have a close family member with one, and that in a quarter of all households there is someone with some sort of disability." he said.

Disabilities also disproportionately affect the poor. "According to UNESCO, more than 90 percent of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school," Pillay said.

From what I’ve observed as a wheelchair-bound person who has occasionally traveled to Latin America, there has been a gradual changing of attitudes towards the disabled. Yes there are those who view disabled individuals with pity but there seems to be more people who understand that the disabled generally seek empowerment and equality. The following video from The Advocacy Project touches on this in the form of an El Salvadoran landmine victim grateful with his job:

I was fortunate to use the Transmilenio bus system when I was in the Colombian capital of Bogota, a public transit option that has facilitated travel for people with disabilities. Yet access to the network is hindered by its cost (compared to other choices for travel) as well as the crumbling infrastructure (e.g. broken sidewalks, street potholes) near some of the stations. This seems to be symbolic of the hindrances facing the disabled in Latin America; there have been some notable advances yet much more needs to be done.

Online Sources- Wikipedia, Xinhua, YouTube

Today’s Video: Promoting the rights of the disabled

Today is the International Day for Persons with Disabilities, a date that has been commemorated since 1992 by the United Nations. This year’s theme is to celebrate the recent ratification of an international treaty designed to promote the rights of disabled persons around the world.

According to the World Bank, at least one in ten people in Latin America and the Caribbean are disabled. Most of them live in poverty while facing economic and social barriers that impede development. Some countries lack the proper infrastructure to encourage mobility for the physically disabled as I’ve learned firsthand during my visits to Colombia.

The following video demonstrates the numerous barriers faced by persons with disabilities in Central America along with the campaigns that try to break the barriers affecting disabled individuals:

Sources- United Nations, Wikipedia, People’s Daily Online, YouTube, World Bank