Rio’s Disabled Face Barriers Despite Paralympics

According to the official website for the Rio Olympics and Paralympics, organizers assured that both competitions would allow for full accessibility.

“We are going to offer locations free of obstacles, plan transport for Rio 2016 clients inside the principles of universal design, incorporate accessibility criteria into accommodation plans, provide an accessible and inclusive workplace, use accessible communication tools, as well as making partners and employees aware of accessibility, encouraging the adoption of new behavior,” planners boasted. But as the Paralympics is opened tonight, those pledges detailed by event organizers have not been fully realized.

A recent investigation by Brazil’s O Globo noted that despite the influx of an estimated 4350 athletes and estimated quarter of a million tourists including 10% with special needs, problems plague Rio’s infrastructure, transport, and accessibility for the disabled. Despite more than seven years of planning prior to the Paralympics, obstacles continue to abound including the lack of wider sidewalks, ramps to cross the street and wheelchair accessible restrooms.

Tale the case of Claudecir Lopes, a 37-year-old who O Globo described as a “muscular” person using a wheelchair since he became paralyzed at the age of thirteen. He recently made his way through the railway station at Deodoro, one of the areas were several Olympic sports were held including equestrian and rugby sevens. Lopes made his way to the platform by ascending a ramp but noted that the entrance to the train was nearly one foot above the platform. No railway workers were present to answer hiss calls for assistance though he was eventually able to enter the train with the help of two passengers.

“I would have missed that train had it not been for the solidarity of the users,” Lopes explained. “I would like to move around without the help of anyone. This is not a matter of pride, but rather a matter of freedom,” he added.

Daily Headlines: July 28, 2016

* Bolivia: Disability rights protesters calling for greater benefits recently entered their fourth month of protest camping out in the streets of La Paz after initially marching roughly 250 miles from Cochabamba.

* Guatemala: Former President Otto Perez Molina, who resigned in 2015 being implicated in the “La Linea” corruption probe, faces new corruption charges over purportedly heading a “criminal network” and accepting some $39 million in bribes.

* United States: A recent survey found nearly one in five Latinos use app-based ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft though they’re used by 53% of residents in “majority-minority” neighborhoods.

* Brazil: Vale SA, the mining firm involved in a deadly dam collapse that killed seventeen people last November, reported a 34% nosedive in its second quarter profits.

YouTube Source – euronews (Special needs demonstrators in La Paz, Bolivia have occasionally clashed with police).

Online Sources – The Huffington Post, Pew Research Center, ABC News, Reuters

Daily Headlines: April 4, 2016

* Peru: Poll frontrunner Keiko Fujimori flip-flopped and pledged to not pardon her father, imprisoned former Peruvian leader Alberto Fujimori, if she wins the presidency in elections scheduled for next week.

* Venezuela: A Human Rights Watch report assailed Venezuelan law enforcement for extrajudicial killings of suspected gang members as part of a crackdown against crime.

* Haiti: Several hundred protesters including disabled rights activists and human rights advocates marched in Port-au-Prince last Friday to condemn the murders of three deaf Haitian women.

* U.S.: The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the current “one person, one vote” rule to decide voting districts in a decision that prevented shifting “political power away from fast-growing communities of immigrants”.

YouTube Source – NTDTV (Ex-president Alberto Fujimori was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison in 2009 for human rights abuses during his decade as Peru’s president).
 
Online Sources – Reuters, InSight Crime, CBS News, The Los Angeles Times

The Weekender – The Beast of the Rails

“The Weekender” is our new feature where every weekend we hope to highlight a short film, movie or documentary pertaining to the Americas.  
A group of at least fifteen disabled Hondurans known by the Spanish-language acronym of AMIREDIS have planned to trek through Mexico with the goal of highlighting abuses committed against Central American migrants.  The men may use different assistive devices but all of them became disabled while attempting to trek northbound on the dangerous rail journey on a lengthy freight train known simply as La Bestia (“The Beast”).

“My accident was in 2005,” said protester José Luis Hernández to the Animal Politico website.  “I had been riding twenty days on the train and hiding from police and gangs trying to assault us.  My exhaustion beat me and I fainted.  I fell below the train’s wheels and one of my arms, a leg and three fingers on the other arm were cut off,” he mentioned.

The marchers petitioned last month for visas from Mexican migratory authorities in order to travel to Mexico City and attempt to talk with President Enrique Peña Nieto. Furthermore, the AMIREDIS group was scheduled to speak to legislators on Wednesday in Mexico City and voice their concerns regarding how Central American migrants are often the targets of death, extortion and kidnapping from drug gangs and corrupt police.

However, they have yet to receive permission to legally travel through Mexico and have seen their funds dwindle down.  As a result, members of the group are strongly considering making their journey on the train that caused their respective serious injuries.

“My leg became amputated after riding on La Bestia and it’s a memory I would prefer not to remember,” said AMIREDIS spokesman Normal Saúl Varela.  “But it may be necessary to ride on it again in order to obtain our goal, which is to speak to President Peña Nieto and that he sees with his own eyes the affects of riding that train,” he added.

A 2010 Amnesty International report found that “migrants in Mexico are facing a major human rights crisis leaving them with virtually no access to justice, fearing reprisals and deportation if they complain of abuses.”  The report cited an incident that reportedly occurred on the La Bestia line when a female migrant was forced off the train by Mexican Federal Police, had her belongings stolen and was forced to walk on foot where she was subsequently raped by an armed gang.

Several documentaries have been made focusing on the perilous trip on La Bestia such as Which Way Home, a film that aired on HBO in 2009.  Below the page break is a documentary in Spanish regarding the journey on La Bestia.  We begin nearly nine minutes into the film with the harrowing images of teenagers in a Mexican hospital recovering from amputations caused by the beastly rail trip:        

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: Patricia at the Polls

We'll return on Wednesday with several news stories from around the Americas including the aftermath of Mexico's presidential election.

For now we'll leave you with the following video of Patricia Ortiz Garcia, a young woman with a disability from Mexico City who was one of the thousands of poll workers during last Sunday's elections.

"Since I was born people told me that I would be a vegetable...but since then I said to myself 'I don't know how but I will get things done'" said Ortiz in the video from Mexican daily El Universal.

Online Source - YouTube via El Universal

U.N. Denounces Forced Sterilizations of Mentally Disabled Peruvians

Last year Peruvian authorities reopened an investigation into the alleged clandestine forced sterilizations of some 2000 women during the 1990s. Yet the practice of forced sterilizations in Peru apparently still continues though the victims are not exactly the same as those from two decades ago.

Earlier this month the U.N. expressed its “profound worry” against the Peruvian government for allowing the forced sterilizations of mentally disabled people. According to the U.N. Committee for the Rights of People With Disabilities, individuals sterilized under the program often do so “without free or informed consent.” Therefore, the U.N. urged Peruvian officials to immediately halt this program that is reportedly carried out as a “method of contraception” against individuals with psychiatric issues.

The committee also denounced substandard conditions in Peruvian psychiatric clinics such as the Larco Herrera Hospital in Lima. Patients at these clinics are forced to take medications and some people have been allegedly “institutionalized” in these centers for as long as ten years without receiving proper rehabilitative care according to the U.N.

The below video via Peruvian TV looks at the patients at a psychiatric center in Iquitos as well as the lack of proper medical care for the mentally disabled:

Bolivian President Bows to Pressure from Disabled Activists

A group of disabled demonstrators agreed to end weeks of protests after Bolivian president Evo Morales agreed to some of their main demands.

The breakthrough came after Morales said on Friday that he would support a proposal granting increased rights to disabled individuals. The General Law for Persons with Disabilities would grant equal rights to the disabled as well as the “social inclusion of disabled people in public institutions of the state.” Furthermore, the proposal would reportedly drop the tariffs on imports of wheelchairs and other assistive devices as well as free medical access in public hospitals.

Additionally, Morales also agreed to the protesters’ request for an annual state subsidy for the disabled. However the $143 per person agreed to was less than the original $431 per individual sought by the protesters.

Disabled protest leaders subsequently said that the group of approximately fifty people would leave from the tent camp that they resided in for nine days in La Paz’ Murillo Square. “We will return to our points of origin with three key victories: the approval of the law (for the disabled), the granting of a subsidy for disabled people and bringing citizen awareness to our cause,” claimed protest leader Carlos Mariaca.

The protesters’ actions began last November when dozens of people with disabilities and their supporters marched along the highways from the province of Beni to the capital city. Their 1000-mile gained little global attention until last month when some of the protesters clashed with La Paz riot police:

The government backed the actions of the officers and minister Carlos Romero alleged that opposition activists infiltrated the group of disabled demonstrators. Yet the police were accused of unnecessarily repressing the protesters including the reported use of pepper spray and “tazing” to control the crowd.

“Any allegations of abuse should be thoroughly and impartially investigated,” said Guadalupe Marengo, Deputy Americas Program Director at Amnesty International.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English

Online Sources – Diario El Siglo, Amnesty International USA, The Guardian, AFP, The Latin Americanist

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: Rolling for Peace

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.

On December 6th tens of thousands of people marched in a series of rallies against Colombia’s FARC guerillas. The demonstrations took place in Colombia as well as several major international cities and sought to call for an end to violence perpetrated by one of the world’s oldest existing rebel groups.

One of the organizations that helped organize the anti-FARC march in Bogota was the Fraternity of Disabled Police Officers (Fraternidad de Policías Discapacitados in Spanish or FRAPON). Members of the FRAPON include policemen injured in combat who have marched in numerous occasions across Colombia calling for the liberation of kidnap victims. “We will continue rolling through the country until all the hostages are freed,” said FRAPON president Luis Alberto Ninco Sanchez.

The following video comes from a FRAPON march in 2009 during a stop in the Colombian town of Cajica. Several local politicos gave their recognition to the FRAPON’s efforts for peace and a prompt end to the country’s decades-old armed conflict.

Video Source – YouTube via Nocitcentrocolombia

Online Sources – BBC News, El Colombiano, Colombia Soy Yo

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.

Daily Headlines: November 4, 2011

* Latin America: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was named to Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s most powerful people along with Chilean leader Sebastián Piñera, Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim and wanted drug gang chief Joaquín Guzmán.

* Cuba: Officials announced a new property law that allows Cubans to buy and sell real estate openly for the first time since the 1959 revolution.

* Puerto Rico: A lengthy legal battle regarding the mistreatment of the mentally ill appears to have come to an end.

* Colombia: The Russian government is not too pleased with the conviction of arms dealer Viktor Bout who allegedly tried to sell weapons to Colombian guerillas.

Image Source – Via Flickr user Isaac Ribeiro. (2010 image of then-presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff). (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources- Huffington Post, Reuters, MSNBC, The Guardian

Today’s Video: Taxis for all

Last week we briefly examined the difficulties faced by people with disabilities (PWD) in Latin America. We noted that "some progress" has been made in the region in order to promote the rights of PWD and help grant them much deserved social and economic equality.

Mexico City's ubiquitous green-colored VW Beatle taxis have been gradually phased out in recent years in favor of more modern, environmentally-friendly vehicles. The changes also included a pilot program of pink-colored women-only taxis that was tested last year.

Despite the positive changes to the taxi system in the megalopolis practically nothing has been done to accommodate PWD. None of the more than 250,000 registered cabs could be considered wheelchair accessible though that changed last month. Heriberto Gómez Pérez became the first Mexico City taxi driver with a fully accessible vehicle, a minivan with a hydraulic wheelchair lift. According to the website for El Universal, Gomez spent over 200,000 pesos (over USD $17,000) in order to modify his vehicle.

"I hope (Mexico City mayor Marcelo) Ebard noitces this and pays attention too a segment of the population...that want to be treated with dignity and well-being with their transportation," said Gomez. Hopefully Gomez' initiative will be example for the integration of accessible taxis not only in Mexico but for other major cities of the world.

(Video link via El Universal):

Online Sources - New York Times, The Latin Americanist, Latin America Traveller, Mexipreneur, El Universal
Video Source - YouTube via El Universal

Peru: Transit discrimination case highlights obstacles against the disabled

The above video shows the farcical case of a government building in Bogotá, Colombia that has a wheelchair accessible entrance but only stairs to reach offices on the second floor.

On Tuesday we commemorated the twenty-first anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by featuring a video with disability rights advocate Kathy Martinez. She explained that the ADA has helped remove obstacles that have hindered the social progress of the disabled. Nevertheless, she also noted that there are “invisible” barriers related to “fear” and “stereotypes” against the disabled in the U.S.

According to a report released this year by the World Heath Organization and the World Bank, negative “attitudes” on the disabled (like those Martinez pointed out) is one of the many problems facing people with disabilities around the world. Latin America is no exception to this as noted in an article published yesterday on the website of Peruvian daily La Republica:

A court sentenced a bus driver and conductor with a two-year suspended sentence and a civil damages fine of S/. 200 (Ed.- roughly $74) for discriminating against a physically disabled person in Arequipa.

According to the city’s ombudsman both people denied entry to the woman after arguing that her wheelchair “took up too much space”.

Local disabled rights activists and officials that this case can bring attention to discrimination against disabled users of the public transit system in Arequipa and throughout Peru. "The scourge of discrimination perpetuates an environment of exclusion against those who are perceived as different and even inferior, affecting the fundamental rights of citizens and society as a whole," observed Gisella Vignolo of the Arequipa Ombudsman's Office.

It’s worth noting that some progress has been made in countries like Mexico in order to promote the rights of the disabled. Furthermore, several Latin America and Caribbean have signed and ratified the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. But there are still too many obstacles faced by the disabled in the region are including a lack of employment opportunities. They have endured an uphill struggle against social and economic inequality, a struggle that will continue for many years to come.

Video Source- ElEspectador.com via YouTube
Online Sources- La Republica, The Latin Americanist, World Heath Organization, NACLA, El Universal, UN Enable

Today’s Video: The ADA at 21

Today marks the twenty-first anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In the following video via the It's Our Story project, disability rights advocate Kathy Martinez explains how the law has helped people with disabilities while also pointing out the "barriers" that still remain in our modern society:

Video Source - It's Our Story via YouTube

Nuestro Cine: Wandering star

This Monday marks the seventeenth anniversary of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) bombing in Buenos Aires, which cost the lives of 85 people and left hundreds injured. The target of the attack was a Jewish charities center located in the Argentine capital city and it's considered the worst terrorist attack in the South American country's history.

The Argentine government has blamed Iranian officials for the attack and Interpol has issued arrest warrants against several Iranian figures including Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi. Argentina's accusations are expected to be reiterated in a report to be issued later this week while Iran has repeatedly denied the charges.

"Anita" is a 2009 movie that centers on a girl with Down Syndrome who lived a happy life with her family until the day of the AMIA bombing. The titular character becomes estranged from her loved ones and wanders around Buenos Aires where she meets several colorful characters who try to help her out. Anita evolves into a more independent and mature person while also struggling with being split from her caring family.

Marcos Carnevale directed the film that was critically acclaimed and helped Leonor Manso win Best Supporting Actress at the 2009 edition of Argentina's top film awards.

Below is the trailer for "Anita", a very touching movie that highlights the pain felt by Argentines as a result of the AMIA bombing:

Video Source - YouTube
Online Sources - AFP, BBC News, imdb.com

Nuestro Cine: The quiet man

Earlier this week we featured the trailer to “Las Acacias”, a movie that earned Argentina’s Pablo Giorgelli who won top first-time director honors at the Cannes Film Festival. Yet other movies from Latin America shined brightly at the latest edition of the prestigious film that ended last Sunday.

In 2005, Porfirio Ramirez, a wheelchair-bound Colombian man, hijacked a Cali-Bogota flight and demanded government compensation for his disability. (He alleged that he became paralyzed after being shot by police in 1991). The standoff ended when negotiators tricked Ramirez and he was captured without detonating the twin grenades he smuggled in his adult undergarments. He was sentenced to eight years of house arrest, a confinement made more difficult by his disability.

Though the film highlights several aspects of Ramirez’ daily life the film is in reality fictional. Director Alejandro Landes chose to cast Ramirez as the protagonist after meeting him. "When I met him [Porfirio] I was dazzled by his mental and physical strength and this story would not have gone far without Porfirio," said Landes in an interview.
According to Miami International Film Festival Director Jaie Laplante, including Ramirez into the film was a move that paid off:

What IS in the film is a minimalist approach to detailing the boredom and frustration of Porfirio's daily life as a paraplegic -- the effort it takes to scratch his back, or take a bath, deal with normal bodily functions, be able to parent his teenage son and have a physical relationship with his young girlfriend. 



Porfirio is an undeniably magnetic character and I watched every minute of Porfirio in hushed fascination. Landes has done an extraordinary job with his minimalist narrative, brilliantly explored a new genre (some programmers have taken to calling it "hyper-realism," a unique fusion of the bio-pic and cinema verite style) and in the process revealed new riches through quiet and stillness.

The Spanish/Colombian/Uruguayan co-production generated plenty of buzz at Cannes and you can hopefully see why via the trailer below.

(Note: the video is slightly Not Safe for Work).

Video Source – YouTube,
Online Sources- NPR, Miami New Times, Colombia Reports

Brazil: Did "Autism House" go too far?

Humor is subjective and what may be funny to some can also be offensive to others. It's a lesson that the cast and crew of one Brazilian TV show seem to be learning the hard way.

An episode of "Comedia MTV" that originally aired on March 22nd came under fire for a sketch parodying the reality series "Big Brother." The sketch entitled "Casa dos Autistas” ("Autism House") depicted mentally disabled individuals (as played by the show's cast) punching a piano and scratching the paint off the walls while trapped in a house.

Numerous public reactions regarding "Casa dos Autistas” included an online petition signed by several thousand people calling the sketch "disrespectful and immoral." Legislator Paulo Pimenta called for a government investigation based on his view that the show "reinforced the notion of segregating those who are not 'normal'." "If they knew what it's like (to have an autistic son) they never would've depicted them that way," said the member of a Brazilian disability rights group to the local press.

The uproar led MTV Brasil to issue a formal apology including a mea culpa that aired at the start of last week's episode of "Comedia MTV". "Autism is a serious issue that should be treated respectfully," read part of the apology to "those who were offended" by the sketch in question.

A recent Folha.com article noted that numerous Brazilian TV comedians disagreed with the uproar over the "Casa dos Autistas” sketch. Several humorists observed that the main problem was the execution of the sketch rather than the joke itself:

(Member of the"Casseta & Planeta" comedian team Marcelo Madureira said) the problem with 'Comedia MTV' was the length of the joke. Overstretched and lacking grace"...

"I think the great fun of an autistic house is that nothing happens. The problem was the interpretation was too real. People would understand if the tone of the sketch was more jocular" (said Gregorio Duvivier, a member of the comedy series Z.É. (Zenas Emprovisadas).)

The controversy over the "Comedia MTV" troupe comes three years after an uproar in Australia over a "Chaser's War on Everything" sketch satirizing the Make-A-Wish Foundation. But did the "Casa dos Autistas” cross the line between humor and insult. Judge for yourself via the following TV Globo report on the controversy that includes clips from the "Casa dos Autistas” sketch:

Video Source - YouTube
Online Source - Terra Brasil, MS Aqui, MTV Brasil, Folha.com, ABC News

Daily Headlines: February 17, 2011

* U.S.: Congrats to Latina civil rights pioneer Sylvia Mendez who was one of fifteen recipients of the Medal of Freedom this week.

* Ecuador: A small population of Ecuadorians with a dwarfism disorder may hold clues in the prevention of age-related diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

* Latin America: In its annual report the Committee to Protect Journalists decried "a rise in censorship” in Latin America by “government repression, judicial interference, and intimidation from criminal groups."

* Haiti: Will an endorsement by musician Wyclef Jean provide a boost to the campaign of presidential candidate Michel Martelly?

Image – Olivier Douliery, McClatchy-Tribune via The Orange County Register (“President Barack Obama presents human rights activist Sylvia Mendez with the 2010 Medal of Freedom in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday.”)
Online Sources- NPR, Reuters, San Jose Mercury News