Disability pride

The late Effie Ben Baruch 

I am sorry to concede that I learned about July being Disability Pride Month from none other than ADI's Facebook page. 

Actually - and ADI omitted this point - it is recognized as such only in New York City where Mayor Bill de Blasio declared it in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Parades are held in a number of American cities including Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco and San Antonio. 

New York City is hosting a parade to commemorate the landmark legislation and as a born-and-bred New Yorker I'll jump on that bandwagon. 

While ADI did disseminate this helpful information, it is also hard at work entrenching the institutionalization of babies, children and adults with disabilities in large, locked structures far from the rest of society. 

So, you do the math. I'd say this mention of July doesn't clear them even one iota. In fact, this month is being touted thus: 

"....not only a time for the disabled community to celebrate who they are, but it's also a time to better understand how you can become a better ally to our disabled community members." 

And I will attempt to do just that.

Several days ago, advocates for disability rights in Israel learned that a former caregiver, Ali Akaria, who worked in Ramat Haifa, an institution for people with disabilities was sentenced to nine months of community service after he was convicted of attacking Ephraim Ben Baruch. 

The latter, a helpless 27 year old resident in Ramat Haifa with cognitive and behavioral impairments, endured repeated abuse there by other caregivers which, it is suspected, caused his eventual death in 2019. 

 In his judgement against Akaria, Judge Zair Falach wrote that the defendant asked for the court's mercy and he responded: 

"If the defendant had behaved with mercy toward his charge he would not find himself being judged before me. The defendant's request for mercy is an infuriating request when the defendant himself behaved with an absence of mercy toward the deceased charge."

A propos "infuriating", the fact that the judge's ire translated into several months of community service has had that same effect on the disability activist community. That slap on the wrist has galvanized them to redouble their fight for an end to institutionalization. Protest rallies, petitions, PR campaigns and lawsuits are all being weighed as the next step toward that goal. 

Parents and siblings constantly share their desperation to transfer their loved ones to in-community living in small hostels. 

Pull out your magnifying glass to see what has us very excited:
My daughter Haya is kicking a bit!

In Israel this isn't an option for most. As one of them noted: 

"...within the system of checks and balances that exists when residents go out to activities and live in the community among neighbors, leave their homes, a case of ongoing abuse would be exposed. The institution of Ramat Haifa - like Neve ha-Irus which we recently experienced - is an isolated island where anything can happen. Going out into the community ensures the safety of residents while the Ministry argues that an institution is the most protected place."

Somebody in that Whatsapp group posted an invitation to an ADI-sponsored Zoom event for parents of children with disabilities. Shocked and dismayed to see them ensnared in another ADI trap, I reminded them what the ADI enterprise is really about. You can help spread the word too! This is the month for you to help spread the message.