There are people who, due to their reduced mobility, live their entire lives in quarantine: Disability and Rights

"There are people who aren't experiencing this quarantine as something extraordinary. There are those who live in constant quarantine their entire lives."

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to stay home for weeks. However, there are people with disabilities who have not been able to leave their homes for years.

This was commented by Ángela Fabre, citizen spokesperson for inclusion and accessibility for people with disabilities.

“People with reduced mobility have written to me to say: 'Angela, I'm not realizing we're in quarantine, because my life has been like this: locked up at home, without going out for years, because there's no elevator where I live, because the streets aren't adapted, because I have a degenerative disease and I'm at home…'”

Fabre was interviewed via Facebook from her native Spain by Argentine Anabella Shimanovitch, founder of Sentidos del Alma, a company that creates occupational therapy materials for people with disabilities.

Valuing health: a call to conscience

Angela also took the opportunity to raise awareness among people without mobility issues.

“There's something that human beings need to consider and value: the freedom and ease that many of us have in coming and going from home, aside from the current state of confinement, of course.”

The young Spanish woman has become known around the world thanks to the content she publishes on her Facebook account, "My Name is Angela." You can learn more about her story and find out more about her here.

Currently, she also collaborates with Theramart, where she shares her initiative to give “visibility to functional diversity” and raise awareness towards universal accessibility .

“It's a good time to put ourselves in someone else's shoes. I know that people often struggle with empathy. But I think what's happening is putting life in a difficult position, where it's a global problem that doesn't recognize color, race, disability... It's a problem for everyone. Maybe we can do something for other people .”

The reality of reduced mobility

On several occasions, Ángela Fabré has spoken about the importance of an inclusive and accessible society for all . And in the case of reduced mobility, the problems to be solved are pressing.

“Often, in establishments, the bathroom for people with disabilities is used as a storage room or even locked , just so others don't have to use it. But then it happens that the person who really needs to use that bathroom arrives, sees the door closed, can't find the person with the key, and ends up relieving themselves on it. I've seen it with my own eyes,” he commented. Hence the need for empathy that he so promotes.

"People have to be responsible and mature enough to understand that the open bathroom isn't for us. It shouldn't have to be locked."

In this regard, Fabre added: “There are those who question why parking for people with disabilities is located near the doors of establishments and why they have that privilege. It's not a privilege. Of those people, most wouldn't want to be in a wheelchair . So it's not a reward. It's an advantage that others don't enjoy.”

Do you know the benefits a mobility scooter can provide for people with mobility disabilities ? Learn how they can improve their mobility independence.

“An exercise in re-education”

However, despite the challenges that continue, Angela celebrates the small, big battles that have been achieved both for people with disabilities and with other groups that are demanding respect for their rights .

"We're doing a re-education exercise. Because telling a 30- or 40-year-old all this, that things are changing, is much easier than telling someone who's 80."

Finally, Angela considered that something positive for humanity can also be obtained from the current contingency .

"I think this time at home will be beneficial for many people to get to know themselves, which is also a super important topic. Because if you don't appreciate yourself and don't know what path to take, you won't be able to help other people find that path of knowing how to behave."

What do you think? What do you think of what Ángela Fabre has proposed? What other initiatives can you think of to promote everyone's right to accessibility? Share your comments with us.