Three lives, equally valuable but completely different – personal stories for personal assistance
Three stories of three lives of three different Spanish, united by the desire to lead an independent life despite their disability. In Madrid, this is possible because there is regulated access to personal assistance, in Bulgaria – there is no such access.
Read More“A HALF OF THE DISABILITY PENSIONS ARE FAKE”
“A half of the disability pensions are false,” Totyu Mladenov said yesterday. He said it “On four eyes” with Tsvetanka Rizova, but people heard it all over Bulgaria. It is good for the Minister to have the courage to make such an unpopular statement – it gives hope that the Minister will have the courage to launch radical reforms in disability policies. The bad thing is, he said one half-truth – most disability pensions are a miserable addition to their recipients’ income, but they are perfectly legal, Mr Minister. The reason for this is in the system for performance evaluation and the status of the so-called TEMC decision.
Read MoreLOST IN THE TRANSLATION
LOST IN THE TRANSLATION most goes as a commentary headline for the information leaked to the National Disability Network’s March 2010 site:
“Bulgaria has been awarded for its contribution to the disability area. Golden Book 2010 Award Ceremony for Corporate Social Responsibility in Disability Field, rights and implementation.
Read MoreABOUT THE PEOPLE, THEIR HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE PUBLIC DEFENSE
“Light, not a shadow on the human rights” is the motto of the institution called the Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria or, to put it another way, the Human Advocate with a duty to protect the citizens guaranteed by law.
A group of people with disabilities who spend most of their lives in the shadows, not because of unnecessary modesty or unclean affairs, but because of the “caring” measures of protection and security of the state and municipality to them, have decided to give themselves another chance, not to be tempted by conciliatory obedience, and despite the innocuous experience they have in defending their human rights, to make another effort and turn to the “light” in the face of the National Ombudsman.
Read MorePoor populism, garneshed with incapacity leads to waste of state’s money and desperation for thousands of people with disabilities
This is how President Parvanov got involved with his intervention in the amendments to the Law on Integration of People with Disabilities. With a clear lack of competence in integration policies, the president was outraged by the introduction of an income measure for granting monthly support to people with disabilities.
Read MoreDon’t shoot the parents!!!
The following lines have been provoked by an interview, published on the Trud newspaper’s page on February 21st 2008, by a prosecutor from the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office of Cassation – Emilia Peneva, who monitors cases of crimes against children.
Read MoreThe road to Mogilino: the ideology of normality and the abandoned children of Bulgaria
In September 2007, the spirits were shaken by a documentary, when it aired on BBC 4. “Abandoned Children of Bulgaria” (directed by Kate Blewett) shows footage from the institution in Mogilino, that may have caused many people’s sleeplessness. We have seen such photos only from concentration camps – children who are literally “skin and bones”, left behind in their physical development due to malnutrition, poor conditions and lack of adequate medical care; who are closed in their world to survive; who are scolded by the staff as a flock; naked on the stairs, who have not felt the breeze outside and have not known what the play is; who have never gone to school; who die in profound misery and who are buried in somebody’s else grave.
Read MoreThe anatomy of the “copy-paste” policy: about “new” strategy for people with dissabilities
“Copy-paste policy” is such a policy that relies on the repeat, which satisfies the natural desire of the authorities to avoid change. However, despite its critical potential, the concept can be a conceptual Trojan horse for at least two reasons related to its two components.
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