“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
These golden words buttressed the training programme targeting a group of people with a disability by supporting them in becoming better representatives of their sector in the media and teaching them how to go about campaigning and awareness raising.
The fruits of ‘Promoting disabled people’s direct voice’, an EU-funded course run by the National Commission Persons with Disability (KNPD) and the Malta Business School, are immediately visible in the persons of two of its participants: Mario Borg and Omar Jelassi.
They put their points across persuasively and speak before our camera articulately, as they highlight the issues which they feel most strongly about.
“Speaking before the camera is not my strongest skill,” Mr Borg, 38, admits. “I tend to get somewhat tongue-tied. I’m much better with words.”
Mr Jelassi, 33, says that the exact opposite applies to him. “I prefer speaking to get my message across. Don’t put a piece of paper before me because I get confused.”
Project coordinator Anselmo Bugeja explains that the course was divided into two programmes aimed at people with physical disabilities as well as people with intellectual disabilities. “Rather than focus on six skills, we zoomed in on the skill they’re most comfortable with and we assessed them.”
A mixture of theoretical and hands-on experience, the course delved into the inner workings of the media, how to set up a campaign and how to present oneself before the media.
Rhoda Garland from the KNPD explains that the course also taught the participants their rights, how to detect cases of discrimination and how to react.
Where there times when you felt discriminated against?
Mr Borg, who has spina bifida, says he felt that way whenever public places were not accessible to wheelchair users. “I also feel that way when I’m given fewer duties than my colleagues at work. I feel frustrated because people make me feel different, as if I were not capable of doing things like other people.
“When I’m in social gatherings, people tend to sometimes exclude me in discussions. It’s very frustrating.”
Mr Jelassi, who has spastic diplegia and a slight intellectual disability, says he feels discriminated against whenever the seat reserved for disabled people on buses is taken up by non-disabled people.
“Once I was walking by and I realised that a man was staring intently at me. I finally approached him and explained why I walk the way I do and what my disability consists of.”
Finding a job, he adds, is also a pressing problem. Many employers tend to assume that, because a person is disabled, he or she will be taking a lot of sick leave, Mr Jelassi says.
“We wish that the media would stop stereotyping disabled people,” Mr Borg adds.
“We need to talk about education, employment, accessibility but also about relationships and sexuality. The latter two themes tend to be very much glossed over.”