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Bibliographies : Save the Children (UK)
Draft notes on disabled refugees by Sue Stubbs, 1995
In refugee situations, disabled children and adults are particularly vulnerable. If they do not have independent mobility, families may be forced to abandon them. They may be exposed to more health and safety risks and have less chance of survival. Despite the difficulties, many disabled people do manage to reach the camps. The refugee situation in itself also gives rise to an increase in causes of impairment; through poor nutrition and health conditions, injuries relating to conflict, accidents, burns, torture and trauma.
A key problem for disabled refugees, and those who become disabled in refugee situations, is the lack of disability awareness in refugee programmes. The needs of disabled refugees are first and foremost the needs of any other refugee; safety, health and nutrition needs. Yet in order for disabled refugees to benefit from nutrition and health programmes, their existence needs to be acknowledged, and the programmes need to ensure that they can benefit.
Disabled adults will often be able to help themselves and suggest ways to make programmes more accessible, given a chance to be heard. Mothers with disabled children will not always bring their disabled children forward unless there has been positive encouragement from camp organisers and professionals. Disabled children and adults can benefit hugely from access to ordinary educational, social and health services. Responding to the basic needs of disabled people in a refugee situation should not be an optional extra, but integral to all programmes.
Not all disabled people need rehabilitation; for many adults the needs are employment and housing. However, for some people, appropriate rehabilitation (exercises, mobility aids, prosthetics) can transform their lives and enable them to become a contributor to the community rather than dependent on it. For children, simple but timely intervention can prevent a lifetime of dependence. The advances made through Community-Based Rehabilitation programmes on low-cost appropriate technology mean that rehabilitation could be provided in refugee situations with initially very basic training and resources. The main obstacle to this is a self-perpetuating lack of knowledge, skills and awareness of disability issues by those who manage refugee situations. There is hardly any documentation on the actual experience of disabled refugees and their involvement in refugee programmes, therefore organisers do not know where to start. Once this pattern of invisibility is broken, then disability awareness can begin to become an automatic feature of refugee response.
Disabled children are first, and this is an important guiding principle in helping disabled children in refugee situations. Most disabled children will benefit from mainstream education even without specialist support. Very basic training can enable teachers to be more effective not just for disabled children, but for all children; in refugee situations many children will experience difficulty in learning due to upheaval and trauma, and so-called ‘special’ education techniques can help teachers respond to this.
In conclusion, disability awareness is not the responsibility of one particular sector, but should form part of everybody’s awareness. Key principles are;
Sue Stubbs
Bibliographies : Save the Children (UK)
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11/11/1998