Anibar is giving a voice to those who are denied access by society

­The Legislation on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Kosovo is estimated to meet only 30% of what is required by the UN Convention of Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Dafina Zuna Hoxha from UNICEF, Matilda Zizolli from QKM Tirana, and the children’s rights advocate Riad Mehmeti tried to shed light on this and other issues on the “Access to All” panel that was streamed on Facebook Live.

For a long time, people who have special needs have been outcasts in society. Although there have been improvements in their quality of life, they still continue to face challenges when trying to access services and execute their rights on education, healthcare, and many more things in Kosovo. That is why the word inclusiveness required a more extensive definition on this panel.

Another thing that was discussed in the panel is the importance of awareness and sensibility towards the needs that people with disabilities have. UNICEF Kosovo, in order to bring these issues forward, placed 120 wheelchairs with schoolbags in front of the Kosovo Government building in the center of Pristina under the “Visas for Children” action. According to Hoxha, when the German Ambassador to Kosovo challenged the UNICEF director of Pristina to a stroll using a wheelchair for an hour, both of them struggled to access services.

“I cannot go out in Pristina without assistance from my mother or father” – says Riad Mehmeti, a children’s rights advocate who is also a user of wheelchairs. “I do not want my peers to have to assist me to go up a story at school when I could do that myself had there been the resources”.

A theme that took the spotlight in this discussion was also the stigmatization of people and the challenges that the relatives of people with special needs face. Matilta Zizolli, who works with special needs kids at QKM Tirana, emphasized that these challenges cannot fade away without focusing on the families as well as the individuals.

With already a limited access to education, the COVID-19 pandemic made it even more difficult for children who have special needs to follow their classes. However, as a silver lining, we can say that the pandemic taught the general public what it is like to live in isolation, something that these children consider everyday life.

Anibar is happy to help when it comes to raising awareness on these tremendously important issues. This panel was made possible with the support of Fridrich Ebert Stiftung – Prishtina Office, Kosovo We Want platform and SIDA through its Human Rightivism Program.