Here are some reflections from the students at Carleton University on Our Journey film.
1. I found that the theme of inclusion and exclusion was strong in the video Our Journey. Many of the girls attending the workshop had experiences with being excluded in school and within their communities. There was also a definite difference in power regarding who is allowed to belong based on the perception of a person’s abilities and ethnicity. This made me think about what it means to be included and how a person knows when they are being excluded. Would inclusion mean modified participation, or merely being present in a space? Or, could these also be considered aspects of exclusion? From what many of the girls shared, exclusion was often in the form of being teased by peers and prevented from doing activities, like going to community celebrations. In those places their presence was discouraged and even punished with verbal and physical abuse. Being allowed to exist in the same space as others appears to be a large issue, which is fed by physical and attitudinal barriers. At times these barriers were put up by family members, whether they intended to or not. For example, a girl was told by her grandmother that if she couldn’t speak well, she should not speak at all. However, I can see how saying something like that could have been intended as a way to keep a person safe. This brings up another large issue of “best interest”, and whose best interest is really being considered.
There are many aspects in the Global South, as mentioned in the lecture, that I may not have considered previously such as disability being related to sin. From what I have learned in the context of the Global North, the notion of disability as a punishment for the sin of the parents was an understanding from the past, and no longer prevalent. So, I am glad to have learned more about the intersectional considerations in the Global South, and how my understandings cannot simply be transferred without being modified to include the context surrounding a place and issue.
2. I really liked the video called “Our Journey”. It talked about how people with disabilities are patronized and viewed as less capable but that is far from the truth. In fact disabled people can do things that people without disabilities can’t. Everyone is different and unique and capable of their own things and that makes the world really beautiful. It should be cherished instead of frowned upon- but capitalism does not see it this way and adds to the stigma people with disabilities face. It was really cool seeing youth with disabilities especially in an international context because media and in real life with segregation in places such as schools, they are not seen and heard much by society. When society thinks of someone with a disability it is usually an older person. I was also nice that a variety of disabilities were shown. Also, it was nice that youth in the disabled community were doing activism and feeling empowered because empowerment leads to societal change and dismantling oppressive structures. I also really liked learning about disability justice in the lecture and how it differs from disability rights. I like how solidarity is shown for other movements since that is so important for creating change and making total liberation happen.
3. I felt most engaged with the video Transforming Disability Knowledge, Research, & Activism. This video immediately caught and held my attention. This video has the aims to breakdown barriers for females experiencing a disabibility living in Vietnam (Hanoi, Thua Thien Hue, and Can Tho) to allow them to express themselves. It was amazing to see and here various people with varying disabilities to speak about their personal experiences and sadly, experience of oppression and exclusion. It was so sad to hear the young girl say that she has always wanted to go to a cultural festival, but she cannot bring herself to go as she would be face everyone treating her funny or looking at her funny due to her disability. In other words, she faces exclusion from her cultural practices. That is not okay. I particularly enjoyed, and felt most engage with the consideration that this video centered in on females. The female experience and as a female myself, I was able to attempt to place myself in their shoes. I also enjoyed that the age range of people speaking in the video ranged from young to old, hearing all stories rather than centering on the common heard voice of young adults.