Immigrate with a disability

The earthquake that destroyed several villages in Italy on August 24th, another in central Myanmar, the Louisiana flooding in the USA, the series of bomb attacks in Thailand … war and armed conflicts taking place all over the world, undesirable consequences of the development of Science and Technology … the priority today is to prepare humanity to face those unexpected challenges; all humanity.

"Integrative Risk Management - towards resilient cities"
28 August - 01 September 2016 | Davos, Switzerland

Migrants, Asylum Seekers and Refugees with Disabilities in the Context of Major Risks Prevention and Management

Photo Jean-Luc Simon

Jean-Luc Simon

See the presentation PPT

A consequence ofmajor crisis leads thousands of people to migrate and engage in long and difficult journeys without knowing either their destination or where and when it will end. A lot of these people are physically or mentally injured by war, disaster or during escape and become disabled. Those who live with several restrictions of their physical or intellectual capabilities are abandoned without an attendant or career. During the Exodus of the European population in 1940, the dramatic reality is that people were abandoned in psychiatric hospitals, and today, people with disabilities face the same terrible situations when their community members are obliged to escape the war: Glued under the bombs and alone.

Regardless of their personal abilities, all human beings have a range of common interests to take an active part in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. As Henry Cassirer, the founder of the French DPI Assembly, wrote in 2001 at the threshold of his life, “Innovation remains for me the key to progress in the future, but there is the reverse of the medal: The fear and anxiety of the unexpected.” Henry wrote this text in 2001 in French, which wasn't his native language, then German, which was not his working language, then English after he became a refugee and found himself in the UK to escape the Nazi regime he had fought.

Your contribution is needed

To prepare its communication to The 13th Ministerial Session of EUR-OPA which will be held on 26 October 2016 in Lisbon, Portugal, hosted by the Portuguese Ministry of Internal Affairs, Disabled People's’ International Europe welcomes all contributions and testimonies on this matter. … Read more

The unexpected is a way of life for people with disabilities, marked by the unpredictable, we face unexpected situations every day, when the way is not accessible, when people don’t understand our wishes, when too much emotion destroys reasoning, when we are not heard or seen, when we can’t breath or when we are forgotten, when we cannot find medicine or because of the absence of technical aids. To live with several restrictions one must learn to control fears and anxieties that destroy reasoning, this huge challenge is faced by people with disabilities everywhere and a prerequisite to independent living that feeds the initiatives to empower people with disabilities. 

See the DPI E recommendations