However, despite the disproportionally large number of people with disabilities and a politically progressive environment with Administration protections, many of those with disabilities still must struggle to overcome a litany of legal, social, and environmental obstacles in order to live a normal life.<\/p>\n
Environmental and Legal Factors<\/strong><\/p>\n Prior to the Rojava Revolution, Syria passed its Persons with Disabilities Law No. 34 in 2004. The law safeguards the right to welfare, vocational training, and discounted public services for those with disabilities. However, the law was often not implemented in many cases, and those with disabilities continued to struggle to find accessible services and work.<\/p>\n Article 53 of the 2023 version of Rojava\u2019s Social Contract, which effectively acts as its constitution, states that the autonomous administration will \u201csecure and provide the necessary capabilities for mental and physical participation in all areas of life for people with special needs and secure a decent life for those who cannot provide for their needs.\u201d<\/p>\n Though the laws of Syria and Rojava protect the rights of the disabled, many legal protections have yet to be implemented. Infrastructure in Rojava is largely inaccessible for those with motor disabilities; very rarely can flat, uninterrupted sidewalks, elevators, or wheelchair ramps be found, even in administration buildings.<\/p>\n \u201cRecently, a law was passed to establish well-equipped and accessible buildings, but in the context of the current buildings, 80% are not accessible,\u201d Shoresh Ahmed (pseudonym), an inclusion manager from an unnamed NGO working in Rojava, told KCS.<\/p>\n And while the Autonomous Administration would like to guarantee accessibility, a lack of resources because of the constant Turkish military bombardments makes infrastructure improvements difficult. You also have the issue that much of the discrimination towards those with disabilities is rooted culturally in society, which is difficult to transform quickly through education\u2014regardless of how much the Administration would like to.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Khazna Ali, a 40-year-old teacher and school employee from the village of Himo west of Qamishlo, has only been able to find gainful employment well into her adult years. Ali was paralyzed in her legs from the age of two and uses a custom-made wheelchair to get around. Even after receiving perfect marks in her Kurdish language courses, only with the help of her older sister was she finally able to find a teaching position in the village school.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was at the teacher training center studying to become a Kurdish language teacher, the center was three floors with no ramps or elevators. Every day, four teachers had to carry me and my chair up and down the flights of stairs,\u201d Ali said.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to do a lot of things I still can\u2019t do. The city just built a beautiful park in Qamishlo, but I can\u2019t go because there are stairs.\u201d<\/p>\n Nariman Evdike, a 36-year-old writer, told KCS about her struggles to complete her education during university.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were no elevators at the university. When I would go to class, everyone would be rushing to get there on time, and no one even thought to offer to help. I would have to show up before the students even arrived in order to get there early enough.\u201d<\/p>\n Though these factors can be a frustrating inconvenience in everyday life, in case of invasion or war, they can become life-threatening. A 2022 Human Rights Watch report<\/a><\/span> found that children with disabilities may be left behind or unable to escape armed conflict or airstrikes.<\/p>\n \u201cThings got really difficult for me after my city, Sere Kaniye, fell [to the Turkish military]. I had to go from city to city, and many of the places we were forced to rent were not accessible at all; they had stairs or were on high floors. It wasn\u2019t just me that faced these problems. I know many people with disabilities who couldn\u2019t find homes and had to go to the camps. The situation was very bad at the camps; oftentimes the ground was not prepared, and there were no bathrooms or washing facilities. A lot of them were left behind in the city because there was no one to get them out,\u201d Evdike said.<\/p>\n Camps for the displaced offer even fewer opportunities for those with disabilities. Those with disabilities of movement who lack any mobility aids may not be able to even leave their tents, and lack of even basic medicines may make life impossible for those who need medication for their disability.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Social Considerations<\/strong><\/p>\n The implementation of legal protections alone, however, would likely not transform Rojava into a utopia for those with disabilities. Though these perspectives may be changing, deep-rooted misconceptions about those with disabilities still abound, resulting in discrimination and ostracization.<\/p>\n Even medical professionals sometimes treat disabled children cruelly, and there are no pediatricians in Rojava who specialize in children with disabilities.<\/p>\n \u201cMy brother was sick for the first several months of his life. He wouldn\u2019t nurse or eat. There wasn\u2019t a doctor left in the city that we didn\u2019t take him to. Once, a doctor told my father, \u2018Take him to Damascus and have them give him an injection, it would be better if he died,\u2019\u201d Rojava-based journalist Shinda Akrem said of her brother, Ahmed, who has down syndrome.<\/p>\n Bullying and ostracization from other children is common for children with disabilities.<\/p>\n \u201cThe neighborhood kids would always make fun of him. Whenever he would go outside, they would tease him and tell him to dance for them,\u201d Akrem said. Though Ahmed\u2019s mother went door-to-door talking with neighborhood families until the teasing of her son stopped, they are often still concerned for his safety.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has gone missing three times. If he manages to leave our neighborhood, he gets confused and can\u2019t get home because he can\u2019t speak. Once we wrote his name and information on a bracelet and someone took it from him. If he is wearing a watch, someone will take it from him. We are always watching him as we are afraid he will go missing. He is very vulnerable, and we are afraid that if he gets lost, someone may take him or hurt him.\u201d<\/p>\n Ahmed\u2019s family tried their best to give him the most normal life possible, bringing him notebooks and pens, teaching him how to bathe and brush his teeth, and encouraging him to play with neighborhood children. Not all disabled children, Shinda says, are so lucky.<\/p>\n \u201cI know of other children like my brother who are always wandering in the street, wearing dirty clothes, begging for money, urinating on themselves, and eating food from the ground. Their families don\u2019t take care of them.\u201d<\/p>\n It is sadly not an uncommon sight to see disabled children, particularly those with mental or learning disabilities, tied up inside their homes<\/a><\/span> by family members.<\/p>\n \u201cMy childhood was very difficult. I was still a child, and I didn\u2019t understand why my friends wouldn\u2019t play with me anymore. My brothers and sisters played with me, but no one else did,\u201d Khazna Ali said.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes the people say things that are very hurtful. Once when I went to the souk with my friend, she went into a fabric shop, and I had to stay outside because there were stairs. Immediately the store owner came outside and angrily told me that I couldn\u2019t stop in front of the shop. It was like I was ruining his shop\u2019s image just by sitting out there.<\/p>\n Even if people mean well, when they say things like \u2018oh, you poor thing,\u2019 it\u2019s very hurtful. Even my family will say hurtful things sometimes. There would be a wedding, or a party and I would be getting ready to go with them, and they\u2019d say, \u2018why should you come? You should just stay home.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Accessibility and Opportunity<\/strong><\/p>\n Limited resources do exist for those with disabilities in Rojava. The most widely known organizations for those with disabilities are those such as the Kurdish Red Crescent and the Hope Makers organization, which provide prosthetics and physical therapy for those with missing limbs.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are some local and international non-governmental organizations that work to support people with disabilities by providing social, health, and educational services. There are some rehabilitation and physical therapy centers that provide services for people with disabilities, but these centers are few and limited in their capabilities. There are some limited government initiatives aimed at improving infrastructure and providing services to people with disabilities, but they are often affected by limited government resources,\u201d Ali Mahmoud (pseudonym), an employee working for an unnamed NGO in Rojava, told KCS.<\/p>\n There have been success stories in Rojava, such as centers for children with developmental and intellectual disabilities<\/span><\/a> opened by the Women\u2019s Board of the Jazira Region. Last year, Kobani University and local NGO Nudem opened a 40-day training course<\/a><\/span> for children with special needs, focusing on language acquisition, play, and musical activities.<\/p>\n However, on top of lack of resources and funds for these facilities, external threats also contribute to lack of support for those with disabilities, in particular children. Often Turkish bombing campaigns leaves parents afraid to send their children to school, depriving children with special needs<\/a><\/span> of critical education.<\/p>\n Shinda Akrem hopes to see more opportunities for people like her brother in Rojava.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he grew up in Europe, he might have been able to learn how to do some simple jobs. Maybe he might have even learned to talk. There are way more opportunities for people with disabilities abroad. But here, until today, there\u2019s no opportunities for people like him,\u201d Akrem said. \u201cThere was a center for kids with down syndrome that opened in Qamishlo. We brought him there, but they said that he was too old for the center.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is important to understand the daily challenges that people with disabilities face, such as access to buildings, services, education, and work, and work to remove these obstacles. Integrating people with disabilities in society enriches diversity and enhances the values of coexistence and equality. A comprehensive environment must be provided that allows them to participate in all aspects of life,\u201d Ali Mahmoud said.<\/p>\n Not all is lost for those with disabilities, however. Many people with disabilities in Rojava have made strides in their respective fields. Khazna Ali worked at her village\u2019s school for four years. Nariman Evdike, on top of being an author of two books and a co-author of two more, is also the spokesperson for Rojava\u2019s literary association.<\/p>\n\n
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