UNCRPD, Ireland’s ten-year moral outrage
Having a neurodegenerative illness that cannot be cured has given me the best gift I could ever ask for, strength and meeting the most inspirational and brightest people with disabilities in Ireland and abroad. Yes, they might "be different" in the eyes of many, but they showed me that not everything in life has a price or a tag. They taught me that disability is about misinterpreted ability because they help other people with or without disabilities within their communities in a time when their government shows signs of deliberate discrimination.
MS Ireland: Hope & Empowerment
It’s not the first time I sit back at night and go over past moments that left me inspired and willed me forward to do more, much more. As societies go, there’s a lot of goodwill in MS Ireland, our national MS society. There are also hard facts that tell you that this is a group of outstanding people working towards one goal only: to significantly improve the lives of those living with multiple sclerosis, including their families.
2014 Budget plea to the Irish government
"A heart transplant is easy enough these days, but brain transplants belong in the world of fantasy. Because of that, urgent reconfiguration of existing services should be done."
Disability is never cured with one pill alone
So it seems I’m on the warpath. It also appears that if you want to change things, you have to work very hard to get it done. And hope your adversaries are willing to at least listen for one second to what you have to say. Is it worth it? Not if your voice is cut off before the first vowel leaves your lips. It is worth it, however, if or when your input is evaluated and rationalized as such that your opponent understands quite clearly what you mean. It’s true that we live in a society where politicians say all and citizens very little. The why and the wherefore of their actions often need to be repeatedly discussed on TV, in newspapers and in the salons of hairdressers, tea…
Changing Ireland
I’m well into my 10th year of living in Ireland, and I often wonder about what changed during those years. A long list builds itself in my mind on people, mentality, culture, politics, nature, life… Writing about everything would result into one very long blog post that will eventually bore everyone, so I will try to keep it rather short. After all, I’m here to be entertained myself. During my first weeks in Dublin I was house hunting and it’s fair to say that I saw serious differences in what was up for grabs. Apartments with bright blue carpets, surely there to blind its tenants and with hallways like a maze. Now how should I find my way out here? I can’t even find my way out of a cereal…
