We are in difficult times! With the global pandemic of the new coronavirus, social isolation is necessary, and how bad it is not to be able to go out, isn't it? Not being able to go to parties, go for walks, go to favorite bars, play sports, run on the beach sand, see a beautiful sunset from the top of a mountain... With each passing day, the number of people increases reporting bouts of anxiety, depression and so many other mental torments.
With this context, I want to take the opportunity to draw a parallel with the reality of people with disabilities. For years we were cloistered, identified as incapable and limited to living in constant isolation, either because of the lack of information from the family, which often did not encourage the social evolution of a relative with a disability due to the complicated condition of an illness or health condition, or the lack of accessibility that so often limited our right to come and go.
It was years of residential prison, and this is still the reality for many people who have more severe disabilities.
Isolation for long periods is a common universe for people with disabilities, as complications, surgeries and treatments are recurrent and necessary.
Those who grew up living like this usually manage to face the moment we are going through in a different and (a little) lighter way, see the text "It's not the end of the world, it's a new world" , which doesn't mean that social isolation is any less traumatic.
After so much struggle, when we finally show up around, we happily enter the job market, spend our own money, go on walks with family and friends, after winning several battles for inclusion and improvement in urban infrastructure, we see a pandemic arrives and locks us up once again at home and, often, with the aggravating factor of being part of the risk group.
Even with the nation's general difficulties, we feed our dreams as we understand our place of speech and our priorities as human beings who don't just want to survive, and we continue, even if virtually, fighting and, more than ever, showing that our capabilities go far beyond our limitations.
On the other hand, many people are feeling for the first time, for the first time, the limitation that is everyday for us, and they are understanding the power of adaptation that we talk about so much. Whether through the art we create, or the home office we continue to do, the world is seeing that it can be done differently.
For people with disabilities, this scenario means that there is still much to be done, including adjusting accessibility in digital networks and platforms, specialized services and products, and even recognizing talent that is often hidden by prejudice. However, the important thing is to think that there is always a way, it just takes good will and empathy to understand that we are subject to the need to adapt to realities, with disabilities or not.
Let's stay strong and resilient! All this will pass and, who knows, we will come out of this situation more aware that the world is full of possibilities to be explored.
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Amanda Lyra is a singer, songwriter, producer and presenter, wheelchair user and creator of the Solyra Project . Follow her on FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM .
Paloma Santos is an illustrator, wheelchair user and feminist. "In my work as an illustrator I try to represent female diversity". Follow her on INSTAGRAM and like her on FACEBOOK .
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