Our friend Khaled Abu Zaid, the chairperson of NCCR in the Gazastrip, writes us this:

Disabled People go beyond the borders of their disability

In Gaza and after the cease fire between the Palestinians and the Israelis, Gaza is breathing up freedom air from in between the settlements and from the remaining of the orange and olive trees. In addition, democratic life is becoming also active and people are practicing the democratic life with its Palestinian meaning. All people now are talking about municipality elections and legislative council memberships and how everyone is going to contribute to decision making.

Disabled people too are part of it, they are now working to form their own party. Long rehabilitation dear readers and all help that was provided to the disabled people here reached its triumph. This tree that we all worked to implant it and took a precise long lasting care of it is giving its fruits. Disabled people know are meeting to choose their representatives for Municipality and Legislative council membership. For the reader of the title, you could imagine the situation here in Palestine, being under occupation for a long time and losing the meaning of democracy is very difficult. It is even difficult for the normal people to practice normal natural democratic life due to the long pressure that they all lived through. In addition, you could feel how important is it for normal people to live into a democratic atmosphere. Furthermore, you could see also how important is it for disabled people who lost many of their rights could finally be important for themselves and decide who is going to represent them democratically.

For us all, people who are working in the field of rehabilitation, this is a great pleasure to us to see the fruit of our long work into providing the disabled people with the needed rehabilitation to be integrated into community. The integration is been translated here more than any other issue, disabled people are contributing to the democratic life. They are also beyond that, they are choosing disabled people to represent them into all political and social places, they all are working on establishing a political party (social party), but themselves to act effectively in the community. They are acting alone, this is the keyword and they are meeting together, all disabilities, they are united and this time under the common umbrella, (Disability), the political differences faded away, the social differences are becoming a common ground and they all are working towards one big goal, which is together to go beyond their disability. We all need to be there supporting them as we always do for them to do it correct and for the most benefit for their future.

Finally, while the disabled people are deciding for themselves, they and we all together wont forget the great and continuous support to the disabled people by the Dutch people through the working NGOs in Holland who are acting in the Gaza strip. Its exceeding Gaza dear Dutch people and getting to all over Palestinian territiories, so thank you on behalf of each disabled person and member of his family for your humanitarian efforts and support.

Yours

Khaled Abu Zaid