Press Pause
Yesterday upon the stair
I met a man who wasn’t there.
He wasn’t there again today –
Oh how I wish he’d go away.– Hughes Mearns
As children, we all experienced that moment on the stairs: the nameless fear, the night terror, the monster under the bed. Then Mom or Dad came swiftly to the rescue and the monster was banished. This past year, we’ve all been children again, afraid of something we can’t see, waiting anxiously for reassurance from whomever is in charge.
Sadly, in many countries, that reassurance is yet to arrive. In spite of consistent, simple, practical advice from public health experts (Wash your hands. Wear a mask. Watch your distance.), for the most part, we’ve been on our own. Our so-called leaders have been busy with their own affairs: recounting votes, pandering to their bases, arresting elderly priests and fighting with farmers, doing whatever it takes to remain in power. The result has been chaos (remember the migrant workers walking home in the height of India’s summer) and rising numbers (America is 4% of the world’s population with 20% of the world’s cases).
Now that Covid has disabled us all (kids out of school, adults out of work, everybody isolated at home, travel impossible), maybe we can learn from disabled people about what to do next. About how to stay safe when nobody in charge seems to care. About how to get what we need and do what we can in spite of all the barriers. About how to continue living our lives without waiting around for “leaders” to tell us what to do.
Disabled people know all about chaos and barriers. They have experience with official callousness and disregard. They’ve been left off of the national agenda for so long that self-reliance is part of their DNA. They figure things out for themselves. Just watch the boy with no legs scoot across the railway platform to deliver cold water to thirsty passengers. Watch the girl with autism calm herself down in the face of an impending sensory overload. Watch the deaf students communicate in the language they invented themselves because their school banned sign.
Disabled people are creative and resourceful problem-solvers. It comes with the territory. As we confront that invisible presence on the stairs, let’s remember the battles disabled people engage in on a daily basis. They stand down isolation, fear and ignorance to be their best selves even while they follow the science to maintain their physical and mental health. During this enforced “pause period,” while we wait for real life to resume, let’s learn from the real experts: those who fight against the virus of exclusion with persistence, innovation and courage and who remind us every day of the power of endurance.
– Jo Chopra
The calendar was designed remotely (a first in our 25 year history) by Shalini Sinha and printed at Thomson Press in Faridabad. The photographers graciously volunteered their services. Donations to the Latika Roy Foundation support our vision of a better world for children with disabilities.
