Journal- Social identities of persons with disabilities
Joseph* laughed as he plopped a packet of water on the desk in front of me, poking fun at the mess I had made by knocking my previous water off the table with my elbow. He put his crutches to the side as he slid into the chair across from me, ready to continue his story. “Really, the organization is just in that village on the highway,” he said, referring to a small village just five minutes outside Makeni. “You have to go there! You have to sit down there and get everything!” His enthusiasm lit up the room and his shouts echoed off the tiles. A passerby stuck his head in the door to investigate the ruckus, but was soon waved off when Joseph insisted he had so much to tell me that he did not have time for a chat (a rare instance in Sierra Leone).
We were discussing an organization that is currently providing homes, education, and job opportunities to persons affected by the disease in the Northern Province. Joseph focused on the ability of his peers to productively contribute to their community through the opportunities they utilize at the camp. He believed in them and was extremely proud of them. However, his emphasis on my visit made it clear that he recognizes it may be difficult to believe. He wanted me to see the families living there together, to see the adults making a living in the workshops, to see the children studying their lessons together. He essentially wanted me to see it to believe it.
Goffman, in his work on stigma, describes in theory the practical struggle that Joseph enacts in promoting the PoPDA community. The theory focuses on social identities that are formed on quick anticipations and expectations towards a person or people recognized as discreditable. By thinking and acting on these assumptions, a person’s community assigns him or her a virtual social identity that may not be correct or realistic in terms of his or her actual social identity. In terms of my research, the virtual social identity of the individuals in the camp casts them as useless beggars, even though their actual social identities are that of individuals who are actively participating in the local economy and successfully providing for a family.[1]
Joseph, who has likely never read Goffman, understands these basic tenets that enable people to discredit those whose appearances provide visible marks susceptible to stigmatization. Furthermore, he realizes that as for now, the community will continue to discredit personal identities based on little information. As a result, he has focused on building the social identities of persons with polio has a whole, attempting to demonstrate to the community that disability does not necessarily have the debilitating effects believed to be true. He recognizes that for now, he and his peers must provide proof as to their worth.[2] Only then will they be able to align their virtual social identities with their actual social identities, opening up further opportunities to succeed as contributing members of the community.
This is a problem that I saw in the community that is both more basic and more broadly complex than other issues I have addressed in class (i.e. educational inclusion). A multitude of specific issues facing persons with disabilities in Makeni are based on this disconnect between perceived and actual identities. As such, it is an issue that I wish to address in my research, yet consideration of privacy prevents me from naming and describing such organizations so openly and directly. However, despite these limitations, I believe that there are potential developments for such organizations in the future, and these developments may be interesting to other students who are interested in justice for persons with disabilities.
As previously noted, the communities of disability in Makeni, including this organization as well as several others, have already begun the process of aligning their identities in a more realistic manner. In providing job opportunities, for example, the members of the camp are able to participate in the local economy and increase their visibility in local markets. But these organizations are pushing even further than that. They are interested in specific personal development projects for their members, increasing options for public forum for persons with disabilities, and providing encouragement and counsel for persons looking for a community. But the organizations do not want to end with their own specific community. Two of the organizations mentioned developing plans to provide support for other members of the Makeni community as well, proving that they are contributing to give-and-take relationships that fuel the politics of Sierra Leone.[3]
This is a fascinating opportunity for future students to witness the change of disability perceptions in a specific community. I believe that it is possible for these organizations to gain power for persons with disabilities through this work, and believe it will be academically useful for students to participate in, if given the chance. Of course, the organizations are already in the process of initiating this process of liberation themselves, looking to restore the humanity of themselves and their oppressive peers in the process.[4] I think student researchers could contribute to this process in two potential ways: by “bearing witness” to the process in ways that could be applicable in other communities of disability, and perhaps by contributing to an atmosphere of ideas and discussion that could foster growth into the wider community.
In order for students to take on a roll in this process, it must be recognized that outsiders have a lot to learn. Students have to be willing to participate in a student-teacher and teacher-student relationships that acknowledge the contributions and capabilities of all involved in developing change.[5] There are so many things for students to learn, many of which had large impacts on my own experience in Sierra Leone: learning the complexities of corruption, the difficulty of relations between certain groups, and the specific moral codes that Sierra Leoneans utilize are among the many crucial lessons that students must embrace as they step into the discussion. These students must be ready to hear multiple sides of the same stories and analyze them thoroughly while at the same time retaining honesty and respect for varying opinions. It is a difficult terrain to navigate, but I feel that passionate students will be able to make progress by embracing the learning curve.
Above all, with or without these students, my hope is that persons with disabilities in Sierra Leone will be recognized for their very real contributions to society, rather than their appearance that implies otherwise. The passion of individuals like Joseph has inspired me to believe in this hope for liberation. I saw, and I believed.
* Pseudonym
[1] Goffman, Erving. 1963. Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Bolten, Catherine. 2012. I Did It to Save My Life: Love and Survival in Sierra Leone. Berkeley: University of California Press.
[4] Freire, Paulo. 2005. Pedagogy of the oppressed (excerpts). New York: Continuum.
[5] Ibid.
We were discussing an organization that is currently providing homes, education, and job opportunities to persons affected by the disease in the Northern Province. Joseph focused on the ability of his peers to productively contribute to their community through the opportunities they utilize at the camp. He believed in them and was extremely proud of them. However, his emphasis on my visit made it clear that he recognizes it may be difficult to believe. He wanted me to see the families living there together, to see the adults making a living in the workshops, to see the children studying their lessons together. He essentially wanted me to see it to believe it.
Goffman, in his work on stigma, describes in theory the practical struggle that Joseph enacts in promoting the PoPDA community. The theory focuses on social identities that are formed on quick anticipations and expectations towards a person or people recognized as discreditable. By thinking and acting on these assumptions, a person’s community assigns him or her a virtual social identity that may not be correct or realistic in terms of his or her actual social identity. In terms of my research, the virtual social identity of the individuals in the camp casts them as useless beggars, even though their actual social identities are that of individuals who are actively participating in the local economy and successfully providing for a family.[1]
Joseph, who has likely never read Goffman, understands these basic tenets that enable people to discredit those whose appearances provide visible marks susceptible to stigmatization. Furthermore, he realizes that as for now, the community will continue to discredit personal identities based on little information. As a result, he has focused on building the social identities of persons with polio has a whole, attempting to demonstrate to the community that disability does not necessarily have the debilitating effects believed to be true. He recognizes that for now, he and his peers must provide proof as to their worth.[2] Only then will they be able to align their virtual social identities with their actual social identities, opening up further opportunities to succeed as contributing members of the community.
This is a problem that I saw in the community that is both more basic and more broadly complex than other issues I have addressed in class (i.e. educational inclusion). A multitude of specific issues facing persons with disabilities in Makeni are based on this disconnect between perceived and actual identities. As such, it is an issue that I wish to address in my research, yet consideration of privacy prevents me from naming and describing such organizations so openly and directly. However, despite these limitations, I believe that there are potential developments for such organizations in the future, and these developments may be interesting to other students who are interested in justice for persons with disabilities.
As previously noted, the communities of disability in Makeni, including this organization as well as several others, have already begun the process of aligning their identities in a more realistic manner. In providing job opportunities, for example, the members of the camp are able to participate in the local economy and increase their visibility in local markets. But these organizations are pushing even further than that. They are interested in specific personal development projects for their members, increasing options for public forum for persons with disabilities, and providing encouragement and counsel for persons looking for a community. But the organizations do not want to end with their own specific community. Two of the organizations mentioned developing plans to provide support for other members of the Makeni community as well, proving that they are contributing to give-and-take relationships that fuel the politics of Sierra Leone.[3]
This is a fascinating opportunity for future students to witness the change of disability perceptions in a specific community. I believe that it is possible for these organizations to gain power for persons with disabilities through this work, and believe it will be academically useful for students to participate in, if given the chance. Of course, the organizations are already in the process of initiating this process of liberation themselves, looking to restore the humanity of themselves and their oppressive peers in the process.[4] I think student researchers could contribute to this process in two potential ways: by “bearing witness” to the process in ways that could be applicable in other communities of disability, and perhaps by contributing to an atmosphere of ideas and discussion that could foster growth into the wider community.
In order for students to take on a roll in this process, it must be recognized that outsiders have a lot to learn. Students have to be willing to participate in a student-teacher and teacher-student relationships that acknowledge the contributions and capabilities of all involved in developing change.[5] There are so many things for students to learn, many of which had large impacts on my own experience in Sierra Leone: learning the complexities of corruption, the difficulty of relations between certain groups, and the specific moral codes that Sierra Leoneans utilize are among the many crucial lessons that students must embrace as they step into the discussion. These students must be ready to hear multiple sides of the same stories and analyze them thoroughly while at the same time retaining honesty and respect for varying opinions. It is a difficult terrain to navigate, but I feel that passionate students will be able to make progress by embracing the learning curve.
Above all, with or without these students, my hope is that persons with disabilities in Sierra Leone will be recognized for their very real contributions to society, rather than their appearance that implies otherwise. The passion of individuals like Joseph has inspired me to believe in this hope for liberation. I saw, and I believed.
* Pseudonym
[1] Goffman, Erving. 1963. Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Bolten, Catherine. 2012. I Did It to Save My Life: Love and Survival in Sierra Leone. Berkeley: University of California Press.
[4] Freire, Paulo. 2005. Pedagogy of the oppressed (excerpts). New York: Continuum.
[5] Ibid.