La BBC y el poder solidario en Internet en apoyo a Joaquín Mora Mendoza.

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Tom Shakespeare says ...
"Senor Mora tried everything to get improvements. He wrote to his local authority and to the papers, and was interviewed on TV, but nothing changed. On May 13th, Senor Mora was so desperate that he decided to go on hunger strike."

Where in the world?
Where would be the best place in the world to be a disabled person? It's a complex calculation. First, you would have to factor in a country's level of economic development, because that would affect the availability of medical care, technological support and welfare payments.

Then it seems that different cultures have different attitudes to disability. For example, the public stare more at disabled people in some places than in others. Some societies are more accepting of people with learning difficulties, some more of people with physical impairments. Then again, some countries are more individualistic, whereas others have stronger community networks and supportive attitudes.

Finally, you can't forget geographical features. If you live in a climate which hovers around zero degrees celsius for several months of the year, or you live in mountainous terrain, then you might find that your quality of life is likely to suffer, depending on your impairment.

On many counts, Spain would seem a good solution: it has a good climate and a strong Catholic legacy, which means that the family remains important and there is a strong sense of community. Spain is also technologically and economically advanced; for example, ONCE, the Spanish association for blind people, has the concession to run the country's National Lottery, and has consequently become very wealthy. It's clearly the place to go if you have a visual impairment.

Given all these positive aspects, it was depressing to hear recently the following negative story from the south of Spain. Joaquin Mora is a resident of Huelva, in Andalusia. Because of heart disease, he had his leg amputated seven years ago and has since relied on a wheelchair. He and his family live in an inaccessible flat on the second floor, without a lift. To go downstairs, he needs three people to carry him. The doorways and passageways are so narrow that he cannot use the bathroom, and has to make do with a bucket in the bedroom. He has felt humiliated and isolated for seven whole years.

Senor Mora tried everything to get improvements. He wrote to his local authority and to the papers, and was interviewed on TV, but nothing changed. The authorities were not prepared to fund the installation of a lift, nor were they able to arrange a transfer to a more accessible flat.

On May 13th, Senor Mora was so desperate that he decided to go on hunger strike.

The publicity that this drastic action generated seems to have made a difference to his case. On May 23, the Government of Andalusia finally agreed to make a more accessible house available to Senor Mora and his family. A good outcome, but achieved at a great cost.

What can we learn from the sad story of Joaquin Mora? That ten days of hunger strike is what it takes to achieve basic human rights for a disabled citizen? But why? Spain is not a backward or impoverished country. It has had a law promoting disabled access since 1982. It ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities back in March 2007.

My own conclusion is that the differences between countries are less important than their similarities. Bureaucratic inertia and an absence of understanding or respect for the needs and dignities of disabled people can be found all over the world.

Most countries now pay lip service to the need for equality and human rights - for example, rushing to sign up to the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. But all too often, disability is too complicated or too unpredictable or too expensive to be dealt with effectively and consistently.

There are good stories of compassion and concern and inclusion, from Spain as from everywhere else, but cases like that of Senor Mora are found in every country, including our own. Time after time, individual disabled people and their families end up the losers.

The international Committee of Experts will soon be meeting, to hold countries to account for their compliance with the Convention, but perhaps every country needs its own Disability Ombudsman who can intervene in cases like these, and force public authorities to take speedy action to solve injustice - and to end the misery of disabled individuals like Joaquin Mora.