The way we interpret disability is quite broad and may sometimes include people with different medical conditions. A disability is a developmental,… [619599]

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
-human rights-
The way we interpret disability is quite broad and may sometimes include people with different medical conditions. A disability is a developmental, cognitive, intellectual or sensory impairment that affects an individual's life; they can occur during the lifetime or be present from birth. Disabled people make up the most marginalized group of people in the world and most times have poorer health, lower education, lower achievements and expectations, followed by higher rates of poverty. It is now considered to be a human rights issue.
During the middle ages, conditions were thought to develop because of demon possession, especially during The Plague, which brought impairment throughout the whole population. Medicine used to be less developed, but during the modern period, people started seeking answers in biology and science, monitoring differences in height, weight, mentality and physical appearance between individuals.
Social stigma that surrounds individuals with disabilities is one of the worst, having most people looking down on them and treating them differently than others, considering their impairment as something bad. This results in them being marginalized or finding it hard to socialize, therefore lowering their self esteem that causes a multitude of problems.
In the UK alone, more than 50% of working-age disabled people are currently unemployed, mostly because everyone fails to see their full potential. Even though finding a job is significantly harder, employers have started seeking people with disabilities for certain jobs like accountants, market research analysts, software engineers, costumer service representatives and many others.
Not being able to find a job as easily as others is also a form of discrimination, but it's not the only one. People with disabilities (people in wheelchairs in this instance) are not though of when public institutions, hotels or public transportation doesn't provide wheelchair ramp; the visually impaired are not offered a way to safely cross the road when there are no traffic lights that provide sound for a safe crossing, no tactila paving or braille on magazines and books.
Different articles from the UDHR are being broken, like article 1,2,3,5 that refer to an individual's right to live, be free and not be subjected to cruel treatment by others. Articles 19 and 23 that are about being able to work without facing discrimination and freedom of speech are also being broken, because people with disabilities, as previously stated above, find it harder to get a job and are not taken seriously by others.
But even though living with a disability is hard and sufferers have to face more challenges than people who don't have one, amazing things have been done by people with different conditions. One of the best examples would be Stephen Hawking. He was an english theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author, and was director researcher at the University of Cambridge until his death. His scientific research and discoveries amazed many, having been the first to predict that black holes emit radiation and many others; his book " A Brief History of Time" was the first ever to appear on the British Sunday Times for more than 270 weeks. Hawking was ranked number 25 in a poll of the 100 best british people, and was able to overcome the loss of speech that his paralysis brought by communicating through a speaking device. After reaching a worse stage of his illness(amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) that left him completely unable to move, he started lecturing and participating in fundraising activities and signed the Charter of the Third Millennium of Disability, that was providing the government's aid in the prevention and protection of disabled people. Hawking dies peacefully at the age of 76, having had a book of condolences written and signed by all of his students.
As a concrete case, my mom had a disabled classmate when she used to be a student(in a small town) . His name was Matei Ghigiu and his injury was the result of him falling out of a tree(and broke his spine) at the age of 14. After staying in the hospital for almost two years, he picked his up and started going to school again. Even thought life was very hard, not because of the discrimination he received from others(which was surprisingly little), but because the school and his apartment building didn't provide any way for him to go up and down the stairs with a wheelchair. Thankfully, he was able to overcome the initial struggle and adapted to his

new life. As he stated "it's easier to fight the new situation when you're young. I had a lot of friends. It wasn't difficult to accept it". He became a journalist and a member of the UN Convention of the Rights for People with Disabilities; he helped by bringing awareness about the accessibility for people in wheelchairs in a lot of cities, about life as a disabled person and how that shouldn't stop anyone from living their life. He unfortunately passed away this year, but his work won't be forgotten anytime soon.
I believe that, even though people with certain conditions may not pe physically similar to us, we are all human and we should all treat each other the same way, because we all deserve to live together in a world full of happiness and acceptance; acceptance is what we have to learn to strive for.
Bibliography:
https://www.google.ro/search?client=safari&hl=en-ro&ei=xCoQXN30JozLwALK_7D4Bg&q=wikipedia+disability&oq=wikipedia+disabili&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-serp.1.0.0j0i22i30l4.1479.4382..4980…0.0..0.106.837.7j2……0….1………0i71j0i203.IaTVULgklB8
http://www.disability.wa.gov.au/understanding-disability1/understanding-disability/what-is-disability/
https://www.google.ro/search?q=stephen+hawking&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-ro&client=safari
https://m.evz.ro/a-murit-un-jurnalist-cunoscut-matei-ghigiu-tvr-chiotea.html