Our Best Weapon

By Raymond D. Cohen

We have all been challenged by the events of September 11. We have all been made to feel more vulnerable. We have been terror-ized.

Perhaps, in some strange way, people with disabilities have an edge in this situation. After all, vulnerability is no stranger to most people with disabilities -- who have been able to thrive under such circumstances. Perhaps the community of people with disabilities has something to share with the rest of its neighbours.

Therein lies the challenge. Just as September 11 was a disaster of almost unimaginable proportions, it, too, was a wake-up call. September 11 has become a challenge to each of us to find the best in each other, to transcend differences and to rally around the issues and the people we hold dear -- to continue, in spite of the losses and the anxieties engendered by a fearsome and altered world.

In those first terrible hours of the twin tower tragedy, people with disabilities and their trapped able-bodied friends and co-workers were all at risk together.

I was moved to read that many able-bodied people took the time needed to help people with mobility difficulties make their way down from the doomed towers. One newspaper interviewed a survivor who helped to carry a woman down 68 flights of stairs in her wheelchair. Another story was told of a Jewish able-bodied man who refused to leave the side of his Christian colleague in a wheelchair -- he urged his friend’s nurse to flee to safety, and the two men died together.

But I was equally touched to learn about people like Michael Hingston and his guide dog, Roselle. Roselle led Hingston down 78 flights to safety. Hingston later recounted how, as they were making their way out of the World Trade Center, the south tower caved in on itself, filling the air with debris. Michael stopped to give assistance to a woman -- suddenly blinded by the crud and dust in her eyes. Clearly, in addition to the NYC firefighters and police officers, so many of whom perished that day, there were many other heroes who also showed awesome courage in an hour of intense need.

In perhaps less noted but necessary ways, other people with disabilities came to the rescue across the nation: like the many Canadians who volunteered their wheelchair-accessible homes to those stranded at airports without a place to stay.

And in the days and weeks since, people with disabilities have continued to rise to the challenge. The Center for Independence of the Disabled of New York (CIDNY) has been working non-stop to meet the needs of Manhattan’s disability community. And not just its able-bodied staff members -- although its 400-strong force of personal attendants did all show up for work the day after the attack to ensure that attendant services continued to be provided during this critical period. But CIDNY staff and volunteers with disabilities, too, have worked around the clock to meet the various needs of its membership. Whether this meant getting news to a deaf relative of a NYC firefighter, making sure that a young woman with traumatic brain injury was taken care of, or seeing to the needs of countless others trying to cope with extreme barriers, the staff, volunteers and members of CIDNY have clearly been there, offering assistance.

In this issue of ABILITIES you’ll find that the Canadian Abilities Foundation is continuing its celebration of the positive -- our greatest weapon against terror. You’ll read a story of heartwarming goodwill in "Creating a Magic Kingdom" on page 16, and one of a warm and memorable visit to Jordan in "Navigating the Kingdom of Peace," page 24.

Now, more than ever, it is important for us all to forget our differences -- and get involved in buoying up the community. The disability community has important contributions to make, but it needs strength of spirit and number to do so. The opportunities are there! Find out about the Independent Living Resource Centre closest to you (www.cailc.ca), check out the Philia website and participate in a national dialogue on citizenship and disability (www.philia.ca), or visit EnableLink (www.enablelink.org) to explore your options and connect with others.

And, in the same positive vein, don’t forget to join us for the next issue of ABILITIES magazine. It will be our 50th issue -- and we will be celebrating our longstanding tradition of providing information, inspiration and oppportunity to people with disabilities and their families and friends. Visit us online at EnableLink, or see page 10 to find out more.

Be of high spirit, get involved, and carry on! Let’s resolve to be un-terrorized. It’s the best weapon we’ve got.