An astonishing love for life. An inquiring mind. A lively sparkling in the eyes. This is what first draws your attention when you meet Tiberiu. He is the best way to prove that physical disabilities do not make us less human, they don't take away the right of a decent education, that of receiving and giving affection, of developing different skills or of being an active part of the society. To make it short, people with physical disabilities should have the same opportunities as all the others, the change of living a normal life, because nothing gives us the right to judge the people around us.
I met Tibi three years ago, when I started high school. At that time. I was just a 15-year-old naïve teenager that had no idea of what having a harsh life really meant. When I first saw him, I must admit, I was amazed by the way he was acting. Even if most of the children were staring at him as he was in a wheelchair, Tiberiu was acting very natural, smiling and looking so happy to be near them. Only after they got to know him, the others accepted him as a classmate and the rejection from the beginning disappeared.
Why does being different necessarily lead to being put aside or ignored? He is one of the many persons who suffer from paralysis, but this has never stopped him from being a hard-working pupil, from coming everyday to school, more often than some of the children who don't have to face such tough things each day.
It is true that so many things depend on people's cultures. Many have the wrong impression that those with physically disabilities can not contribute to society, and that is so false! We cannot judge someone just by considering his physical appearance or by taking in account the things one is not able to do. How about seeing the fact that they have so much to offer. That is, if we give them the chance they need. There are so many people without any disabilities that cannot build a decent life for themselves, and live just from the pity of others, and nobody seems to judge them! Then what gives us the right to reject those who try to do fulfil their dreams, and overcome so much more obstacles than the average people? One must always remember that there's no one to blame for the way some of us were born, or the accidents that changed their life.
Because, after all we are all persons. Being a person means so much more than the physical aspect. It seems that the person can not be truly measured or analyzed. We can say that the person appears and grows into the relationship with the others. What I am trying to say is that we must all be aware of the impact the society we're creating has on each of us. It's us who create the people around us. That is why we should think twice when rejecting someone just because he is different. Aren't we all so different and still don't we have so much in common?
I'll always remember Tiberiu as the best proof of what love for life means, and that, after all, any problem seems insignificant when one puts it next to his goals and expectations. A proof of what fighting in order to fulfill a dream really means and last but not least, that the power of improving our life and finding happiness is in nothing but in us …
By Chandra Veria
Source : http://youthink.worldbank.org/getinvolved/correspondents/chandra_disabilities.php
Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.
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