Psst! Rumour has it…
- Disabled people represent more than 15% of the European population.
- People suffering from a disability are often isolated.
- 62% of Belgians know a disabled person.
Many words exist to designate a disabled person: person with reduced mobility, partially sighted, spastic, etc. Two generic words assemble them: handicapped and disabled. Nevertheless, the words stay don’t come out easily, they bother. It’s the same when we see a disabled person, we look away, or worse, we stare at the person. Moreover, according to the Eurobarometer, 63% of Belgians consider that disabled people are the most discriminated against in our society, right after people of a different ethnic group.
Created in 1920, the association Pro Infirmis proposes help for the disabled. Its collective and individual members are organizations who offer, through specialized personnel, services to the disabled. However, what about the citizen’s attitude towards the disabled?
Pro Infirmis created a video where a person is disguised in a bear costume. The bear walks around in the street with open arms. Without holding a sign “FREE HUGS”, people come spontaneously towards this giant “Baloo” to give him a hug. At the end, “Baloo” takes off the head of the costume. We discover that it’s Fabian, a disabled person who always has the bus seat next to him empty. The video ends with “Do we need to disguise ourselves to get closer? Get closer”.
Through this video, Pro Infirmis wants to sensitize the citizen to adopt a positive attitude towards disability and to fight premade judgments. Disabled people exist. It’s a fact. They are human beings, just like you and us. Get closer.
Psst! Rumour Has It... 