Consequences of an Economic Crisis over Disability Nethra Silva

Economic crisis is not only having negative consequences on the financial status of Sri Lanka, but it also lowers the quality of individuals’ lifestyles. Territories in the Asian region seem to be more in an economic crisis due to the fluctuating and inappropriate policies drawn by the state and certain political parties. Excessive supply of money accommodates “inflation.” Inflation is known to be the most frustrating aspect of a fallen economic system. It is a great disappointment to say that the flourishing of the nation has been turned into a method of gaining personal privileges due to a certain set of individuals in management authority. This unbelievable destruction simply leads the country into the trash.

Anthropologically, it is a huge controversy to define how human management systems and social relationships are formed when transparency and clarity is concealed. Some contentions of logical manifestations cannot be taken granted, as the economy is more sophisticated towards the empiricism. When the development is defined in an economic eye, I would say, most of the deviated systems are monopolized violating the existing regulations and misusing the properties. However, this ingenious theft of authorities has thrown the typical lifestyle into a massive maze.

Unemployment and the depreciation of money are the dominating factors in a deviant system which exacerbates collateral damages such as excessive

impoverishment, unbearable mental distress and famine. Being born in a third world developing nation has nothing to do with misfortune, yet it is about the incompetence of existed and existing systems.

Asystem means a network which creates millions of connections with millions of categories. A broken network is like a broken fishing net. If the connections of a net are stronger, the consequence will always be positive and beneficial. If the connections are broken, consequences will be unpredictably negative. Creating a system is complicated, yet retaining a system is even more complicated.

The most basic requirement for a system to survive is a well-established set of roots. Many decades ago, civilized society was created by systems such as economy, politics, culture, regulations, traditions, beliefs, transparency, law, technology, and sociocultural essence. At the point where the government isn’t truthful, these systems are threatened.

Per capita income is the most primitive consideration in measuring a country’s income, whereas it barely associates with the productivity. This is where the discrimination arises. As far as we are aware, the South Asian region is known to be less facilitative and needs to be developed in services, productions and politics minimizing the waste. However, in such a condition, accessing the services and the market is quite challenging, especially when the country is undergoing an economic rupture.

Society is a place that had depended on what others have believed over the decades about people with disabilities. Even though people who were born with disabilities as a result of a congenital condition or people who acquired disabilities over the time can be highly independent and go far in their careers, narrow minded individuals still remain everywhere who believe that people with disabilities are just

highly dependent, grown-up set of individuals. Unfortunately, most narrow-minded human beings are more into the business field creating and spreading their personal discrimination over variety of industries. These attitudes become worse over the time as an impact of unexpected economic recessions.

Many people may believe that asking how competent we are to satisfy our needs is a fair determinate of quality of life.

I have met with several individuals with disabilities during the past two months. Within the economic instability and high inflation, industries have made unacceptable decisions to reduce the working force. The holistic view of equality and non-discrimination has been thrown away, making people with disabilities more vulnerable. Even though the world has taken the biggest steps to make it a much better and more convenient place for every individual, certain misconceptions have evolved over the decades degenerating the success people with disabilities have accomplished. When it comes to women with disabilities, gender biases are also enforced by the society restricting their economic independence. One of the individuals I had an opportunity to share experiences with was a former executive officer who

had been diagnosed with a severe visual impairment when she was a toddler. Despite enduring discriminations and insults, she has taken all the necessary steps to attain success. Even after being rejected by her own parents and siblings as an infant, she has not given up her desire to be successful. She wanted to be a proud and an independent individual

with a strong attitude. Her entire childhood was miserable, which she hated to recall. She had been brought up by a child development center. Her parents were laborers who were expecting a male child instead of a girl. When she was born, her mother has been forced to abandon her somewhere even before her visual deficit been recognized. In her words, she says “It’s hell. I have seen real demons and evil there. They kill humanity. They break personality. They brutally murdered the soul and everything in it. Simply, it is a homicide.”

Half of her childhood was wasted as a child slave. She has had no hope, aspirations, or plans for her future until she realized the power of the changes she could make in her life and in others’ lives. She was one of the million people who had been victimized by child abuses, social isolation, and brutal violations. Most children with disabilities who have spent their childhood somewhere outside their own home have encountered a number of mental, physical, and sexual harassments. She has a dream of gaining success and becoming independent economically and socially to gain a peaceful, effective life. She has worked hard and has dreamed of becoming a successful businesswoman one day in the future. Even though these circumstances might not associate to the economic crisis, the saddest attribute is that the crisis becomes a barrier to the dreams of people with disabilities even after they overcome thousands of obstacles. She has been dismissed or simply fired from work as a result of the decision taken by management reducing the working force corresponding to the fluctuating economy. More specifically, the reality is that her physical status has been compared with her co-workers. Gender biases have also negatively impacted her career.

I also met with someone who was experiencing a totally different situation. He was an extremely responsible parent of a child with a disability. The child was also affected by several medical conditions which required expensive medication. He struggledproviding for his family including his two kids and managing the medical expenses. He tried

to commit suicide twice due to struggling with stress because of how the economic crisis was impacting his family. His child’s behavior was aggressive because of missing a daily dose of his medicine for ADHD.

One person I met with was one of the most challenging and uplifting personalities I have ever met. She was a university student who used a wheelchair and was taking care of her family using the money she received from the monthly payment for university students. After her father passed away, it was her responsibility to take care of her mother and four little siblings providing for their needs. Unfortunately, she struggled to take care of her family due to economic conditions. As she mentioned, she has not seen her doctor for an extremely long period of time. She stated that what she needed was justice instead of sympathy. All of these stories demonstrate the damaging consequences of high inflation. When people with disabilities are trying to achieve success, they have been stressed out by an external factor called instability.

I believe the government holds the highest responsibility to encompass a healthy and a friendly system ensuring everyone’s accessibility. Perhaps all it needs is a direct decision-making approach with zero corruption. Government needs to be sensitive and concerned towards people and the matters they are already going through. Specifically, when it comes to people with disabilities, it is a must that their rights be ensured.