Subsunción, relación de poder y orden social

‘There are two separation walls that menace Palestinian society; one is that infamous grey structure that denies every Palestinian the basic human right to live in dignity, and the other is the lesser-known invisible wall that pushes Palestinians with disabilities even further away from this right’ (Zayed, 2014:1).

Before looking at educational provision for children with differences and disabilities, I explore the issue of disability in the wider Palestinian society. Negative attitudes towards disability can have a harmful impact on the lives of those with disabilities and

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9.5% of disabled adults in the West Bank said that they avoided social engagement for this reason (PCBS, 2011). In the Arabic speaking region words to denote disability are reported to be derogatory and pejorative and often used as swear words (Al-Thani, 2006). However, attitudes may vary according to the nature of the disability. As mentioned previously, the first Intifada, 1987-93, left Palestine with an estimated 10,000 disabled people, mainly young boys. One positive outcome of this is that people with disabilities, at least those with physical disabilities, are seen as heroes (Karlsson, 2004). In Arab societies generally priority is given to motor disabilities over other disabilities (Opdal et al., 2001). However, this positive acceptance does not seem to extend to other forms of disability. It is sometimes seen as shameful to have a child with a disability and such children are commonly kept hidden away at home as families fear that the community will reject them (Gumpel & Awartani, 2003). Such a child, it is thought, casts blight on the marriage prospects of siblings (ibid), as prospective partners would fear that their own offspring might be similarly afflicted. There are anecdotal accounts of appalling abuse of children with autism and those with learning difficulties (Hviid, 2011). However, with greater awareness perceptions are changing towards disability and the rights of the child (Gumpel & Awartani, 2003). Indeed, Jarar (2014) reported a ‘massive increase’ in debate about disability rights in the last decade and (Al-Thani, 2006) was ‘optimistic’ that throughout the Arab region there was growing interest in the issue although she reported that attitudes are more likely to be negative towards ‘psycho-social’ disabilities, as borne out by Dababnah and Parish (2013) who found very negative attitudes towards autistic children and their families. Lifshitz et al. (2004), seeing Palestinian society as collectivist and concerned with the national good, found that

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Palestinians perceived disability as shameful for the family. There was, she said, a philosophy of passive acceptance which perceived a person with disabilities as incapable of development and therefore entitled only to nursing and medical care within the hamula (extended family). However Lifshitz (ibid) did suggest that attitudes are shifting, especially since the passing of the Disability Rights Act in 1999 (Palestinian National Authority, 1999). Al-Thani (2006) emphasised that attitudes towards disability did not stem from Islamic religious beliefs and that within Islamic thinking disability is ‘neither a blessing nor a curse’. Perceptions of disability and difference impact on attitudes towards educational inclusion and I return again to the small body of studies about educational inclusion in Palestine in Chapter 3,

One positive initiative in relation to disability has been the introduction of the community-based rehabilitation (CBR) programme, established in 1990 to meet the needs of children and adults with disabilities and subsequently supported with financial and technical assistance from Diakonia, a Swedish charity and the Norwegian Association of Disabled (NAD). The approach is a move away from institutional, long-term care to the dissemination of knowledge and skills to the support network for people with disabilities, with professionals training non- professionals. The programme covers 60% of the population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), mainly in poor rural areas, and has reached more than 33,000 people with disabilities and their families (Nilsson & Qutteina, 2005). Summer camps for children have been a successful means of integrating children with disabilities into community recreational activities. Studies conclude that the CBR programme has had a major impact (Harami et al., 2010) and has greatly improved health care of people with disabilities. A study of the perspectives of people with

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disabilities (Nilsson & Qutteina, 2005) found that the programme had ‘empowered individuals and parents, improved basic daily living skills and coping mechanisms, reduced stigma and isolation and increased social inclusion’. However this is not borne out by Zayed (2009) who found widespread discrimination and negativity towards disability and reported that rather than a rights-based perspective, community based organisations held charitable or medical models of disability. One study (NAD, 2010) found no clear delineation of roles between CBR and MOEHE and that there was room to develop a more productive relationship. My research looks at community-based support for children with autism in Palestine and considers how this relates to government initiatives. An indication of how ideas about disability have progressed in Palestine is found in a current empowerment project (Burton et al., 2013) which is working with disabled people to bring about change in their communities by moving away from medical or charitable models of disability to emphasise a rights-based position. The researchers claim that the success of this action research study in bringing about positive change is due to its grass-roots, ‘bottom-up’ approach, distinguishing it from the many other ‘top-down’ disability projects that there have been in the region. The next section looks at education for children with disabilities in Palestine.