In the wake of 2007’s global financial crisis, the United Nations launched the World Day of Social Justice in 2009. The then-United Nations president told the Assembly: ’social development, integration and social justice cannot be attained in the absence of peace, security or respect for all human rights’ (source). He asked the assembly:
‘How can we bring the poor, the people with disabilities, older persons, disaffected youth and abused women and other minorities into the mainstream of societies?’
The Chair of the NGO committee in their World Day of Social Justice address in 2009 further elaborated:
‘It is critical in building inclusive societies that we create conditions that allow all social groups and individuals to participate in the political, social, cultural and economic decision-making processes of society to improve their access to opportunities. All who are affected by decisions should participate in their development, implementation and evaluation. By widening opportunities and access to services, people have a greater chance to reach their full potential and contribute actively to society.”
In the projects I have visited with Leprosy Mission Australia, I have witnessed how effective and important participation and inclusion has been in achieving Leprosy Mission Australia’s mission of empowering people to attain healing, dignity and life in all its fullness. Hundreds of program participants like Shiveram and Nagammal have become advocates in their own communities, helping to break social and cultural stigma while politically advocating for their rights.
Raja, 47, India
The stories of countless people who I’ve met in my work with Leprosy Mission Australia reinforce the importance of these goals. Raja, 47, (pictured above) from Tamil Nadu in India told me:
‘I didn’t tell anyone about my leprosy because I was scared that my friends would avoid me, and more importantly, I thought I wouldn’t be able to get a job. That’s why I only told my family.
Previously I was in so much pain that I was unable to sleep at night, but when I received my diagnosis I thought ‘thank God, I can finally recover’. The oversensitivity and burning sensation in my face reduced when I started my one-year course of MDT. Now I am not on MDT anymore.’
Thiyad, 19, India
Thiyad, 19, (pictured above) also from Tamil Nadu shared a similar story:
I did not share my diagnosis with my friends or classmates that I had leprosy, because I was worried that they would distance themselves from me and treat me differently. I still haven’t told them.
For Raja and Thiyad, Multi-Drug Therapy helped to bend the arc of an unjust disease towards a more medically just outcome – a cure from leprosy. However, both Raja and Thiyad still fear discrimination which is why education programs in schools and communities in leprosy affected areas are paramount to a broader conception of justice. These programs help ensure early leprosy detection, lead to the reduction of leprosy-related disabilities, and normalise the inclusion of people affected by leprosy.
As Martin Luther King tells us, the arc towards this conception of justice is long, and more locally-led Australian supported initiatives need your support so that Leprosy Mission Australia can eradicate not just the disease of leprosy, but its associated cultural and social stigma.
#Leprosy #StillAThing #WorldDayOfSocialJustice
Photos by Daniel Christiansz.
