The occasion
On 3 December, World Day of People with Disabilities, the first Jamba Prizma event debuted as the first stage of a year-long community-building programme. For some time now, the Jamba team has been thinking that it would be great to bring the Jamba community together from time to time. We already held a similar one at CEU in the summer, where we came together to connect, play and discuss in a completely barrier-free way, and the feedback was clearly very positive. So there was no question that we wanted to bring the Jambos back together. As well as having a great time, a lot of useful information was exchanged, which can be a huge resource.
The film
The event of the Crip Camp followed by a round table discussion to round off the evening. A Crip Camp tells the story of Camp Jened, a camp for disabled teenagers in 1970s America. The camp was founded in the 1950s by a handful of volunteers who, inspired by Woodstock, created an environment where it finally didn’t matter if you had a physical disability, special needs or were marginalised. Here, at last, not only did none of the campers have to be ashamed, but they could enjoy life surrounded by plenty of humour and a genuinely accepting environment. The life they really deserve. Unfortunately, the camp closed, but many campers carried on the spirit and approach and became activists for an inclusive society, fighting for equal treatment with impressive perseverance and courage.
The community
The film is inspiring and tells the story of activism in a very exciting way, so it could serve as a starting point for the roundtable discussion. When planning the roundtable discussion, it was important to involve several organisations working with minority groups. A
Budapest Pride
Máté Hegedűs, the
Uccu Roma Informal Education Foundation
Judit Ignácz of the Haver Informal Jewish Educational Foundation Júlia Dés, and our activist guest representing people with disabilities
Zóra Molnár
from Jamba. (Originally Dani Csángó was supposed to come to the Freekey-The discussion, although we touched on many difficulties and challenges, was basically good-humoured, sensitive to each other’s problems and situations. The audience was also part of the discussion, actively engaging with questions and becoming active participants in the social discourse.
The experience – a report by participant Nikol Kocsis
“Crip Camp was a film that nailed me to the chair from start to finish and confronted me with harsh realities. The reality of many of us, which still has a lot to do in terms of disability activism in our society in Hungary today.
The film shows how a handful of people with disabilities can make a difference by taking steps towards greater independence and basic human rights such as independent living, after deep discussions and needs assessments in a camp. They do so with no little humility and personal sacrifice.
Each and every event captured in this documentary, evoked many of my own experiences, whether they be feelings, experiences, community events, and activism.
I also had my favourite characters, one of whom was the bespectacled, determined and feisty Judy, who took the lead in the whole movement and encouraged her fellow soldiers to go along with her. This success story from a camp near Woodstock can be a confrontation and an example for all of us perseverance, passion, the struggles of the past and present of people with disabilities, and a vision of the future that is not unattainable if we persevere.
For me, the power in unity was really shown here. I feel it is important to organisations working for a common goal should not suppress each other, running in “who is more visible and louder” circles, but should be up-to-date on each other’s activities, connected and building on each other.
Following the film screening, representatives of four different social groups spoke, and it was clear from everyone’s experience that the the problems of each group are essentially the same, they just affect different actors at different levels, but the core is common somewhere. It’s important that these groups come together, support each other, because what we think today is not a concern – so we don’t have to deal with it – can easily turn around.
The issue of intersectionality, of multiple social disadvantage, is and will always be present, which we can mitigate through collective action, and through collective action, we can help those affected to ensure that these disadvantages are increasingly marginalised and that there is no violation of rights on the basis of any characteristic.”
