They came from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Bangladesh.
From Kazakhstan, Lesotho and Mongolia.
From Nicaragua, Nigeria and China. From 33 countries in all.
They were people in wheelchairs, on crutches. Some were deaf or blind. And they all wanted to find out how their country could learn from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which banned discrimination based on disability in employment, government services and public accommodations.
That act changed the way people with disabilities in this country wanted Americans to understand their problems — not as issues of health but as ones of civil rights.
But the problems in other countries are often much bigger than those faced by people with disabilities in the U.S. Often when other countries pass disability laws, there is little enforcement of those provisions. Poverty and attitudes are also barriers.
Patience Dickson-Ogolo, from the Advocacy for Women with Disabilities Initiative in Nigeria, said disabled women in her country often lack basic rights: They have trouble opening bank accounts and they are discouraged from marriage. Dickson-Ogolo, who uses a wheelchair, is an exception; she attended the conference with her husband.
Krishna Sunar, of the National Association of the Physical Disabled in Nepal, spoke about the April earthquake that killed or injured some 30,000 people. He asked that the U.S. help make sure reconstructed government buildings include wheelchair ramps.