The World Health Organization has declared the H1N1 virus outbreak (2009) to be a Level 6 Pandemic. As the threat of further spread of this disease continues, people should take precautionary actions in order to avoid risks associated with the virus. People with disabilities and chronic health conditions, particularly those with compromised respiratory function or immune deficiencies, should pay particular attention to warnings by public health officials, and should make every effort to avoid infection by the virus.

Anyone who has chronic breathing problems, or a history of respiratory infection, should protect themselves from any flu-like virus, because such viral infections frequently cause severe complications. If respiratory function is already compromised by illness, disability or chronic condition, symptoms coincident with H1N1 virus can be very severe. Additionally, certain medications which may be prescribed for treatment of non-flu illnesses may affect respiratory function, and thereby may compound risks associated with having the H1N1 virus.

Anyone who has an immune deficiency, either chronic or acute, should take extra safety measures to avoid the H1N1 virus. People who are receiving medications associated with treatment of cancer, with recovery from organ transplants, or for other reasons are at great risk of having severe complications from flu viruses, including H1N1 virus. Fever and respiratory distress sometimes associated with treatment and recovery may be compounded by the H1N1 virus, and may become severe.

People with disabilities or chronic conditions who are taking medications which are immune-suppressive or which may have immune-suppressive side effects should be aware that any contact with or exposure to the H1N1 virus puts them at high risk of acquiring the virus. Such medications are often prescribed to people with rheumatic conditions and other systemic illnesses.

People with disabilities and chronic health conditions should follow all directions given by public health officials to avoid contracting the H1N1 virus. In addition to avoiding contact with people who may have flu-like symptoms, frequent hand washing, and covering ones mouth and nose when sneezing, the following extra measures should be taken by people who are at greatest risk of having complications from the flu as a result of pre existing conditions:

Prepare to stay at home for an extended period of time while people who are contagious from the virus may be in public places. Such preparation requires stocking plenty of nonperishable food, as well as fruits, vegetables and dairy products which can be refrigerated or which will stay fresh for a few days. Prescriptions should be refilled, if they can be, and any other medical or personal supplies should be stocked in sufficient quantities to enable a person to stay at home for a week or more, when authorities report high infection levels in the community.

For persons who require home health or other assistance on a regular or daily basis, make providers aware of complications which may result from contraction of the H1N1 virus. Also provide latex or non latex gloves and masks at the doorway for anyone coming into the home to use. Contagious diseases, like flu, are often spread by healthcare workers and others who are exposed to these diseases in one place and carry them to another. Preventive measures should be taken both by healthcare workers and by those whom they are assisting. Family members who come in and out of the home should be asked to take similar actions. People who have respiratory conditions should consult their physician before using masks, as masks may impair breathing and cause additional respiratory complications.

People with chronic conditions and disabilities who have any of the conditions mentioned above or who are taking medications which may affect breathing should consult with their physician about additional measures which should be taken to avoid the H1N1 virus. Anyone with a disability or chronic condition who exhibits symptoms or feels that they may have been exposed to the H1N1 virus should consult their physician.

Related information can be found on the internet:

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/frequently_asked_questions/ what/en/index.html An advisory for individuals published by the World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. This page links back to the WHO website: Pandemic (H1N1) 2009.

• http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/. The latest information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control about H1N1 Flu, including activities currently underway to deal with the situation, daily updates on affected areas and numbers of cases, and precautions you can take to protect yourself and your family: You may also contact the CDC at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) English/Spanish TTY: (888) 232­6348, 24 Hours/Every Day – cdcinfo@cdc.gov.

• http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/healthcare/homehealth.html A report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Home Health Care During an Influenza Pandemic: Issues and Resources, based on the findings of an expert panel meeting, including representatives of home health care, emergency and disaster planning, professional organizations and federal and state government agencies.

• http://www.astho.org/index.php?template=at_risk_population_project. html A website pertaining to at-risk groups. A report published by the

U.S. Association for State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), At Risk Populations and Pandemic Influenza: Planning Guidance for State, Territorial, Tribal, and Local Health Departments, is available here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5t1r7yG7rM&feature=featured A video Featuring Joseph Bresee, M.D., Chief of the Epidemiology & Prevention Branch in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s Influenza Division. Dr. Breese tells what swine flu is, where it comes from, what the symptoms and treatments are and how long people with swine flu can be contagious. He gives information on what steps to take to avoid catching the virus, what to do if you think you have become infected, and warning signs that should lead you to seek emergency medical care. The video runs approximately 5 minutes. To start the captions, find the box at the far right on the bottom of the screen which has an arrow icon. It will give you a “CC” symbol on which to click.

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publichealth/Flu/PandemicFlu/index.htm http://www.moh.govt.nz/influenza-a-h1n1 http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/alert-alerte/swine_200904-eng.php http://www.nicd.nic.in/Tdr_CDA_Swine.pdf. Useful information about H1N1 virus from the governments of Britain, New Zealand, Canada, and India

My world has changed – two stories in one

Center “Living upright” is local non-governmental organization established 2002 in Novi Sad. It’s aims are: improving the quality of life of persons with disability enbaling them higher self-confidence, rising awareness of public and creation the accessible environment fo all citizens.

This summer, while we tried to discover what will be our future, we also belive and hope in new and good experiences, although not aware what this could be exactly.

Here is the beginning of our story from different angles:

Warm and smily facessuddenly appeared on my door and introduced me with the project Personal assistant – which Center „Living upright“ realised with the support of Center for Independent Living Serbia from belgrade. This pilot project for the first time started in Novi Sad. We were lucky and honored to become a part of this great team. That afternoon I did not realised all the great things that will happened to me. For the first time I was thinking about my life without support and help of my family. This project offered me a possibility to move away independently and create my new activities and possibilities.

Other door was opened for finding a job opportynity through INFOSTUD agency. That was something so different from everything I faced until now. Everything was spontaneous, without tension, I was not fear for the first time from this new job although that was a quite hughe change in my life.

Our first meeting was in Center „Living upright“. Later on we agreed that the strongest impression was the first look and our smiles. We did not realise that this project will open to us this new world. We pass through everyday situations supporting each other, sometimes without real awareness on that. We learn to hear ourselves and others.

My first meeting with personal assistant pointed me the new dimension of independence. In spite my family and closest friend support, through this project I started to know the other dimension of the world around me – independence, to do something on my way, when and how I want that and the opportunity to fail and learn further on.

On the other hand, the first meeting with disability world showed me a dimension of capabitilities in spite of disabilities. I was caught in hughe energy of feith and fight in everyday activities. Each new day encourage me to do more for myself and I am actually very happy!

The time of changes and revelations has been started. Our message to others is – open your heart door and give your life chance to chage. Do not loose hope as one eye sight and smile could really change a lot!

Jelena Radovic i Tamara Ristivojevic

A Great, hard-working colleague, Dr. Adolf  Ratzka, Director of the Independent Living Institute has received the European Citizen Award  last month at the beginning of the Swedish European Union Presidency.

Adolf who is a user of a ventilator and personal assistance, was honored for his long, tenacious and successful work in Europe for disabled people’s self-determination and equal opportunitiesthrough personal assistance and accessibility.

Adolf has been to the forefront of the Independent Living movement and this  honour will be celebrated throughout the worldwide Independent Living movement. We in DPI also congratulate Adolph on this honour and we hope  that he will continue to inspire many more disabled people to live with the  principles of Independent Living.

I have mixed feelings about Facebook. I log on almost every day, to catch up with friends or to play Scrabble. I am delighted to be back in touch with people from school, and to have made new mates worldwide. It’s a convenient way of sharing news and participating in debate; at the moment, I am arguing with the great Nabil Shaban about the ethics of assisted suicide.  Facebook is a huge network of human beings, however, and human beings, particularly teenage ones, are sadly, remarkably and continually prejudiced about disabled people.

The user generated content of Facebook enables ordinary people to create networks and form groups for discussion between those who are like-minded. Which is great, most of the time, but depressingly obnoxious some of the time.

I’ve always known, and research my team conducted has proven, that people with restricted growth commonly experience staring, name calling and prejudice. But a quick scan of some of the groups on Facebook shows both how common, and how idiotic, this discrimination can be.

There are more than 500 of these groups which include the word “dwarf” in their title, and a similar number called something like “midget”. This includes, but is not limited to, groups like: “I kick midgets”, “Dwarfs are for life not just pantomime”, “Give blind people dwarfs instead of dogs” and, particularly close to home for me, “Let’s ban dwarfs from South Shields beach in summer months”.  

Now, most of these groups have no more than a dozen members, and probably drunken student ones at that, but the whole thing is distinctly unsavoury. Particularly when you realize that some of these groups exchange photographs of restricted growth people or refer to “sightings”, none of them with the consent of the individuals concerned.

Photographs are posted for mutual amusement and ridicule, and sometimes the addresses of restricted growth people are added. The organizers and members clearly believe they are hilariously funny, with semi-literate descriptions, such as: “This is a group that concentrates about improving the living standarts for the small people. we demand full pay for the midgets because even if they are only half human and half nothing , they to have feelings even if it is only small feelings. our second demand is that they are to be released into the wild where they belong.. put them back into the great forrests and onto the mountains that are the dwarfs natural habitat.. release them from the mines and the very small sweatshops where they now reside…” 

A recent campaign organized by members of the Restricted Growth Association resulted in some of the more extreme sites being removed by Facebook, but others have sprung up in their place. Two police forces have been involved, and it is possible that action will be taken in response to behaviour which probably infringe the 2003 Criminal Justice Act by inciting hatred and harassment of disabled people. The wheels of justice, as usual, move slowly.

Clearly, nastiness like this has always happened, and many disabled people have heard the same or worse in their own lives. But Facebook and similar social networking sites provide a forum which bored idiots can fill with prejudice and filth. Perhaps some people are happy just to look the other way or ignore it, but it feels distressing to know this stuff is out there, and it encourages negative attitudes and quite possibly harassment and physical violence against disabled people.

Parents of children with disabilities have told me how upset this material makes them feel, particularly as many Facebook users are themselves children and young people, who may have fragile self esteem already.

Above all, the existence of these attitudes and these groups makes me suspicious of people who ask to be my friend on Facebook. Most of the strangers who get in touch are no doubt Ouch! readers or people who know my academic work. But perhaps some of the people I approve are just voyeurs, eager to laugh at my picture and point me out to their mates when they return home drunk from the pub. I’d rather run that risk than reject everyone I don’t know, but I put strangers on “limited access” settings as a precaution.

Although the world has improved for disabled people in many ways, this dimension of Facebook is a sad reminder that old attitudes die hard.

• Editor’s note: Facebook were approach to comment on Tom’s above opinion piece. A spokesperson told us: “There is no place for hateful or discriminatory content on Facebook. We encourage people to use the “report” button, which is clearly marked on all Facebook pages and profiles, to flag content they feel violates our Terms of Use. We review all reported content and will remove anything that violates our Terms of Use as swiftly as possible.”

Groups that can be found on Facebook today

Dwarf Haters – 11 members – A group of people that simply just hate dwarfs.

Midget Lovers – 217 members – “I’m on a mission to find ALL midget lovers. Come join me in the quest! Add as many pics or vids as you want – as long as they’re funny! Let the midget hunting commence!”

Dwarf Busters – 10 members – A group for like-minded (sane) individuals, to plot the downfall and eventual destruction of vertically challenged old men with [deleted] frogspawn”.

Dwarf Power – 10 members – “We think dwarfs are the funniest thing – do you?”

Midget – 262 members – “Join the midget group. Midgets are awesome.”

Dwarf Punchers – 6 members – “A group dedicated to winning fights with little people.”

Midget Strippers – 401 members – “Midget female stripper required urgently. Anyone know where I can get one from?”

Midget Mayhem – 53 members – This to anyone who as spare midgets for sale or wanting to sell .. Things i have learned from midgets: every midget in the world was a Ewok or starred in Willow …

Midget Fighting – 56 members – Midget fighting is so funny.

The Greens’ Helene Jarmer was sworn in today (Fri) as the first deaf member of the Austrian parliament.

Jarmer, 37, from Vienna, replaces Ulrike Lunacek, who will take her seat as a new MEP in Brussels and Strasbourg on 14 July.

Jarmer is due to make her first address in parliament today in sign language, which an interpreter was to put into German.

Related to one year expose of Serbian Prime Minister, Mr. Mirko Cvetkovic, seven organizations of civil society, among them Center for Independent Living Serbia as contact organization for PWDs, send a letter to Prime Minister on 8  of July, reminding him on obligation of establishing the mechanisms of cooperation between state and civil society.    

To Serbian Prime Minister, Mr. Mirko Cvetkovic   

Belgrade, 8 July 2009  Subject: Institutional frame for cooperation between state and NGO sector  

Dear Mr. Cvetkovic, 

It was a year ago that you stated that “providing the relevant mechanism of cooperation between state and civil society will have a proper place within building the state of law“, as well as „it will represent one of the priorities in future work of Serbian Government“. 

According to that, there are expectations at civil society organizations that will be improvement in cooperation between state and civil sector as well as forming the body on state level which will manage that cooperation. Although that there are different types of communication and cooperation between Serbian Government and organizations of civil society, still there is no institutional frame that will provide systemic dialogue between these two important actors in one democratic society.  

Having this in mine we would like ask you to inform us in which phase is realization concrete document which will enable this cooperation in institutional way and measures that will Serbian Government take to provide formal delivery of State on establishing Office for cooperation with civil society and providing relevant resources from Serbia Budget for 2010. for its functioning.  Serbia is the only country in West Balkan which has no institution, responsible for cooperation between Government and civil society.

The lack of this institution is opposite to Serbian responsibilities on maintaining liaison between state and civil society in European integration process. We expect that responsible Government will recognize the importance of this body as that is the way to maximize absorbent capacity related to IPA funds, which will be extremely helpful in terms of global economic crisis.  

As you probably know, Coalition of seven Contact organization of civil society sent official suggestion to Serbian Government on 27 March 2008 to start the process of institutionalized cooperation with civil sector. Based on this initiative and wide consultations and consensus between all interested parties, Cabinet of Vice president of Serbian Government for European integration (Team for implementation Poverty Reduction Strategy), Ministry for State Management and Local Self-management and Office for European Integration, prepared suggestion for establishing Office for cooperation with civil society.  

Cooperation between Serbian Government and civil society could be based on accepting the common values of modern democracy, on values based on international documents and recommendations UN, Council of Europe and EU and values of civil initiatives towards creation of efficient and fruitful mechanisms two way communication that will improve future relationships between Government and civil society, Having in mind your current engagement and readiness to support establishing the Office, we would like to ask you for organizing one consultative meeting with representatives of civil society as soon as possible, also inviting representatives of Cabinet of Vice president of Serbia Government for European Integrations.

  Respecting your time we remain yours,  

Contact organizations of civil society:

Autonomous women centre

Power of friendship – Amity

Center for Independent Living Serbia

Society for protection and improvement the mental health of children and youth

Group 484

Roma informative Center

Civil initiative

City Council in Leskovac decided on its regular assembly on 30 of June that will finance four personal assistants for four physically disabled persons.

In spite financial difficulties Leskovac City again showed its sensibility for social inclusion of PWDs and become fifth city in Serbia (beside Sombor, Jagodina, Smederevo and Nis) who manage to provide funding for this support service for persons with disability.

Theme for 2009: “Realizing the MDGs for All: Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities and Their Communities around the World”. The annual observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December, aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of the political, social, economic and cultural life of their communities. The theme of the Day is based on the goal of full and equal enjoyment of human rights and participation in society by persons with disabilities, established by the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, adopted by General Assembly in 1982.  

Center for Independent Living Serbia and Catholic Relief Services organized serial of Round tables within the MIDWAY project (Mainstreaming Inclusiveness for Disabled Workers and Youth) .

Round tables will be held in:

– Belgrade, 16 of June

– Novi Sad, 18 of June

– Kragujevac, 23 of June

– Nis, 25 of June

– Leskovac, 26 of June 2009.        

Round tables topics are : 

– Presentation of Law on Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with disability 

 – Presentation of research results on possibilities in employment of persons with disability

 – Initiative for Coalition building related to employment on municipal level.

Association of Dystrophics of West Backa and TV Happiness from Sombor started at Friday, 29 of May 2009 experimental serial of TV News named “Equally, but for real”. This broadcast informs us about activities of associations for and of persons with disability and is planned to be live once or twice a month. Host of the news is  Julijana Catalinac, member Association of Dystrophics of West Backa and CIL branch from Sombor.

The Equal Partners Foundation, together with the University of Malta, has launchedthe programme MOTE – My Opinion My Vote, a project which aims to encouragepeople with learning disabilities to exercise their political rights. One specific aim ofMOTE is an investigation on the voting rights of persons with intellectual impairment.Many persons with intellectual disability in Malta and Europe currently do not exercisetheir right to vote. In Malta, they can be interdicted, having their right to vote takenaway. If they choose to contest it, they are subject to an interview assessing theirpolitical knowledge. The Equal Partners Foundation commented that those who hadthe right to vote exercised it – but that at present there were no structures in place tohelp persons with intellectual disability to vote independently.

Grammar school from Sevojno with Association of CP and Polio from Uzice, Intermunnicipal organisation of Blind from Uzicea, Uzice Center for Child Rights and Ethno park Terzic yard started a project „Closer Together”.

This is a example of positive praxis in our community as grammar school initiated such project.This project is financed from Uzice City budget within the Reform of social policy for improvement the status of persons with disability.

The aim of the project is better social integration of children with physical and intelectual impairment, higher sensibility of their peers, parents and teachers. Target group is consisted of all school pupils. More intensive work is planned with pupils with disability and their parents, their classmates and their parents.

It is planned to form Team for child integration, workshops (ceramic, drama and puppets) Photo club, Friend’s club, Counselling for parents, psychomotoric exercises and skills.

All further news will be on www.ossevojno.edu.rs,  www.osi-uzice.rs  and www.graduzice.org . 

Tijana Petrovic