Displaced by war – Залишене життя
On November 1st, 2024, our “Barrierfree Safety for People with Disabilities” project hosted a powerful screening event that brought together displaced Ukrainians with disabilities and their family members to share their personal stories of resilience and adaptation.
The hybrid event, attended by participants both in-person and online, featured intimate video portraits of seven protagonists with disabilities and family members of disabled people, four of whom joined us to discuss their experiences in person. Through these deeply personal narratives, we explored the diverse challenges and needs of people with disabilities who have fled Ukraine.
The protagonists who were able to share their perspectives during the event included Iva, who shared her dual perspective as both a person with hearing impairment and an disability activist; Tetiana, who spoke about supporting her father with Parkinson during wartime; Anna, who discussed her journey as a mother of a child with disabilities and Sofiia, who told us about the difficulty of adequate medical support during wartime. Their stories highlighted that displaced persons with disabilities are not a homogeneous group, but individuals with unique experiences and needs.
The event was hosted at Berlin’s Hotel Continental – Art Space in Exile, a meaningful venue that honors the memory of the destroyed Center of Contemporary Art in Mariupol. Our partners from the Ukrainian NGO Fight for Right joined us to provide valuable information about disability support services in Germany and Ukraine.
This event was part of our ongoing awareness campaign to increase the visibility of people with disabilities affected by war and displacement. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all participants who shared their stories and contributed to this important dialogue.
Our partners from Fight for Right created a detailed information flyer on applying for disability status in Germany, which was made available at the event and can be downloaded here.
For more information about our awareness campaign watch the moving video portraits now on our YouTube channel!
This project is a part of the INKuLtur-Programme and is implemented by Austausch e.V. in collaboration with partners from Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, and Germany with financial support from the Federal Foreign Office.
