Serbian Student Activists Tackle Attitudes, Access, Academics
By Laura Hershey (LauraHershey@cripcommentary.com)
Vladimir and Ira Cuk are not the typical young married student couple. They share goals and passions beyond simply getting their degrees. Vladimir studies mathematics, and Ira studies psychology, at Belgrade University. In 2000, the Cuks founded the Association of Students with the Disabilities, a cross-disability network comprised of young people in Serbia and Montenegro. In this rapidly-changing region, the Cuks and their comrades are determined to create a better future for disabled youth.
In June, Vladimir and Ira visited the United States. Disability World interviewed them while they were in Bethesda, Maryland, for the Society for Disability Studies annual meeting.
Vladimir: We work with young people with various types of physical disabilities. We are the first cross-disability group back home. We have four partners, four city groups that make a network of students with disabilities in Serbia and Montenegro. So far we have more than 300 members. We've tried to make some non-formal research, how many students with disabilities we do have. We found out that in Serbia, we have something like 500 students with disabilities, at least.
DW: And what kinds of challenges do you have in organizing students with disabilities?
Ira: A lot of challenges.
Vladimir: Yes. First of all, we had to fight with unions of people with disabilities, like blind unions, deaf unions. Secondly, we had to fight with strong prejudices that are in Serbia and Montenegro -- a strong, strong, strong prejudice towards people with disabilities, generally. This was a taboo topic. Usually, the Serbian government before tried to hide this group of people. So you can rarely see people with disabilities on a city street. But, luckily this situation is slowly changing.
DW: What issues is your organization you working on?
Vladimir: Several. First of all, we give psychosocial support through peer counseling, psychological counseling, to young people and students with disabilities. Then we have a scholarship support program for the year 2002-2003. We have 47 scholarship programs for Serbia.
We made foreign media campaigns, very large media campaigns in both Serbia and Montenegro. We tried with those media campaigns to fight with prejudice. And we think that we succeeded very much with this media campaign. We did posters, radio jingles, TV spots, fliers.
First disability media campaign in Balkans
DW: What message did you put out?
Ira: The first one's motto was "Among Us." And the other was "With You." We are here, you know. Just to let you know.
DW: So, for visibility? To make people aware of disabled people?
Vladimir: Yes. And we think that it was the first media campaign, not just in Serbia, but in the Balkan region, and in southeast Europe.
Finding Funding
DW: Where did you get funding for the media campaign and the scholarships?
Vladimir: Since we changed governments three years ago, from that moment we had to look for foreign donor support, so we made project proposals and sent them to various foundations. For the scholarship program, we had very good cooperation with the local ministry, the Serbian Ministry of Education and Sports. So, through cooperation with them, we succeeded to make these 47 scholarships.
DW: With all of the changes over the last ten years of so, with the war and the political changes, how have disabled people been affected? How are things changing now?
Vladimir: Until fourteen years ago, we had socialism, with very, very strong supports through the social system for people with disabilities. Then we had a very bad and dark period, through 2000. We had a very bad situation for people with disabilities. That government tried really hard to hide people with disabilities. So, for nine, ten years, it was very, very hard and very difficult to maintain and to be someone with a disability. But three years ago, we switched our government. So hopefully, something will change. I have to say we have very big problems right now, still, with the funding for really basic social supports for people with disabilities, like wheelchairs.
DW: Is there more activism among students with disabilities than among other disability groups?
Vladimir: Definitely, definitely. Young people, generally speaking, recognize that you have to change something -- you need to do something; nobody else will do it. They take responsibility and fight for their rights.
Ira: And they have strength for that.
Vladimir: Yes. Regular groups, [single-disability] unions for example, are not really doing much to promote human rights issues, to fight for a social model.
Ira: They're functioning at a medical model.
Cross-disability organizing
DW: Do you find that the younger people are more interested in cross-disability organizing?
Vladimir: Yes, definitely. They want to socialize with different people. They are a little bit tired of that medical model with just one type of disability, and they feel like they really belong in a society, having social contact and communication with people with various types of disabilities...
Ira: ...also with people without disabilities. We have members who are not disabled. We are an inclusive group.
Support from allies
DW: Have non-disabled students joined and supported your Association?
Ira: Very much.
Vladimir: Very much. For example, there is one group called Student Union of Serbia. They have a very large network in six cities of Serbia. And they've done much in helping us. We are helping them, also, so that they can work with young people with disabilities and they can also fight for human rights. We have very good cooperation with them.
Can I say something that might be very important? We just founded a Southeast European Youth and Students with Disabilities Network. We have now members from four countries -- Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Moldova. And Bosnia will join probably through one representative. Slovenia will join also. Probably in the near future we will have a much larger and stronger network. We from Serbia have worked to make a big network -- not just to work locally, but to share our thoughts. We want to share this idea of networking through Europe, and we want to make the European Youth with Disabilities Network.
Strengthening research about needs of disabled students
Ira: The first project that we are supposed to do through the network will be to research the needs of students with disabilities in universities, through two university centers per country. After that, we have a strategy to approach universities, politicians and important people, with some demands. Like: "Here, we have this number of students; they need this and this." We'll make some strategy for student services at universities, because we don't have that kind of support for students with disabilities.
DW: What are the most important issues for disabled students?
Ira: It's basic. Entering the universities; they are not accessible -- toilets, transportation, books, tapes for blind, sign language interpreter, everything...
Vladimir: ...basic support services for students with disabilities. We recognize that model of support here in the U.S. We are trying to make something similar back home.
DW: What are the disadvantages for a disabled student in your region?
Inferior education at special schools
Vladimir: My life story is not very common for Yugoslavia and for the southeastern Europe region. What happens, usually, is that young people with disabilities -- physical, mental disabilities -- will go to special schools. We have a lot of special schools. And through those, they will just get basic knowledge.
Ira: Even less.
Vladimir: Yes. And for them, it will be very hard to go to the regular high schools. Luckily, we don't have special high schools. But, when they finish special school it will be very hard for them to then go to the higher schools...
Ira: ...pass all the exams.
Vladimir: They will not have needed knowledge for that.
Ira: They can be hairdressers or telephonists, or something like that...
Vladimir: ...three or four basic jobs that they can do.
But we do hear of a lot of families that fight for their child so they could go to the regular schools with stairs, with everything. But that is a big job.
DW: Is that what you did -- went to regular school?
Vladimir: Yes. From the first moment, my family, my friends, and the faculty really gave a lot of their time and to support. So, that is the basic reason why I finished schools in a regular way.
DW: And were your schools accessible?
Vladimir: Not at all. Not at all.
DW: So, what did you do?
Vladimir: My friends, my family helping me. For example, in my secondary school, we had some lessons on the fourth floor. So they had to physically carry me to the fourth floor, without lifts of course.
Working on accessibility
DW: So is your Association also advocating removing such barriers?
Vladimir: Very much. Just last year we succeeded in making 14 public buildings accessible in Belgrade city center. And through cooperation with the local Belgrade government, we succeeded to make thousands and thousands of curb cuts. So, basically the whole of Belgrade will be fully accessible for walking around the streets. Slowly, through cooperation with government and some companies, we think that from now on there will be much more care when a company makes a new building; they will probably take care about ramps.
Ira: Or we will remind them.
Lobbying and networking
DW: How did you do it in Belgrade?
Vladimir: Through media campaign, through lobbying, through cooperation with them.
Ira: Constant lobbying.
Vladimir: Constant lobbying, with a lot of meetings. And in the last year, we have been on various radio and TV stations 62 times.
DW: And students took a lead in that?
Vladimir: Yes. Young people and students. Because, like I said, we work and we give support for young people, not just students...
Ira: ...because not all of them can become students, and it's not fair to exclude them.
Vladimir: Yeah. So we want to give support for young people from high schools, to go to universities.
DW: How do you reach out to those young people who are not in universities?
Vladimir: They heard about us through newspapers, through media.
Ira: Through friends, also.
Vladimir: Yes. For example, one member will, the next day, bring four new members. And then those four new members will speak to their friends.
DW: How old are you, Vladamir?
Vladimir: I am now twenty-nine years old.
DW: Do you mind talking a little bit about yourself? How did you become involved, what motivated you?
Vladimir: I worked in this field for the last ten years. Firstly, I was part of the Muscular Dystrophy Union. I was not satisfied with the way they were doing things. Me and several of my friends thought we had to change something. Ira and I went to several seminars in Europe, and we saw how people can work. And we recognized that was a cross-disability model, so we tried to bring that way of work back home. And I think that we really succeeded very much in that.
DW: What do you want to do after you graduate?
Vladimir: It is a very big issue. I want to maybe come here for graduate work in Disability Studies. That will be my wish. But I have to find out, first, how to come, what will be the procedure.
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