Disabled People in Conflicts and Wars

Abstract

This chapter begins by situating a narrow public health focus in medical humanitarianism despite the changing nature of conflicts. We argue that such an approach misses existing populations of disabled people, which has consequences for reintegration and social protection. Secondly, we examine how indirect impairments result from sites of vulnerability during and post-conflict. Thirdly, we illustrate the long-term consequences of conflict and where action is needed. In conclusion, we use a case-study to examine the potential of inclusion as a resource for peace but also show why this approach currently has limitations. He was telling me about what it was like for disabled people living in the town when it fell to the rebels. As he told me about the fear and 'constraints' they lived under, I remembered the awful story of the looting of the workshop and being told of his own involvement in violence. I asked him if he had ever been involved in violence during the civil war or before. He evaded the question and told me a story about a woman with polio who was so beautiful that one of the rebel commanders recruited her and then later apparently made her his wife. He said, 'We used to see her walking through the town with a huge knife hung around her neck.' He pointed half way down his body and illustrated the shape of what looked like a machete. 1