Disability digest
MY STORY Mario Bebek
The key components for a successful life are will, effort, desire, faith in oneself and in God. It’s your turn to determine the direction of movement. Don’t worry if you’re fooling around. Don’t worry if you don’t realize you’re a fool, says Mario, a famous motivational speaker with disabilities
Mario Bebek was born on October 28, 1991 in Zagreb with the rare disease Arthrogryposis multiplex congenita. In translation, it is a limitation in movements.
This disease includes the upper and lower extremities. In rare cases, only the upper extremities, so Mario only has problems with his arms. He was diagnosed with gastroschisis at birth and complications arise. The doctor’s prognosis was that he would not survive, so he was baptized the next day. He spent three months in the incubator. At the age of three, he went to America for an examination and received a recommendation for physical therapy and surgery.
– Upon my return, my parents provided me with physical therapy, which I received five times a week. I started kindergarten and there I adapted well with the other children, and I had exercises for my hands. That helped me a lot and I felt accepted. In addition to the physical therapy at home, mom exercised with me several times every day. I was constantly going for examinations and treatment – says Mario about the first years of his life.
The first encounter with insults made Mario stronger.
– I started elementary school according to the regular program, although my parents worked hard for me to be enrolled according to the regular program. It was there that I encountered insults for the first time, but later I got used to the fact that I am ‘different’ and that there will always be that. During elementary school, I started swimming in a competitive program. It was a club for disabled people only. I participated in numerous competitions. It helped me a lot to become independent and develop.
It was another additional therapy for me. In fact since then I have been completely busy with commitments. School in the morning, physical therapy, swimming, exercising again with mom. I had no free time for myself. My parents and brother were a great support for me to get through it all. I am very grateful to them for that. In the first place, to the parents who fought for their child. My every success is theirs, and so is my failure. Pain and struggle all the time, but will, effort, desire, faith in yourself and in God together with a positive attitude give you a goal. That’s my recipe for survival.
I’m trying to turn a minus into a plus. Really anything is possible when you want. I must not forget my friends who were always there for me and helped me when I needed it – says Mario, who today gives motivational lectures outside Croatia.
– In high school, it was much easier in terms of accepting myself and being quite understanding of my uniqueness. I graduated as a sanitary technician and, with the help of professors and colleagues, overcame the obstacles in the laboratory. After that, I entered the Health Polytechnic to become a sanitary engineer, I completed psychological and pedagogical education as a lecturer at the Teacher Training College, and I am currently in the Specialist Study for a graduate sanitary engineer.
I am very satisfied with the attitude of my colleagues and professors towards me – says Bebek, who once listened to comments like: ‘God punished you for having such hands’, ‘how are you not ashamed to walk with such hands’, ‘how is your mother not ashamed for giving birth to you like that?’
– I also did an internship at the Public Health Training Institute of Dr. Andrija Štampar and I did great. I would like to work on the same in the future. My desire is to work on health promotion and to deal with bioethics. I also want to make people aware of the principle of subsidiarity. The principle of subsidiarity is primarily a rule for determining jurisdiction in the realization of common property.
What an individual can do on his own, society must not take from him, or what a smaller community can do, a larger society must not deny it. Subsidiarity or assistance. Society must provide support. An individual should strive to the maximum within the limits of his capabilities. The new definition of Bioethics tells us that it is love for life. I am currently engaged in motivational lectures.
I sensitize the public about the life of people with disabilities. I tell my life story and try to motivate people, so that they don’t think that their problem is the most difficult and that they don’t underestimate their abilities. Life is a puzzle that a person puts together for years – says Mario.
Finally, Mario wrote a few motivational lines to our readers:
– The key components for a successful life are will, effort, desire, faith in oneself and in God. It seems that there is one direction, one path, one direction, one path, one diagonal, but there is only one life with countless directions, paths, directions, paths. It’s your turn to determine the direction of movement.
Don’t worry if you’re fooling around. Worry if you don’t realize you’re a fool. Even the best make mistakes. Follow your heart, but check yourself a hundred times when you intend to do something. Be wise and don’t run in front of the bully. It could cost you. Just remember, life is too short to be wandering all the time.
Wake up from your sleep, because you will sleep when you die. Now is the time to open your eyes and choose the path. Choose your path carefully. I always have a solution for everything. When they touch me and talk to me, I just turn my head and smile and move on to new victories. Where my heart desires.
There will always be obstacles, some are easier, some are more difficult, but it is important that you overcome them. If there is a problem, there is a solution. And when there are a lot of obstacles on your way, it means that you are worth it and that’s the only way to get stronger. Later, when you get stronger, just a smile on your face will be enough to win some things.
Remember, after the rain the sun always comes, but you have to work hard for that sun to be able to enjoy it. Even the sun should be earned. Believe me, you will thank yourself later. Life is made up of both good and bad things, and the bad things warn us that we have gone astray. Life is a fight with windmills, life is a labyrinth from which only the persistent win.
Every problem is a problem, we think we can’t get rid of it. If we think like that, then we will never find a solution. We must first admit to ourselves that I have such and such a problem and we must find a solution. We must know that there is always a bigger problem. If there were no problems, nothing would work. In a way, these problems are our guideposts and life guidelines. Let’s stay on the ball and not go astray.
There’s nothing wrong with being annoyed, except that it can be worse for you. God gave us a brain to think, so we should think about that problem and try to find a solution. Life is a labyrinth with many dead ends, we need to find a way out. Those dead ends are also problems. Each of us wanders into the dead end of life, but we should not give up immediately, but we should find an exit to the main road and choose the right path! Be the master of your will, and the servant of your conscience! There is always a way out.
While writing the book of your life…. don’t let someone else hold your pencil. No encounter with any person is accidental. Every person has a message that they carry. That message is either his appearance, his behavior… When something bothers you, take the freedom and peace to think about everything, gather your strength and move on. Because life is like a circle. Everything goes in a circle, but you must not fall out of that circle. The only solution for that is strong faith – says Bebek.
Specialised autism training received by an emergency dispatcher played a crucial role in locating a three-year-old boy with autism who wandered away from his home in the U.S. state of Ohio. The case highlights how understanding the characteristics of autism can be vital during searches for missing children
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When the boy’s mother reported her three-year-old son missing, emergency dispatcher Rebecca Elias immediately recognised that the situation required a different approach from the standard protocol.
Thanks to the training she had previously completed, Elias asked several questions that would not normally be included in a routine emergency call. In particular, she wanted to know whether there were any swimming pools, lakes or other bodies of water near the family’s home.
Police officers and rescue teams were immediately directed to a nearby swimming pool, where the boy was found alive and safely rescued.
Rebecca Elias completed a training programme provided by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). The programme is designed for emergency dispatchers, law enforcement officers and other first responders to help them better understand the behaviour of people on the autism spectrum during emergency situations.
According to NCMEC guidance, children with autism who wander away often do not respond when called by name, may avoid contact with rescuers, or may be drawn to specific places or objects. The organisation also warns that bodies of water present one of the greatest dangers during such incidents, as drowning is the leading cause of death among children with autism who wander.
For this reason, emergency responder training focuses on recognising behavioural patterns commonly associated with autism and adapting search strategies to the specific needs of individuals on the autism spectrum.
Following the successful rescue, Rebecca Elias said that the training enabled her to ask the right questions immediately and direct the search in a way that ultimately led to a positive outcome.
A faster and simpler compensation process for flight disruptions, guaranteed adjacent seating for parents and children, and hand luggage included in the ticket price are among the new rules approved by the European Parliament
Poslušaj članak
On Tuesday, Members of the European Parliament adopted the revised air passenger rights rules by 646 votes to 12, with three abstentions, following an agreement reached with the Council through the Conciliation Committee. The legislation updates the passenger rights framework that has been in force since 2004 and aims to ensure appropriate protection for travellers in cases of disruption, such as denied boarding, flight delays and cancellations.
“We have good news for everyone who flies. We worked hard to ensure that passengers do not lose the rights they already have, while at the same time providing stronger protection for families, people with reduced mobility and others who need it most,” said Virginijus Sinkevičius, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism and a member of the Greens/EFA group from Lithuania.
Preserving Existing Rights
MEPs successfully safeguarded passengers’ key right to compensation or rerouting when a flight is cancelled. Travellers will also continue to be entitled to compensation for delays exceeding three hours, cancellations occurring within 14 days of departure, and denied boarding.
Compensation levels remain unchanged and continue to depend on flight distance: €250 for journeys of up to 1,500 kilometres, €400 for flights within the EU exceeding 1,500 kilometres and for other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres, and €600 for longer journeys. Airlines will be allowed to reduce compensation by 50% on the longest routes if they offer rerouting to the final destination following the disruption or if the arrival delay does not exceed four hours.
Airlines will also be exempt from paying compensation when delays or cancellations result from extraordinary circumstances beyond their control. The revised rules include a non-exhaustive list of such circumstances, including natural disasters, war, severe weather, disruptive passenger behaviour, and strikes involving airport service providers, air navigation services or ground handling companies.
Regardless of the cause of the disruption, airlines will remain obliged to assist passengers while they wait. This includes refreshments every two hours, a meal after three hours, and, in the case of longer delays caused by circumstances beyond the airline’s control, accommodation for up to three nights.
Faster and Simpler Compensation Claims
MEPs insisted that the compensation process should become faster and more straightforward. Passengers who choose financial compensation instead of rerouting will receive it automatically. Travellers affected by disruptions will also receive clear instructions on how to submit a compensation claim within four days of completing their journey.
In addition, passengers will not be required to create an online account or download a dedicated mobile application in order to receive this information.
Passengers will have nine months to submit a compensation claim, while airlines will have 30 days either to pay compensation or explain why extraordinary circumstances apply and inform passengers of the complaints procedure.
New Passenger Rights
Passengers travelling on return tickets will be able to use the return leg even if they did not use the outbound flight, without incurring additional charges.
The new rules also establish the right to bring a personal item, such as a small bag or backpack, on board free of charge. To improve price transparency and comparability, airlines, ticket intermediaries and flight comparison websites will be required to display fares that include cabin baggage at the beginning of the booking process. Airlines may still offer lower fares to passengers who choose to travel without cabin baggage.
Passengers will no longer be charged for correcting spelling mistakes in their names or for using a boarding pass they have printed themselves after checking in.
MEPs also secured passengers’ right to receive a digital boarding pass automatically after check-in, without having to submit an additional request or create an online account or use a dedicated application. Furthermore, passengers may not be denied boarding for presenting their own printed copy of a digitally issued boarding pass.
Better Protection for Vulnerable Passengers
The revised rules strengthen protections for passengers with disabilities and passengers with reduced mobility. They will be entitled to compensation, rerouting and assistance if they miss a flight because airport service providers failed to ensure their timely arrival at the boarding gate.
The legislation also ensures that families travelling with children will not be separated during flights. Airlines will be required to seat an accompanying adult next to a child under the age of 14 at no additional cost. The same right will apply to passengers with disabilities, passengers with reduced mobility and pregnant women.
“Today’s vote is a victory for both passengers and European aviation. After more than 13 years of deadlock, we are finally replacing uncertainty with clear rules, stronger rights and greater confidence. Passenger rights take off with travellers—they do not remain grounded,” said rapporteur Andrey Novakov (EPP, Bulgaria).
Source: European Parliament Liaison Office in Croatia
The new programme represents the first step towards the systematic inclusion of blind and partially sighted people, as well as Deaf and hard of hearing people, in the regular film programme of Tuškanac Cinema
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On 2 July, the Croatian Film Association launched a new programme entitled Without Barriers, making selected film titles accessible for the first time to blind and partially sighted people, as well as Deaf and hard of hearing people. The programme is aimed at removing sensory and social barriers and creating conditions in which the cinema experience becomes accessible to a broad and diverse audience.
The first screening within the programme took place on 2 July at 9 p.m. at the Cultural Information Centre (KIC). On that occasion, the modernist classic The Birch Tree (Breza, 1967), directed by Ante Babaja, was screened with audio description for blind and partially sighted audiences and standardised subtitles for Deaf and hard of hearing audiences. Admission to the screening was free.
Based on the novella of the same name by Slavko Kolar, The Birch Tree tells the moving story of Janica, a gentle village girl whose life is tragically destroyed by primitive living conditions and the harshness of human relationships. The film is distinguished by the powerful performances of Fabijan Šovagović and Velimir “Bata” Živojinović, as well as the understated appearance of Slovenian model Manca Košir. At the 1967 Pula Film Festival, it received the Silver Arena, the Golden Arena for Best Actor, awarded to Bata Živojinović, and the award for cinematography, presented to Tomislav Pinter.
By introducing the Without Barriers programme, the Croatian Film Association continues its long-standing efforts to develop audiences and ensure access to film content for different groups of viewers. For the past ten years, the Association has organised a Sensory Screenings programme intended for children with sensory disabilities and their families, making it one of the pioneers of this model of film exhibition in Croatia.
The new programme is a natural continuation of this work and the first step towards the systematic inclusion of blind and partially sighted people, as well as Deaf and hard of hearing people, in the regular film programme of Tuškanac Cinema.
The audio description for the films was produced by the Centre for Audio Description, a business specialising in the production and adaptation of audiovisual content owned by Antonio Pavlović, while the standardised subtitles for Deaf and hard of hearing audiences were prepared by the Zaželi Association.
The Croatian Film Association points out that the Without Barriers programme is part of the project Film Programmes Beyond Tuškanac Cinema: Audiences at the Centre, implemented with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia.
– The Without Barriers programme is part of the Croatian Film Association’s project Film Programmes Beyond Tuškanac Cinema: Audiences at the Centre, implemented with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia. Through the Tuškanac on Tour programme, we will gradually seek to include films with audio description for blind and partially sighted people and subtitles adapted for Deaf and hard of hearing people in our regular programme. The pace at which these screenings are introduced will depend on the availability of screening slots at the institutions we visit, as well as on the financial resources secured for the implementation of the programme. The next adapted screening is planned for the autumn, when we will present Rajko Grlić’s film Once Upon a Time There Was a Country (Samo jednom se ljubi). From 2027 onwards, our goal is to have at least one film per month in our regular programme adapted for blind and partially sighted people, as well as Deaf and hard of hearing people – the Croatian Film Association said.
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