After 18 years of strong commitment to disability rights issues, Sven-Arne Persson is retiring. We at MyRight would like to recognise and thank him for his long and deeply committed work for human rights - and for all the people he has met and supported along the way.
Sven-Arne's commitment took shape during his time as a teacher at an adapted secondary school. During a school trip to Nicaragua, he became aware of the situation of people with intellectual disabilities in other parts of the world. It was a wake-up call - and the start of an international commitment that would characterise much of his life.
Work continued within FUB, an organisation working for people with intellectual disabilities. Through FUB, several international projects were run in collaboration with MyRight, including in Nicaragua, Rwanda, Bolivia and Peru. Five years ago, Sven-Arne also co-founded the organisation AGI - Association Global Inclusion - which focuses entirely on international disability rights projects.
In an interview with MyRight, Sven-Arne talks about memories that have made a particularly strong impression on him. One of them is from Rwanda, where he met mothers of children with intellectual disabilities who were frozen out of their communities. In some cases, they were considered witches - as if the child's disability was a punishment from God. A painful memory, which clearly reflects the vulnerability that people with intellectual disabilities and their families can face.
But there are also brighter memories. During one of his recent trips to Bolivia, Sven-Arne met a new generation of young people with intellectual disabilities who are organising themselves, demanding their rights and seeing themselves as rights bearers. A development he partly links to the networks that AGI has built up between Bolivia, Peru and Sweden.
Despite his long involvement, he is surprised by how quickly these networks have grown - and the power of bringing together young people in similar situations.
- It's hard to explain in a nutshell, but it's about going from loneliness and isolation, where you didn't feel like you mattered, to suddenly meeting lots of other young people in the same situation.
During his years with FUB and AGI, Sven-Arne has also learnt the importance of sensitivity and humility in international work. He emphasises the risk of being a white man, with both power and resources, stepping into a new context and unconsciously assuming a superior position. When this happens, there is a risk that people will not dare to be honest or speak up when something is not working.
For him, the solution has been openness - showing that he too can make mistakes. To keep things in perspective, he also asks himself how he would have felt if someone from Bolivia, for example, had come into his own local context and tried to control and decide.
Finally, Sven-Arne shares advice for others who are thinking about getting involved internationally. A first step could be to contact a disability rights organisation in your area, to hear about ongoing projects - or if there is interest in starting something new. The most important thing, he says, is commitment.
He also explains how the work has affected him personally. Today, he describes himself as more grateful and more attentive to the little things in life. Meeting people who live with very little material resources, but still feel joy, has changed his view of what is really important.
- It has enriched me, my inner world. I am very grateful to have had the chance. It has not felt like a sacrifice, but like an opportunity," Sven-Arne concludes.
We at MyRight would like to extend a warm thank you to Sven-Arne for all his years of co-operation and commitment. We hope that the work he has helped to build continues to live on - and inspires more people to get involved in disability rights and human rights globally.
If you are interested in international development work and disability rights issues, you are welcome to contact any of MyRight's member organisations.
