Politicising Polio: Disability, Civil Society and Civic Agency in Sierra Leone

Szántó, Diana

This book examines disability in post-war Sierra Leone. Its protagonists are polio-disabled people living in the nation’s capital of Freetown, organizing themselves as best as they can in a state without welfare. There is little concrete support for people with disabilities in a country where the government is struggling with the competing requirements of the international community, demanding - in exchange for its support - good standards of democracy and the maintenance of a free market economy. To what extent is the Human Rights framework of the disability movement effective in protecting the polio-disabled and what are the limitations of this framework? Diana Szántó’s detailed ethnography reveals, through many real-life examples, the vulnerability of disabled people living in the intersections of poverty, informality and disability activism. At the same time, it also tells about the many ways the polio-disabled community is transforming vulnerability into strength.

Details

Published by: Palgrave Macmillan

Publication Date: 2019-12-02

Format: Hardcover

ISBN-13: 9789811361104

DOI: 10.1007/978-981-13-6111-1

Dimensions: 210cm x148cm

Pages: 313