DS Conference

DS conference -knowledge village

Speaker - Sue Buckley

My views

I attended the regional conference about children with Down syndrome in Dubai, Knowledge village. The speaker focused mainly about inclusion of these children into mainstream which is a noble thought. It should be like that & they are moving towards that goal in Europe & other places. It also made me wonder how difficult it is to achieve that when the society view education that is being imparted in school is all about grades & success rates. Normal children are being admitted in schools on the basics of their score in entrance tests, affluence & so many varied reasons. Now when we talk about inclusion of children with Down syndrome who are slow learners many schools will bluntly reject that idea. The speaker stressed that Down syndrome children also have feelings just like normal children & they should not be deprived of their rights rightly so.
I had a skewed point of view where I thought to give the children the best chance we should have school for Downs where only children having this disability are given the education rather than having them in disabled schools where children of various disabilities attend. Therefore the children are given proper attention & care they require & don’t underachieve on their potential. This is same as we have All Girls schools, All Boys schools, Deaf & dumb schools, American schools ,French schools, Indian schools, Arabic schools where the children find some commonality with their peers. So should be the case with Downs schools. As we all know each one of us is different the Downs children also understand that they are different, in my view. So Instead of doing the hard job of trying to include them where the intellectual level is quite obvious, instead have something where their intellectual level is fully exploited & their potential given credence. I feel the best way of inclusion is to impart knowledge about downs in normal schools & also have weekly visits of children from both schools so that they understand & mingle. I feel this is the best way to intermingle & feel all are the same children of One God.
Ahsan ghori

Letter to editor-Jan 2006

Children of the same God (www.khaleejtimes.ae)
25 January 2006

• I ATTENDED the regional conference on children with Down’s Syndrome at Knowledge Village in Dubai on January 21-22. The speaker focused mainly on the inclusion of these children into the mainstream system, which is a noble thought. But it made me wonder how difficult it would be to achieve that, when the education that is being imparted in schools are all about grades and success rates. Normal children are being admitted in schools on the basis of their scores in the entrance tests, affluence and other reasons. Many regular schools will bluntly reject the idea of including children with Down’s Syndrome who are slow learners. The speaker stressed that Down’s Syndrome children also have feelings like normal children and they should not be deprived of their rights. Rightly so.I have a skewed point of view, however, where I feel that to give children the best chance, we should have schools where only children with this disability are given education, rather than having them in disabled schools attended by children of various disabilities. The children can thus be given proper attention and care they require. Each one of us is different.Children with Down’s Syndrome also understand that they are different, in my view. So, why not provide them with an environment where their intellectual level is fully exploited and their potential given credence? I feel the best way is to impart knowledge about Down’s Syndrome in normal schools and also have weekly visits of children from both schools so that they understand and mingle. I feel this is the best way to feel that all are the children of one God.

— Ahsan Ghori, Abu Dhabi

Dubai’s rapid transformation (www.khaleejtimes.ae)
21 January 2006

• AMERICANS have poor knowledge of the world outside their land. For them, America is the world and the world is America. The Middle East is known to a few as the ‘Land of Black Gold’. The Gulf wars were also a reason for the Americans to know about the countries here, mainly because their troops were involved. The Middle East was known more to the outside world as a tax-free haven. Here, people come to earn money tax-free and take all of it home. The equations have changed now as many have started investing here and feel at home.However, the once-insignificant Dubai came to the attention of people the world over due to its amazing development in a short period of time. The landmarks, the festivals, tourism, and the resolve of the leaders here were noticed and people world over know Dubai as a glittering city of gold. People who have neither come here nor seen Dubai on television, think Dubai to be some kind of a desert land where people live in tents and camels are the mode of transportation. The greening of the desert leaves one in astonishment.The amazing change from an insignificant land to a city of fun, entertainment and opportunities within a short period of time would surely have had an effect on the common American to notice this city and be inquisitive about it. All this could not have been possible without the vision of leaders and the effort of every human who has worked here. So, all are indebted to each other as we need two hands to clap, and people hope Dubai will shine in its glory.

— Ahsan Ghori, Abu Dhabi

Dubai beckons (www.khaleejtimes.ae)
18 January 2006

• WHAT the US does best is understand itself and what it does worst is understand others. They seem to know nothing about the outside world. For Americans, America is the world. There is a certain degree of American pride in being different. Americans have isolated the world. Why is it that they always want to be different? Why does the American president say ‘God bless America.’ Instead, he should be saying ‘God bless humanity’.I have even heard people say if you want to see heaven in earth, come to America. The present American president, when he took office, had very poor knowledge of people and places of the world, other than America. So how can we blame the people for not knowing about the outside world? The amazing progress of Dubai has made its impression in such a way that even the common man seems to know about this City of Gold. When Americans have noticed Dubai, that means Dubai has been recognised by the whole world for the incredible development it has made and become a role model for the neighbouring countries to emulate. It has made a mark in the world by having the ‘world’ in its waters. Also, the buildings are reaching out to the sky. Sky is the limit for the only place to be seen from space, apart from the Great Wall of China.
  — Ahsan Ghori, Abu Dhabi
  

Born free? Indeed! (www.khaleejtimes.ae)
1 January 2006

• ISN’T it strange that discrimination takes place in a famous hospital in the capital? And what an irony, it is when we say ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights’ that discrimination happens at the place where they are born. Basic human rights tell us ‘Human beings are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in brotherhood’.The Holy Quran says the same: “Everyone was created by Allah and everyone is equal.” Then why do we mortals discriminate? Prejudice and discrimination are negative manifestations of integrative power. Instead of bringing people together, it pushes them apart. People should be welcomed and made to feel at home instead of making them feel that their rights are routinely violated as human beings. Do away with discrimination and love fellow beings should be the message if one wants to see a united world where peace prevails.
  — Ahsan Ghori, Abu Dhabi