“Walking in the door has been easy,” says NY-based photographer Andrea Star Reese, whose ongoing documentary inside Indonesia’s mental facilities has taken her into the homes, schools, shelters and hospitals, where hundreds exist in appalling conditions because they are believed to be mentally ill. “Leaving is what is difficult,” reflects Reese, “I cannot leave this story.” Her long-term series named Disorder, which she hopes will raise awareness and help generate positive change towards the current mental health care in Indonesia, serves as a reminder of just how much power can lie in a single image.
Kriti Sharma is a senior disability rights researcher and Shantha Rau Barriga is the disability rights director at Human Rights Watch.
Approximately 30 patients stay at Edwuma Wo Woho Herbal Centre, many with mental health conditions. At least half are shackled. Credit: Robin Hammond/Witness Change for Human Rights Watch.
Dec 16 2020 (IPS) - Long before the Covid-19 pandemic grounded much of the world, lockdown, confinement, violence, and isolation was the daily reality for hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities around the world. Many are locked in sheds, cages, or tethered to trees and are forced to eat, sleep, urinate, and defecate in the same tiny area, sometimes for years. Why? Simply because they have a mental health condition a psychosocial disability.