Emancipation

Emancipation. What does this word means? Its root word is emancipate (verb). The meaning from Thesaurus dictionary is: to liberate, set free, unshackle, let go, untie.
To set somebody free from slavery, or other forms of bondage, restrictions or conventions. In Dutch, it is bevrijding, emancipatie.

I first came to learn about this word during my masters study in special educational needs. It appears in many articles I read. But it was one of the classes that I attended last year that I began to take interest in this word. It brought deep meaning to me. Jesus, my Lord, emancipated for human race. The lecturer spoke about the voice and advocacy actions of parents and people with disabilities that have great significance towards the equality and betterment of their lives. Emancipation. To break free from barriers, barriers from social construct that only accentuates the strong, the dominant, the majority. How about those least heard? How about the people with disabilities? What are their voices, their opinions? I am particularly interested to hear and to learn about people's own experiences, their thoughts, their dreams and hopes. This word also reminds me of several men and women who made history in the work of emancipation.

"Every human being is born equal", echoed William Wilberforce, a British polician in the 70's who worked tirelessly to abolish slavery during his time.

Emancipation Declaration 1863, a decree issued by Abraham Lincoln, was a document prepared for its journey in ending slavery.

Dr. Patch Adams, remember the movie? It is one of my favourite movies, I watched it many times, never get sick of it. He is a doctor with a dream, not quite an ordinary doctor. But what is 'ordinary' ? hmm...reflection... Maybe just an ordinary doctor who does etraordinary things?Back to Patch Adam, he dreams to build a free hospital. In essense, what he and his team do is to celebrate life and help patients to live life to the fullest. For me, that matters most despite the span of life - long-lived or otherwise.

I hope to share with you more about the works of emancipation, small or big scale, it doesn't matter. You can share yours too, your experiences, your dreams :)