Shaking things up

Disabled activists turned the traditional charity collecting box idea on its head with a week of events. Bill Albert, their chief executive, describes how they did it

"You want to give me money?” said the young woman, fumbling in her purse for a coin to put in our bucket.

“Isn’t that the wrong way around? Shouldn’t I be giving you money?”

Of course, in the world we live in, it is the wrong way around. We are objects of tin-shaking charity, aren’t we? Disabled people don’t give away money to passers-by. But, over the week of 22 September, that’s exactly what we did in a series of market towns across Norfolk.

The events were the centrepiece of the latest annual week of action organised by the Norfolk Coalition of Disabled People, and were focused this year on the British government’s refusal to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities without reservations.

We took the issue onto the streets in support of the nationwide efforts being lead by the UN Convention Campaign Coalition, a group of 27 disability organisations lobbying for full ratification.

On market day, disabled people from some of our 45 member groups in Norfolk set up a pitch, armed with the usual bucket. This time, though, instead of asking for money, we reached into the bucket and offered people 20p towards the cost of a stamp to send a postcard that we supplied to their MPs, urging them to support a parliamentary motion on the convention.

These anti-collections gave us the chance not only to talk to people about human rights and their importance in the everyday lives of disabled people, but also challenged people’s assumptions about disability. It was an object lesson for the well-worn slogan, “Rights not Charity”.

The responses to our action were endlessly fascinating. For example, most local councils were fine when we approached them for permission to set up in their market, but one said they didn’t want us to give away money as it might offend people! For most of us in the movement, it is more than offensive to see charities sticking disabled people on the streets with collecting tins.

Most people’s reaction to being confronted by money-giving crips was favourable, even from those who tried at first to offer us money. They were amused at our tactics and overwhelmingly supportive of our aims.

Of course, some gave us a wide birth or pretended not to see us. One woman told us sternly that she’d been conned by people like us before and wasn’t going to let it happen again! Perhaps she thought we were merchant bankers in disguise! A few angry people even told us that disabled people had too many rights. If only…