고인의 명복을 빕니다. Mathew Justin Clark
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/egan-justin-clark-gentle-giant-of-disabled-advocacy-dies-at-58
나는 이분을 직접만나거나 본적은 없다. 내남자의 친구 노마라는분이 노스베이에서 (오타와에서 4시간 운전거리) 저스틴이라는 친구를 간호하기위해서 오타와병원으로 이송해와서 저스틴이 병원에 있는동안 노마가 내남자의 집 게스트룸에 머물렀다. 그래서 노마라는분을 통해서 이야기만 전해들었는데, 저스틴이 지난목요일 2월26일에 고인이 되었다는 소식을 내남자로 부터 들었고, 그후에 오타와에서 저스틴의 마지막을 저스틴의 가족들과 지켜보았던 노마와 저녁을 함께하는시간에 노마로부터 많은이야기를 들었는데... 1960년대에는 카나다에서는 장애인들을 별도의 기관에 그룹으로 생활하는 건물로 보냈다고..그래서 여러가지 장애를 가지고 태어난 저스틴도 그건물에서 어린시절을 보냈다. 18세가 되던해에 그룹여행을 가려는데, 저스팈의 부모가 반대를 해서,,저스틴이 장애를 가진사람들도 성인이되면 자신의 의사대로 자신의 일을 결정할수있는 권리를 얻기위해서 법원에 자신의 부모님들을 상대로 소송을 걸었다. 보통사람들은 장애인은 어떤일을 결정할능력이 없다고 치부해오던 그시절에 여러가지 장애를 가진 저스틴은, 자신이 장애를 가졌지만, 정신적이거나 지능적인 장애가 아니고, 보통사람처럼 자신의 일을 판단하고 결정할수있는 능력을 가진사람이라고, 그래서 자신의 일을 결정할때 더이상 부모님들의 의견이 필요없이 스스로 결정할수있다는 권리를 법원 소송을 통해서 1982년에 판결을 받았다고 한다. 그것은 그시대의 장애인으로서는 굉장히 앞서간 장애인들의 권리를 확보하는 중요한 판결이 되었다. 그래서 다른나라에서도 장애인들이 스스로 판단하고 결정할 권리를 획득하기위해 유용하게 사용할수있는 판례로서의 역활을 해왔다고 한다.
장애인으로서의 권리를 마음껏누리며 살았기를 바라는 매튜 저스틴 클락의 명복을 빕니다. Peace in Heaven.-------
캐나다는 옛날에 카톨릭을 전통으로하는 국가였는데, 그래서 수사나 수녀들에 의해서 운영되어진 많은 기관들이 있었다. 전통적으로 많은 학교가 카톨릭에 의해 운영되었고, 네이티브 인디언들 아이들을 강제로 부모둘로 부터 격리시키고., 기숙사 생활을 하도록 하면서 네이티브의 문화와 언어들을 단절시키고, 강제로 카톨릭을 배우고 따르게한 역사를 가지고 있다. 그런데 수녀나 수사에 의해서 비인간적인 취급을 당하고, 열악한 환경에서 지내게 하고, 지나친 체벌과 엄격함으로 학생들에게 심각한 고통을 주었던것으로 밝혀져서 현재까지도 그당시의 고통으로 고생하는 많은 내이티브 인디언들의 증언들이 많이 나오고있다.
카나다라는 국가는 사람들을 목적에 따라 분리시켜서 그들에게 불합리한 내용으로 부당한 인격대우로 커다란 고통을 준 아픔의 역사를 아직도 다 해결하지 못하고 있는 현실이다.
Egan: Justin Clark, gentle giant of disabled advocacy, dies at 58
" 'I go forward' was a phrase he often used, a kind of life motto."
Author of the article:
Kelly Egan
Publishing date:
Feb 26, 2021 • 3 days ago • 3 minute read •
Justin Clark is seen at his work station at ComputerWise in 2014. PHOTO BY JAMES PARK /Postmedia
Article content
Though Justin Clark struggled to communicate with any ease in life, his legacy is how clearly he was heard.
A pioneer in the struggle for the disabled to be accepted as fully human, Clark died at the General campus of The Ottawa Hospital early Thursday morning. He was 58.
“I just fell in love with the wonderful soul that he was,” said friend Robbie Giles, who first met Clark when he was a 10-year-old boy living at Rideau Regional Centre in Smiths Falls — the 1960s version of where the severely disabled belonged.
“You just knew, there is something going on behind those eyes.”
Born in 1962 with cerebral palsy, unable to walk or talk, he spent his childhood in that sprawling institution and, upon turning 18, was shortly after at the centre of a nationally covered court case to take charge of his own affairs. (It began, of all things, over his desire to go on a supervised camping trip, which his parents opposed.)
By winning the landmark decision in 1982 — Clark testified with such great effort, he was left sweating on the stand — he helped change the societal convention that the disabled should be “put away” and not integrated into the daily life of a community.
He was not a “mentally retarded” man who could not learn, the court found. He was a “gentle, trusting, believing spirit” and “very much a thinking human being,” the judge ruled, giving him control of his own affairs.
Though his body was badly twisted, Clark learned to communicate with a pallet containing letters and symbols — the early blissboards — which evolved into a computer screen that would activate a synthesized voice.
For most of his adult life, he lived in a group home called Ottawa Foyers Partage in suburban Ottawa. Despite having to use a heavy motorized wheelchair, he travelled all over Canada and the world — trips that usually had a hiccup or two.
He was a frequent speaker at conferences or church groups, using a combination of video and audio to tell his story. Remarkably, he was not bitter about his station in life or the way he’d been separated from his family as a child.
“I know he was a happy person,” said Giles, noting that Justin liked the odd rum and coke. “I think he had to struggle with what he was dealt with. But I think of the trips we went on, the hilarity. He loved being with people, experiencing everything that life could give him.”
“He did nothing but give of himself,” a friend said of Justin Clark, seen in 2014. PHOTO BY JAMES PARK /Ottawa Citizen
In fact, “I go forward” was a phrase he often used, a kind of life motto.
“You couldn’t keep him down. He wanted to visit Jean Vanier in Europe. He wanted to go on a Caribbean cruise, he wanted to be with his siblings.”
He is survived by three sisters, Alexis, Maura and Noelle, two brothers, Kerry and John, and eight nieces and nephews. In as much as the trial was a distressing experience for the family, “they came to have their brother back,” said Giles.
Indeed, in interviews with writers over the years, he was careful not to say anything negative about his parents and spoke of how much he cherished the time with his siblings.
I once spent about an hour in a room alone with Justin at his workshop, ComputerWise on Eccles Street, where he made, among other things, custom greeting cards and calendars. There was, indeed, much going on behind those eyes.
It was an unnerving experience. It took five or 10 minutes for him to type out a short answer, a process that appeared painful and laborious. But he smiled a good deal, despite all the shaking. Later, of course, the lesson was learned: he was accustomed to teaching the abled world — reporters included — to be more patient and accepting, while at the same time reconsidering what we collectively mean by “disabled.”
“He did nothing but give of himself,” said Giles. “I never heard an angry word or a judgment on anybody from him.”
He is to be buried beside his parents, Ruth and Ronald. A memorial celebration will be held later. Rideau Regional, which once housed as many as 2,650 in a complex of buildings, closed in 2009.
“Many of Justin’s friends have been in his life for decades and have made the journey with him from Rideau Regional,” the family wrote in his death notice.
“They have loved Justin, supported him, and made so many things possible for him. The family is profoundly grateful for their presence in his life.”
To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-291-6265 or email kegan@postmedia.com