Mountain Mom
By Cecilia Fernandez
Journalist, Mom.
The short film directed by the Cuban-Spanish actor, director and producer, Emilio Aragón, called “Playa y Montaña” tells the story of parents who await the arrival of a new child.
They live the pregnancy as if it were preparing a vacation to the beach. Then the parents-to-be begin to make wonderful plans for the arrival of their child, full of excitement. They prepare the suitcases with towels, sunshade, sunscreen and other items for the beach. However, at the time of the birth of their son, their plans are hindered, and when they are on their way to the sea, a man stops them and says: “Welcome to the Mountain.” Then the mother asks: “To the Mountain? But if I went to the sea”…
This reorientation of destiny was used, in this short film, as an analogy to narrate the process experienced by parents with children born with rare diseases; but we could also assimilate it to what many mothers experience when they have a child affected by a disability or condition such as Autism, Down Syndrome, Asperger, sensory disorders, neurological disabilities, among other multiple diagnoses.
The Mountain Mothers undoubtedly have a different life, with unknown slopes and rocks that make them stumble. With careers in therapists, doctors, psychologists, health services and of course, with a much deeper look at inclusion.
Being a Mountain Mom means a daily struggle to make the world understand that children with disabilities need not only to be accepted, but also to be understood and, above all, to be given the opportunity to advance.
Being a mountain mother should be an opportunity to reach the hearts of millions of people in order to generate greater awareness around inclusion. Each one of us can promote greater visibility for children with different abilities, help other mothers who don’t know the way, open doors and promote effective inclusion. The right to education, equal opportunities and participation also means eliminating barriers that many Mountain Mothers face with their children.
The barriers are found in society, in educational systems, in health services, among others. And although many times, it can take some time to assume that we will be permanently on the Mountain, somewhere along the way, you realize that the Mountain is not as wild a place as you thought, but simply different. It is not an easy path like the flatness of a beach, it is a path that you take most of the time uphill, but the important thing is to realize that if you spend your life thinking about why you could not go to the beach, you will not enjoy what is special and wonderful it is to be on the Mountain. I assure you that in that unexpected trip there is also perfection, joy and thousands, thousands of satisfactions.
2023-05-12 14:57:18
#Mountain #Mom
