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Influencer fights ignorance, stereotypes of people with disabilities
By Leen Aljadid, Jordan News
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AMMAN — “In this world, you
do not get what you deserve; you get what you fight for.” With a simple,
direct, and comedic manner, 36-year-old Ezzat Nabil Dablan fights stereotypes of
and social conventions on people with disabilities through his short outreach videos.اضافة اعلان
(Photo: Handouts from Ezzat Nabil Dablan)
Sharing his daily experiences, Dablan proves how people with disabilities live just like everyone else. “The society is not realizing our abilities or what we can actually do,” he told Jordan News in a phone interview.
Videos on his YouTube channel include “Visiting Beaches,” “Houses of Worship,” “Basketball Courts,” “How #Disabled Drive,” “Travel for People with Disabilities” “Elections and Voting,” “On the Sidewalk, Pedestrian Footbridges, and Tunnels”.
Dablan is a content creator and social media influencer who was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), a condition that affected his motor abilities. Dablan, a father of one, holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Applied Science Private University, where he ranked fourth in his class and 14th nationwide
Dablan went to a boarding school for people with disabilities during his primary education. He faced new obstacles in the subsequent phases of his life. Enrolling in secondary school was not easy, and he faced bullying during college. “Surprisingly, the bullies were never my colleagues, but rather the university professors,” Dablan said. He explained that his professors, and later his employers, would underestimate him.
A story that circulated on social media of a mother whose son’s school application was rejected due to his medical condition touched Dablan’s heart. It inspired him to use his own voice to raise awareness. Online he witnessed people’s ignorance of the rights of people with disabilities.
From here, the idea of Ezzat Experience dubbed “Tajrobet Ezzat” was born. Within two years he had turned his 500 friends into an audience of 36,000 followers on Facebook, with over 14,000 views on YouTube, and similar numbers on Instagram and TikTok.
After spontaneously filming his first video on his phone, Dablan realized the impact he could have if he were to invest more time and effort. Building on his knowledge of e-marketing, he enrolled himself in “a nine-month course to properly learn how to edit and montage videos” and bought high-quality equipment to ensure that his message and content was well-perceived.
(Photo: Handouts from Ezzat Nabil Dablan)
“It is all about constructive criticism,” Dablan said. What distinguishes his content is that Dablan does not only spot problems and obstacles people with disabilities face but also suggests practical solutions and recommendations.
The influencer spoke of the crumbling infrastructure and the lack of accessibility at almost all levels. “Our simplest right to accessing schools, hospitals, mosques, markets, and malls is restricted, given that most are not accessible,” Dablan said. He discussed how solutions can be very simple, citing an example of “a costless ramps beside the stairs can ease distress for people with motors disabilities.”
Dablan uses his platform to speak out the ignorance and negligence he witnesses. In a video he recounted how a supermarket had closed their wheelchair ramps with chains. Owing to the public pressure, particularly on TikTok, the management removed the chains and expressed their regret,” he said.
In his latest videos, Dablan examined the Bus Rapid Transit project issues. He pointed out the shortcomings of the implementation of tactile paving, a paving system used to assist visually impaired pedestrians. “The textured pavement used by people with visual impairment to be their eye on streets and warn of any dangers may itself lead to accidents due to errors,” Dablan said, explaining that “It is a disaster to find a manhole or traffic light in the middle of the pavement. Not to mention how some lead to a wall!”
Learning through experience is a notion the influencer adopted to creatively educate society of obstacles people with disabilities face. “Chair Challenge” is a series Dablan created to give individuals a chance to be in his shoes and discover for themselves the difficulty of using a wheelchair in our community. The series has “gained increasing attention,” he added.
Dablan also spoke of disability etiquette. “I am totally against teaching people that they need to deal with us in a certain way. We do not have a different etiquette; it is unified for all. We are all humans.” Instead, he promotes broad-mindedness to show that natural diversity is the key.
Summarizing some of the problems of people with disabilities, Dablan stressed society’s misperception of them, and the overall failure to comply with the laws set to protect the rights of people with disabilities. “The law that was approved in 2007 tackled all the details, but unfortunately it is not applied,” he explained.
Therefore, he aims to influence public opinion and raise awareness to lead a movement towards implementing legislation meant to guarantee the rights of people with disabilities. “If our humanitarian demands are boosted by grassroots support, our voices will be heard,” Dablan said.
Read more Lifestyle
(Photo: Handouts from Ezzat Nabil Dablan)
Sharing his daily experiences, Dablan proves how people with disabilities live just like everyone else. “The society is not realizing our abilities or what we can actually do,” he told Jordan News in a phone interview.
Videos on his YouTube channel include “Visiting Beaches,” “Houses of Worship,” “Basketball Courts,” “How #Disabled Drive,” “Travel for People with Disabilities” “Elections and Voting,” “On the Sidewalk, Pedestrian Footbridges, and Tunnels”.
Dablan is a content creator and social media influencer who was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), a condition that affected his motor abilities. Dablan, a father of one, holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Applied Science Private University, where he ranked fourth in his class and 14th nationwide
Dablan went to a boarding school for people with disabilities during his primary education. He faced new obstacles in the subsequent phases of his life. Enrolling in secondary school was not easy, and he faced bullying during college. “Surprisingly, the bullies were never my colleagues, but rather the university professors,” Dablan said. He explained that his professors, and later his employers, would underestimate him.
A story that circulated on social media of a mother whose son’s school application was rejected due to his medical condition touched Dablan’s heart. It inspired him to use his own voice to raise awareness. Online he witnessed people’s ignorance of the rights of people with disabilities.
From here, the idea of Ezzat Experience dubbed “Tajrobet Ezzat” was born. Within two years he had turned his 500 friends into an audience of 36,000 followers on Facebook, with over 14,000 views on YouTube, and similar numbers on Instagram and TikTok.
After spontaneously filming his first video on his phone, Dablan realized the impact he could have if he were to invest more time and effort. Building on his knowledge of e-marketing, he enrolled himself in “a nine-month course to properly learn how to edit and montage videos” and bought high-quality equipment to ensure that his message and content was well-perceived.
(Photo: Handouts from Ezzat Nabil Dablan)
“It is all about constructive criticism,” Dablan said. What distinguishes his content is that Dablan does not only spot problems and obstacles people with disabilities face but also suggests practical solutions and recommendations.
The influencer spoke of the crumbling infrastructure and the lack of accessibility at almost all levels. “Our simplest right to accessing schools, hospitals, mosques, markets, and malls is restricted, given that most are not accessible,” Dablan said. He discussed how solutions can be very simple, citing an example of “a costless ramps beside the stairs can ease distress for people with motors disabilities.”
Dablan uses his platform to speak out the ignorance and negligence he witnesses. In a video he recounted how a supermarket had closed their wheelchair ramps with chains. Owing to the public pressure, particularly on TikTok, the management removed the chains and expressed their regret,” he said.
In his latest videos, Dablan examined the Bus Rapid Transit project issues. He pointed out the shortcomings of the implementation of tactile paving, a paving system used to assist visually impaired pedestrians. “The textured pavement used by people with visual impairment to be their eye on streets and warn of any dangers may itself lead to accidents due to errors,” Dablan said, explaining that “It is a disaster to find a manhole or traffic light in the middle of the pavement. Not to mention how some lead to a wall!”
Learning through experience is a notion the influencer adopted to creatively educate society of obstacles people with disabilities face. “Chair Challenge” is a series Dablan created to give individuals a chance to be in his shoes and discover for themselves the difficulty of using a wheelchair in our community. The series has “gained increasing attention,” he added.
Dablan also spoke of disability etiquette. “I am totally against teaching people that they need to deal with us in a certain way. We do not have a different etiquette; it is unified for all. We are all humans.” Instead, he promotes broad-mindedness to show that natural diversity is the key.
Summarizing some of the problems of people with disabilities, Dablan stressed society’s misperception of them, and the overall failure to comply with the laws set to protect the rights of people with disabilities. “The law that was approved in 2007 tackled all the details, but unfortunately it is not applied,” he explained.
Therefore, he aims to influence public opinion and raise awareness to lead a movement towards implementing legislation meant to guarantee the rights of people with disabilities. “If our humanitarian demands are boosted by grassroots support, our voices will be heard,” Dablan said.
Read more Lifestyle
