A few years later, Eric entered Georgetown University’s Law School. Eric had always had a talent for the new and untested and in law school, as he investigated the relationship between mental disability rights and international human rights, he discovered he had stumbled onto a completely new space. No one was talking about making connections between the two. And yet there were several important and overlooked protections under international law that were applicable to people who suffered from mental disability.
These insights in law school came to the forefront of Eric’s mind during his visit to Ramirez Moreno. Being bold is not only taking ownership of a problem, but also creating an innovative solution to solve it. When Eric returned from Mexico, it was with a commitment to creating an organization that uses this new and untested framework. And that was how Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI) took shape, with the help of an Echoing Green Fellowship. MDRI aimed to promote the human rights of people with mental disabilities in various ways—lobbying for their integration into society; training a new generation of grassroots activists committed to this issue; documenting human rights violations in psychiatric institutions around the world; and shaming countries into ending these abuses. MDRI was the first to apply the lessons learned in international human rights to patients in psychiatric institutions. MDRI was the first to apply the lessons learned in international human rights to patients in psychiatric institutions.
It is now more than a decade since Eric’s moment of obligation in Mexico. In this time, MDRI has succeeded in making the rights of the mentally disabled an integral part of the discussions on human rights in countries around the world. The global span of MDRI’s work is an excellent example of the gall to think big. Eric and his staff have investigated abuses in psychiatric institutions in over twenty countries throughout Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. As a result, international organizations such as the United Nations, The World Health Organization, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regularly turn to MDRI for advice.
In every country it has trageted for action, MDRI’s work has led to progress. After MDRI documented patient abuse in numerous Mexican psychiatric facilities, the government agreed to shut down the worst offender and create safe, alternative community-based programs. In Hungary, MDRI’s reporting led to new disability rights legislation. Thanks to the work of activists such as Eric, the United Nations is, at the moment, finalizing a convention to give human-rights protections to disabled people around the world, whose numbers are estimated at 650 million.
All this success did not come easily. There were plenty of times when MDRI was not taken seriously. There were shortages of resources. There was lack of cooperation from governments. But seeing possibilities in difficult times is an essential part of boldness. Most recently, MDRI worked in Turkey, taking advantage of the country’s bid to join the European Union. MDRI seized the opportunity and published a report that exposed the abuse of electroshock without anesthesia in numerous Turkish psychiatric institutions. The report became big news all over the world and various newspapers including the New York Times covered the story. Members of the European Parliament held the government of Turkey accountable for these abuses and as a result, Turkey has abolished this inhuman practice.
In many of the abusive custodial institutions that Eric visited, it was unheard of for people to leave the facility and take control of their lives. Today several of these institutions have been closed down, thanks to his efforts. People once held naked in cages are now living decent lives with their families. Where there was a problem that seemed intractable, Eric has created a bold and lasting solution.
