By Nahla Bendefaa
Rabat - In March 2015, Yasmine Berraoui, born with Down Syndrome, gave a speech at the TEDx Casablanca.
Berraoui first made headlines in Summer 2014 when she received her National Baccalaureate degree with honors.
Berraoui started her speech by stating that some people might be wondering why a person with Down Syndrome would be on the stage of a TEDx talk. “This question, ‘what am I doing here?’ has been my biggest problem in life.”
She carried on by bringing up an article on LaVieEco entitled “60,000 people with Down syndrome in Morocco, should abortion be legalized?” and used it as an example for the constant feeling of rejection that Berraoui received from society. “From a very young age, I had no friends,” she said.
Berraoui went on to address the fact that she made headlines in 2014. She said that over the course of a few weeks, her name was buzzing on social media and was decorated by King Mohammed VI. However, she did not understand why because while “it is true that I have an extra chromosome, I am just like you with two arms, two legs, a brain, and a heart.”
In spite of the pity she has been subjected to from other people, Berraoui said that she did not feel disabled. She candidly reminded her audience not to “forget that I am the one with an extra chromosome. You’re the ones missing something.”
Berraoui finished her speech on a thoughtful note. “People who think that individuals with Down syndrome are incapable of doing anything, are not open to a more accepting world,” she says. She then addressed parents of special needs children requesting that they “fight for them. Everyone deserves to aspire for and achieve their dreams.”
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