By
Otto Lambauer
Basics, people with disabilities
Caritas of the Archdiocese of Vienna
Concept/Direction/Organization/Performance – Chris Müller

A fantastic train ride from a station, via an angler’s paradise to a circus tent awaited the passengers in the “Reblaus Express” on the local railway line between the wine town of Retz and the Thaya town of Drosendorf.

The course was set on May 5, 2011: 10 years after the creation of the first care guidelines, an illustrious group of people set off by train to explore the intellectual landscape of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for themselves. 200 people with and without disabilities, employees and clients from the various Caritas Vienna facilities engaged intensively and with relish with the issues of human rights for people with disabilities. In particular, the focus was on how these human rights can really be lived and experienced in Caritas facilities.

The adventure journey: Curves were taken safely, puzzles solved, inclines mastered, barriers broken down and barriers lifted. Like every journey, this one changed the way we think and act: from paternalism to empowerment, from power imbalance to balance of power. The travel companions gave their all: Author Franzobel, actor Oscar Blaha, the quartet Stelzhamma, internationally active photographer Reinhard Müller, television personality Helmut Geissler and conceptual artist Chris Müller.

Getting closer to the new step by step: The travel documents were the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the opinions, statements and experiences of people with disabilities, which they collected in the run-up to the trip. Thematic workshops broadened our horizons as vineyards, extensive forests and small-scale fields passed us by. The tracks took us over the hills and through the lowlands, sometimes far away from roads and settlements. The diverse impressions were accompanied by the communal positions of the fabulous Stelzhamma. Their name stands for joyful interplay with humor and verve in a conglomerate of current musical trends against the backdrop of local folk music from the time of Franz Stelzhammer and Anton Bruckner. Refreshingly treated and brought into a fast-paced new form, always presented with a wink full of irony and swinging lightness.

Threshold by threshold, leaving the old behind: 200 people had gathered unforgettable impressions, enchanted by the spectacle of the actors, inspired by the collective action, accompanied by inspiring thoughts, fortified by food and drink. A graying conductor (Oscar Blaha, in the role of the “old role model”) took us on his last journey. He summed things up, told us about his life and his future stations.

The indivisible right to humanity and human dignity

breaking down barriers
empowerment over one’s own life
unrestricted participation in all areas of life
recognizing the strengths in every person

Being human in all its diversity and colorfulness

Arrive strengthened and continue inspired: The highlight of this journey and at the same time the end of the first stage was the conclusion in the Drosendorf circus tent – with a “jolt speech” that gave momentum for the further process and encouraged us to walk a common path, without barriers, with joy in diversity. At the end, everyone went home inspired and continued their journey in everyday life.

Including a source of inspiration for the time afterwards: Together with the “Library of the Province”, a LOK book will be produced that documents the unusual journey in film and photographs. In this way, every participant – but also every non-participant – can rediscover the journey for themselves and open up new pages in the everyday life of human rights.