Crossing boundaries: foreign funding and disability rights activism in a context of war

Focusing on a case example of disability rights activism in the context of war, I discuss the impact of foreign funding crossing boundaries. Specifically, I report on the findings of a study conducted with 28 activists who are part of a grassroots organization in Lebanon. I will suggest that while foreign funding brings necessary supports, it can hold negative impacts for the work of disability rights activism; specifically, I will argue that the strategies, approaches and conditions imposed through foreign funding are often problematic because they reinforce neocolonial discourses that lead to the exclusion and marginalization of disabled people.