The word stigma originates from the Greek stigma-stigmatos and its meaning
refers to the concepts of stamping, branding and characteristic signing. In a society, an
individual becomes stigmatised when one of his or her attributes, or characteristics, is
defined as different and unacceptable1
.
In this text, particular attention is given to the stigmatisation of persons with
disabilities.
This work is divided into two parts: in the first, a stigma will be evaluated in
regards to disabled people and how it is an attribution which crosses the temporal and
national boundaries up until the arrival of a global context. The different living conditions
of people with disabilities in the world are linked, above all, to contextual and personal
factors which include nationality, ethnicity, social class and gender. It’s important to
highlight that the limitations are only, in part, directly determined by the disability itself.
In the second part, a key argument of this text has been outlined - that of the
condition of children with disabilities in developing countries, with a particular focus on
the rural area of the city of Gitega, Burundi. It has been explored, by way of an
ethnographic approach, how in the Burundian society socio-cultural and environmental
elements represent complex factors for the existence of children with disabilities. It has
been with the aim of going beyond the mere objective and contextual data to investigate
the ethical and institutional meanings attributed to infantile disability, with the use of
many subjects. From the very beginning of the research, the important heavy workloads
of informal caregivers emerged. Their role has therefore been investigated,
contextualising it as part of the web composed by other social factors.