The Indonesian government unfortunately still has a long way to go when it comes to making the country more inclusive towards people with disabilities, but that certainly hasn’t prevented Indonesians living with disabilities from achieving incredible things. Just last month, the country’s athletes triumphed at the ASEAN Para Games, emerging as the overall champions with 126 gold medals.
The above mini-documentary by Al Jazeera’s Hassan Ghani profiles another amazingly skilled and inspiring Indonesian, 24-year-old Achman Zulkarnain (but known to his friends as Dzoel), who, despite being born without arms or legs, has become a highly talented photographer.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZpJB1zHV1U/?taken-by=bangdzoel_
Dzoel says at the beginning of the video that he thinks it’s silly that people consider him disabled and humbly says he has his own way of doing things. And indeed, it seems like there is little than Dzoel cannot accomplish, from mastering photography to getting around in his totally badass custom-built ride.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZm-WvNn17s/?taken-by=bangdzoel_
Dzoel says in the video that he doesn’t want people who look at his photographs to see him, “I just want them to see my creativity.” With photographs like these, that shouldn’t be a problem:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWoi8lQndJn/?taken-by=bangdzoel_
https://www.instagram.com/p/BW1hJNKHtF-/?taken-by=bangdzoel_
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZJvFEMHgpl/?taken-by=bangdzoel_
Dzoel, who is currently pursuing a law degree while still working as a photographer, ends the video by saying, “If you want to be the best, erase the thought that you are disabled. You don’t have to be perfect to be the best at what you do.”
Damn, if that doesn’t inspire you, nothing will.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWmV5BOnSgN/?taken-by=bangdzoel_
