Kolya's Story - Trapped at Home | Syria News‏ - Human Rights Watch

	THE WEEK IN RIGHTS September 12, 2013
		Follow us on:

Witness: Trapped in His Own Apartment – Kolya’s Story

Photo © 2013 Kamil Satkanbaev for Human Rights Watch

For many 19-year-olds, the world is a place of growing possibilities and increasing independence. Not for Nikolai Titkov. Thin and pale, he spends nearly all day, every day, in bed. Pushed against a wall in his narrow bedroom, the bed is a jumble of blankets and pillows with a table strewn with medicines at its foot. When he was 5, Nikolai – or Kolya as his mother, Tatiana, calls him – was diagnosed with a condition in which his muscles waste away. Over the years, he has lost his ability to walk, write, or bathe himself – relying on Tatiana to care for most of his needs.
Even when Kolya does get out of bed, a dangerous exercise given how brittle his bones are, he cannot move around easily. The Titikov’s municipal apartment is cramped, with narrow corridors that make maneuvering between rooms in a wheelchair all but impossible.
In March, Russia will host the Winter Paralympic Games. But many people with disabilities in Russia are struggling.

Read Kolya's Story >>

share on:

Dispatches: What Putin Didn’t Tell the American People By Anna Neistat It’s not what Vladimir Putin’s New York Times op-ed says that’s so worrisome; it’s what it doesn’t say. As a Russian and as someone who has been to Syria multiple times since the beginning of the conflict to investigate war crimes and other violations, I would like to mention a few things Putin overlooked... Read More >> share on:

Syria: Government Likely Culprit in Chemical Attack >>
Dispatches: What About Justice for Syria’s Victims? >>
Bomblets of Death in Syria >>
Inside the Syrian Black Hole >>

Yemen Should End Child Marriage Thousands of Yemeni girls have their childhood stolen and their futures destroyed because they are forced to marry too young. The Yemeni government should end this abusive practice. Read More >> share on:

Dispatches: Harrison Ford and Indonesia’s Forestry Sector Crisis By Phelim KineThe Indonesian government announced a new threat to the state: the Hollywood actor Harrison Ford, famous for swashbuckling roles in “Indiana Jones” and “Star Wars.” Read More >> share on:

In California, Second Chance for Youth Offenders California law does not recognize what every parent and teacher knows: children are different from adults. If passed into law, this bill will help put many young offenders on a path to being productive members of society. Read More >> share on:

CHEMICAL ROCKETS Chemical rockets: A diagram shows which chemical rockets were used in Syria. View now, click here, scroll down >>

SYRIA MAP Map of the attack: See the chemical weapons impact in Syria. Click here, scroll down >>

PHOTOS Warning – graphic content: Chemical attacks killed hundreds in Syria, including many children. View now >>