I first met Adolph at the General Assembly of DPI (Disabled people international) back in 1998. Our first meeting left an impressive impression on me. Adolph radiated the strength and self-confidence of a man who lives what he advocates and fights for. At the same time determined and persistent, but also careful and measured. Only later did I learn that Adolph was one of the pioneers of the philosophy of independent living. Together with other pioneers, he began a fight in the United States for the dignity and rights of people with disabilities, which would turn into a global movement for rights and dignity, the right to choose and make decisions about one's own life.

We had the honor of welcoming Adolph to our country, in Sarajevo in 2005. Those were unforgettable days. Days in which great people and veterans of the movement of people with disabilities gathered in one place. Kalle Konkola, Adolph Ratzka, Gordana Rajkov, John Evans, Kapka Panajotova, Zvonko Šavreski. People with disabilities who in Europe and the world have themselves initiated or inspired an army of activists to start the fight for rights, equality, dignity and making decisions about their own lives. Adolph was and remains an icon of all fighters for the independent life of people with disabilities.

After returning from the United States, he continued his fight for independent living in Sweden, working with activist groups to pass legislation that would guarantee personal assistance services and other forms of support for people with disabilities in Sweden. 

He is the founder and long-time director of the Institute for Independent Living "ILI" in Stockholm. We had memorable encounters with Adolph during the Freedom Drive in Brussels. He always had words of understanding, encouragement and support for young activists, future fighters for the rights and dignity of people with disabilities. He remembered people and was always straightforward in his conversations with them.

He never forgot to find out about his friends' family members. He also won his own battle for the right to parenthood. Namely, after a long struggle with bureaucracy, he managed to achieve the right for people with disabilities to adopt children.

Adolph left his mark not only on the lives of people with disabilities but also on the lives of all citizens. The Institute for Independent Living "ILI" is an organization that promotes equality among people and, through its activities, contributes to erasing borders and accepting diversity as an asset to the world and the human community. I was looking forward to the coming months, planning a trip to Stockholm and meeting Adolph. But fate decided otherwise.

We, who had the honor and privilege to learn from everything that Adolph did and left as a legacy to the movement of people with disabilities, also have the obligation to persevere in the fight for the dignity and rights of millions of women and men with disabilities around the world for whom the ideas that Adolph lived for are still a distant and unattainable dream, but which are worth fighting for and working to make it a way of life for some new generations of people with disabilities.

Suvad Zahirovic