Esther Volleberg represented Inclusion Europe at an event in the European Parliament on 25 March 2026. The event was organised to celebrate the World Down Syndrome Day. The event was about loneliness.
Esther Volleberg is from the Netherlands. Esther is sister of Inge Volleberg who works at Inclusion Europe as researcher. Inge also spoke at the event.
This is what Esther Volleberg said:
My name is Esther Volleberg. I am here to represent Inclusion Europe. And I came to talk about loneliness.
😢 Loneliness is not fun. For no one. Including for people with Down. But people with Down are quite often lonely.
🎒 People with Down are more likely to be lonely than other people. For example, children with Down have a harder time fitting in at school. I used to have few friends and was bullied at school. This was because the other children didn’t understand me, because I was different. The teachers did get angry at the bullies, but it didn’t help. I wanted to fit in, instead I felt lonely.
🚌 People with Down are more likely to be lonely than other people. For example, public transportation isn’t always easy to use, making it harder to visit people. I have a really good best friend, and I see her at work. But she lives far away, and it’s difficult for me to pop in for a visit. Because I don’t know which bus to take or where to get off. So I see her less often than I’d like, and that makes me feel lonely.
💕 People with Down are more likely to be lonely than other people. For example, because it’s harder to find a partner. I don’t have a boyfriend at the moment, and I don’t like that. There are very few places where I can meet new people. Other people have opinions about who and when I can date. And I depend on my support person to arrange dates. Because it’s so difficult to meet someone, I feel lonely.
People with Down are more likely to be lonely than other people. For example, you feel lonely when you think about what others have that you can’t or aren’t allowed to have.
🪩 I feel lonely when I think about how other people my age can go out late, while I can’t because the taxi service doesn’t run at night.
👩🏻🍼 I feel lonely when I think about how other people can choose whether they want children, while that choice is made for me.
💸 I feel lonely when I think about how other people get paid for their work in a restaurant, while my work in a restaurant is considered as daycare activities.
We all feel lonely from time to time, but people with Down are more often lonely because the world is not accessible for us and people treat us differently.
That must change.
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