Mercédes Benegbi

Early life

Mercédes Benegbi came into the world in 1962 in Montreal, Quebec. Her mother, Colette, who was Québécoise, and her Moroccan father, Marcos Benegbi, had her. Because Colette took thalidomide while pregnant, Benegbi was born with phocomelia. Her parents pushed for her to be included with other kids and sent her to École Ernest Crepeau.

She also took part in the Montreal Rehabilitation Institute’s two-decade program. To keep her from hurting her face during falls—she lacked arms to catch herself—her dad created a special visor. As an only child, she got both encouragement and pressure from her parents to be as self-sufficient as possible.

Career

Mercédes Benegbi has spent more than two decades as a disability advocate. She sat on the board of the Confederation of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities of Quebec, and in 2000 the Council of Canadians with Disabilities recognized her work. Since 2002, she has led the Thalidomide Victims Association of Canada as its executive director, becoming a prominent voice for Canadian thalidomide survivors. In 2014, she guided a successful push for compensation from the Canadian government, which had long refused to accept responsibility for approving the drug.

The survivors’ ongoing health problems and inability to work, caused by permanent disabilities, motivated her to seek a package like those given to European survivors. The resulting 2015 plan included a tax-free lifetime pension, a one-time lump sum payment, and a medical fund for surgeries or modifications to homes and vehicles. Benegbi has traveled internationally to speak about thalidomide’s harm to fetal development. In 2016, the University of Windsor awarded her an honorary doctorate of laws.

Did You Know?

• Her father invented a visor for her to prevent face injuries when she fell, as she had no arms to break her fall.
• She was enrolled in the Montreal Rehabilitation Institute's 20-year plan to assist survivors and their families.