The Special Olympics
All very well - but what happens now?
By: Paddy Doyle
The Special Olympics went off without a hitch - even the weather was perfect. But will the good work continue, or is that it?
Few would dispute that the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics was as spectacle. The question tormenting this writer is: who was it a spectacle for? Was it a spectacle for the famous' people who turned up and who don't have 'intellectual disabilities' - mental handicap to those of us not familiar with the current climate of political correctness? I was both amused and embarrassed by the antics of the RTE people covering the event from the trackside. Jim Sherwin, veteran commentator repeated time and time again "how wonderful these special athletes are." He went even further, advising that viewers should "look at the joy on the faces of these very special athletes."
Then there was 'that' woman - the one from RTE who kept leaping into the middle of the parade to interview the beautiful and the famous. Bless her! However well intentioned she was, she made a complete 'horlicks' of the job. "Arnold, can I ask you...?" she said. 'The Terminator' proved that he could 'shoot' someone down without the use of a gun! I wish that nice lady working for RTE could have felt even a fraction of the sympathy I felt for her. I almost wept for her but decided against it, I decided it would be better just to leap out of my wheelchair and bury my head behind the settee. 'Arnie' didn't even bother to say "I'll be back."
When the attention was turned towards the participants in the games I was pleased, until I heard the manner in which the interviews were conducted. I thought the questions were patronising and condescending. Time for another jump from my wheelchair to the back of settee. At this stage I was becoming a serious contender for the 'Real Olympics' and a definite gold medallist in the 'Dying of Embarrassment' category.
Some of the famous people marching around with the athletes (I refuse to use the prefix 'special' - these people are athletes) looked distinctly uncomfortable and out of place as they walked with the real stars of the show - the participants in the Summer Olympic Games. Why won't I use the word 'Special' you may well ask? Because these people are not 'special' - they are athlete's who have spent many years training - each in his or her own discipline. Being an armchair (or rather wheelchair) couch potato I am more than delighted to watch sport. The sports people that took part in the Summer Olympics might well be 'heroes,' 'inspirational' and 'courageous' but to refer to them as such because they have a disability is in my opinion to take away from their capabilities as trained athletes.
Golden Balls
Only politicians with a neck like that well toughened part of a jockey's anatomy most of us have heard of would have turned up at the games - and they did, in full force - and used it as a platform to bag some votes! There was John O'Donoghue, Minister for Art, Sports and Tourism, beaming like something straight out of an advertisement for a new brand of pearly white toothpaste.
Then there was Bertie. His performance was special - it was very special. Bertie is to politics what David Beckham is to soccer - Golden Balls - Beckham bends them, Bertie, well he just tosses them it to the air and juggles as best he can! The bravery and the courage of the man was an inspiration.
Here is the Taoiseach of our country, addressing an audience made up of people who have been at the receiving end of his governments' absolute disregard for people with disabilities, their families, friends and carers. His praise for the massive voluntary effort put into making the games such a success must have rung very hollow with the many thousands of people who have given a lifetime of voluntary service to disability generally and who now have to watch as Bertie Ahern's government systematically axe services and funding to those people who most need it. Nobody can dispute the role volunteers play in the daily lives of people with disabilities.
The reality is that the government is more than happy to allow volunteers to get on with their work - it does after all, allow government to abdicate its responsibility and pass the proverbial buck. They don't have to treat the matter as a rights based issue or as a political issue. The corporate sector got major publicity out of the Summer Olympics, They were "Celebrating heroes," "Transporting heroes" and "Proud to be associated with the Special Olympics." When all the hype of these games has died down and the various corporate (and corpulent!) bodies return to their mahogany desks behind oak doors we have the ideal opportunity to test out their commitment to the 'heroes' they created.
When the 'Flame of Hope' is extinguished, let's hope that the dreams and aspirations of the athletes, their families and their friends are not extinguished as well.
Equal opportunity
Will the major bodies and companies that were so eager to be associated with the games now give equal employment opportunities to people with disabilities? Will the various financial institutions, who in one way or another gave their support to the summer games, now make home loans available to people with disabilities without levying utterly prohibitive mortgage protection and life assurance policies on people with disabilities? Perhaps even a small amount of the promotional materials that they invested in to promote themselves and the Summer Games can be diverted to ensure the full integration of people with disabilities into society.
It is my belief that however successful the Summer Olympics of 2003 have been, the situation pertaining to people with disabilities in Ireland will not have changed one iota. I desperately want to be wrong - very wrong.
Most-wanted list As a real legacy to the summer games the government must insure that the five following issues are dealt with as a matter of urgency:
1. Encourage any potential employers who were involved in the Summer Olympics to employ people with disabilities - lack of access to employment is a source of poverty and social exclusion for people with disabilities.
2. Ensure that every disabled child in the country has access to primary education and also to second and third level education.
3. Mount a nationwide campaign to ensure that people with disabilities are portrayed in a positive light in the media - it is a well established fact that imagery of disabled people is usually negative.
4. The Building Regulations Act must be rigorously enforced to ensure that people with disabilities have easy access to all public buildings including new apartment blocks.
5. Funding for respite care is a major issue for the families of people with disabilities. The government need to make funding available so that quality of life is enhanced, not just for those with disabilities but also for those who unstintingly give round the clock care without any recognition.
PS: Anyone who has read this article and feels disability is something 'out there' that'll never impact on them - remember that disability is not the preserve of those who are already disabled, accidents happen. To say that it's a 'life changing experience' is to understate the impact of what are often referred to as 'acquired disabilities.'
