London 2012 blog

It is unusual for a blog to simply be someone else's message but the article below prompted me to reproduce some of it and to particularly reinforce the messages at the end from some of our leading ambassadors, Tanni and Mike Brace. Messages of progress and opportunity. Read it not with 'outrage' but with Mike's words in mind -

'The presence of a special guide denotes progress,' according to Mike Brace, the chairman of the British Paralympic Association. 'It's a clumsy attempt to override years of limited awareness. It's not ideal, but up to seven years ago, they might not have acknowledged disabled people at all.'

Source: The Times, 27th May 2008 (extracts)

Disabled groups outraged by Beijing snub

Disabled groups reacted with outrage yesterday to an official guide for assistants at the Beijing Olympic Games that describes them as unsocial, stubborn and defensive.

The guide for Chinese volunteers at the Games this summer explains that disabled people are a 'special group' with 'unique personalities and ways of thinking'.

'Sometimes they are overly protective of themselves, especially when they are called crippled or paralysed. Do not use "cripple" or "lame" even if you are just joking.'

Most disabled people are from poor, rural areas. Those in affluent society were hidden away until public attitudes softened in the 1990s after Deng Pufang, the eldest son of the former leader Deng Xiaoping, campaigned for reform.

Besides improved legal rights, there has been social progress. The Chinese now refer to can ji ren, or people with disabilities, instead of can fei, the handicapped and deficient.

Last week the Great Wall and Beijing's Forbidden City were made accessible to wheelchairs for the first time, with lifts and barrier-free tourist routes. But disabled people are still regarded with curiosity bordering on disdain. The manual reminds volunteers that they should not sit in someone’s wheelchair just to satisfy a personal interest.

Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Britain's greatest Paralympian with 16 medals, recalls how people in China pointed at her and jostled to take her picture. She was asked how it was possible she had mothered a child because she was in a wheelchair.

'Treatment of disability is a problem, but the Paralympics will do more to change attitudes than anything that has happened in China in 10,000 years,' she said.

The presence of a special guide denotes progress, according to Mike Brace, the chairman of the British Paralympic Association. 'It's a clumsy attempt to override years of limited awareness. It's not ideal, but up to seven years ago, they might not have acknowledged disabled people at all.'

About 4,000 Paralympians will compete in 20 sports in Beijing this September. Britain is sending a team of 200 athletes who will be trying to close the gap – on China.