Beijing blog
Day 5: The Greatness of Many
International athletes don’t just have to train their bodies daily in order to scale the heights of Olympic glory. Victory is as much fought for and won internally as it is in competition. But the first test is whether or not to accept the challenge. Some of us fail because we don’t dare to try. Persons with Disabilities, by and large, do not have that choice. They have their greatness thrust upon them. To understand what motivates them to accept this challenge, we need only look at society’s attitudes. Oscar Pistorius, the South African sprinter, said recently in an interview: “I look forward to the day when children don’t have to ask their mothers about my legs, because they have been given the education to understand.”
Education will be important, but in the here and now this is about support, the support of friends and family for the athlete taking part, the support of society for Persons with Disabilities. This Paralympic Games has been the most successful yet in terms of support for athletes. Chinese premier Hu Jin Tao attended both Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies, a fact not lost on the many athletes who have striven so hard and with such success after Gold. But this is not just about high-profile successes. As we wait in the airport, a Chinese colleague emails to say that Xie Qing, a blind swimmer whom CBM was able to support with assistive devices, has just won a Gold medal. Of course, we are delighted for her.
Day 5: The Greatness of Many
International athletes don’t just have to train their bodies daily in order to scale the heights of Olympic glory. Victory is as much fought for and won internally as it is in competition. But the first test is whether or not to accept the challenge. Some of us fail because we don’t dare to try. Persons with Disabilities, by and large, do not have that choice. They have their greatness thrust upon them. To understand what motivates them to accept this challenge, we need only look at society’s attitudes. Oscar Pistorius, the South African sprinter, said recently in an interview: “I look forward to the day when children don’t have to ask their mothers about my legs, because they have been given the education to understand.”
Education will be important, but in the here and now this is about support, the support of friends and family for the athlete taking part, the support of society for Persons with Disabilities. This Paralympic Games has been the most successful yet in terms of support for athletes. Chinese premier Hu Jin Tao attended both Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies, a fact not lost on the many athletes who have striven so hard and with such success after Gold. But this is not just about high-profile successes. As we wait in the airport, a Chinese colleague emails to say that Xie Qing, a blind swimmer whom CBM was able to support with assistive devices, has just won a Gold medal. Of course, we are delighted for her.
On our last day in Beijing, we are visited by some very special individuals, with a particular message to give to the world. One of the most inspiring comes from Henry Wanyoike, who tells me: “The message I would like to give to Persons with Disabilities is to accept themselves. That is the most important thing. They should have the courage to participate. They should not fear to participate in sports. They should not fear anything. They should keep trying even if they fail the first time. In sports there is winning and losing. They should sacrifice themselves and have a lot of commitment. I lost my sight, but I never lost my vision.” I think there is something we can all learn from in this.
Henry cannot see him, but his support stands faithfully by his side like a talisman. Joseph Gachuchi is a childhood friend with a wide smile and an innocent manner. For someone who only took up professional running in 2003, going on to win the Gold with Henry in Athens in 2004 was a dream come true for Joseph. What does that moment feel like, I ask him. “Everyone in the world was looking at me. At first I felt very nervous, but I was very happy to win a Gold medal,” he says simply. Henry seems to have struck Gold with Joseph.
Verena Bentele, the German double Gold medallist, says that it’s hard to find such a guide who is willing to make the sacrifices necessary to engage in competition for others at the highest level. Verena’s parents encouraged her to do sports as a child, and she owned her first pair of skis at the age of three. She also attended a specialist school for the blind, doing Nordic skiing and athletics as way of getting out of lessons. Now, many years later and having achieved her medals in Paralympic biathlon and Nordic skiing, Verena’s life is about giving back to those who have supported her, including CBM. For most people, success would be gratitude enough, but then Verena is not most people.
Henry cannot see him, but his support stands faithfully by his side like a talisman. Joseph Gachuchi is a childhood friend with a wide smile and an innocent manner. For someone who only took up professional running in 2003, going on to win the Gold with Henry in Athens in 2004 was a dream come true for Joseph. What does that moment feel like, I ask him. “Everyone in the world was looking at me. At first I felt very nervous, but I was very happy to win a Gold medal,” he says simply. Henry seems to have struck Gold with Joseph.
Verena Bentele, the German double Gold medallist, says that it’s hard to find such a guide who is willing to make the sacrifices necessary to engage in competition for others at the highest level. Verena’s parents encouraged her to do sports as a child, and she owned her first pair of skis at the age of three. She also attended a specialist school for the blind, doing Nordic skiing and athletics as way of getting out of lessons. Now, many years later and having achieved her medals in Paralympic biathlon and Nordic skiing, Verena’s life is about giving back to those who have supported her, including CBM. For most people, success would be gratitude enough, but then Verena is not most people.
In a golden moment, two blind Chinese judo athletes and their coach stop by the CBM exhibition stand on a visit arranged by the China Disabled Persons Federation. Once we have interviewed them, to our amazement and delight, they get out their Gold medals for us to see and touch. They are beautiful, bright, heavy and inlaid with the purest Jade. The coach has a special message for Persons with Disabilities. He hopes all Persons with Disabilities in the world will not give up hope, whatever their endeavour, but remain open, with happy thinking and an open heart to face difficulties.
Another small anecdote illustrates perfectly how important attitude is to what we can achieve in life. The Chinese Paralympic athlete who lit the torch for the Beijing Paralympic Games lost his legs in a collision with a train in Sichuan province at the age of ten. He says that as he lay on the track wounded, he saw the sky and the white clouds above him. "We sometimes ignore the beautiful things in life, but lying there at that moment, I saw beauty and hope," he says. He says that he was scared to be suspended high above so many people in the dark of the night-time stadium, but that when he heard the encouragement of the crowd as he pushed higher towards the light, his fear disappeared. Most of us search for some kind of meaning to our lives. In Persons with Disabilities, that line of causation is often very clear.
Returning to London, I’m so impressed by the attitude to the Games and the way in which they are being embraced. I meet my neighbour, who is off to meet Persons with Disabilities in schools and give a special presentation on Team GB’s performance at the Paralympics. I tell her about the athletes, about their determination never to give up showing the world what Persons with Disabilities can do. I give her my volunteer pass with lots of pins and a gift from the Beijing Paralympic Committee to show the children. GB’s second position in the Medal table has ensured plenty of press coverage in the UK media. I just hope that this momentum will continue up to and beyond London 2012.
Sport is just one area in which Persons with Disabilities can achieve. Kenyan Douglas Sidialo lost his sight in the Nairobi embassy bombings and is now a UN ambassador for disability in areas hit by terrorism. He has thrown himself into working on behalf of Persons with Disabilities affected by terrorist acts, and travels the world giving talks on terrorism and disability. Douglas tells me he has made friends with those affected by the 7/7 bombings in the UK. Talking with Douglas, I understand for the first time that there is a global support network for Persons with Disabilities. As he tells us about his latest challenge, a cycle ride from Cairo to Cape Town, his guide nods proudly. “I am his eyes,” she says, smiling.
Despite their different backgrounds, all those mentioned here share a common bond: they all understood the power of sporting achievement as a metaphor for overcoming the struggles they must face in life, and they all do so together. There is a sense of certainty that the particular path they have chosen of committing their lives to raising awareness of their condition is the right one. Standing out can be hard, but they turn it into an opportunity to advocate, raise awareness and sensitise others. The road to make disabilities accepted is a long one, but if, like these athletes, we refuse to give up, there is hope that their greatness will become ours too.
