Chinas guide to insensitivity

Published 31 May 2008, Posted in National / 2 Comments

About 4,000 Disabled people will be competing in 20 sports at the Paralympics games in China from the 7th to the 17th of September.

After reading a recent article in the NZ Herald on Tuesday 27th May titled ‘China’s guide wins gold for insensitivity’; it is evident that disabled people will not only be completing for medals in their chosen sport but also for the right to be treated as equals.

An official ‘Beijing Olympics guide manual’, given to Olympic volunteers in Beijing is peppered with patronising comments, noting for example that physically disabled people are “often” mentally healthy.

The manual also stated that: Disabled people can be unsocial, stubborn, controlling, defensive and have a strong sense of inferiority.  “Never stare at their disfigurement. A patronising or condescending attitude will be easily sensed by them, even for a brain-damaged patient.”

The advice given in the manual reflects decades of discrimination in China against mentally and physically disabled people, who total 83 million – equivalent to the population of Germany.

Olympic swimming legend Dawn Fraser says she is boycotting the Beijing Olympic Games because she believes China discriminates against people with disabilities, women and ethnic minorities.  Fraser, who won eight Olympic medals in the 1950s and 60s, said she had witnessed Chinese people spitting on disabled athletes in the streets of Beijing during university games in the 1990s.

We can only hope that by hosting the Paralympics games, China will become better informed about disability, disability culture and the value of having a diverse society.

Read the full article from the NZ Herald
Article from the UK Times