Attitudes change as Special Olympics come to China
Attitudes change as Special Olympics come to
China
Judy Yang
Natalie Williams, a 21-year-old Special Olympics basketball player from Kentucky, says she’s never really been treated like a true athletic star. But that was before she came to the Games in China, which has undergone a major change in its treatment of the mentally disabled.
Last week, organizers rolled out the red carpet for athletes arriving at the Special Olympics in Shanghai, China. Never before in the 39-year history of the Special Olympics has there been such an extravagant, star-studded opening ceremony. And everywhere in this city, there are billboards with the smiling faces of the mentally disabled promoting the Games.
Also notable was the president’s visit to one of Shanghai’s “Sunshine Homes” this month. The shelters are a direct result of this city winning the rights five years ago to host the Special Olympics. Back then, officials quickly realized their treatment of the city’s 70,000 mentally disabled was woefully inadequate.
A culture as old as China’s has, of course, features that need to be lost as well as gained - in the course of modernizing.
Now there are 240 Sunshine Homes spread across this sprawling city, caring for about 15,000 of those most in need, like 25-year-old Chen Xiaohan. She still struggles to speak with strangers, but her parents boast of her many achievements since enrolling a year ago.
I guess the market for covering events like this didn’t especially tempt American media. I watched the closing ceremonies, this morning, on Chinese TV.
Olympic flame at closing ceremonies
“Neglect and discrimination is still quite prevalent. People tend to be ashamed of children with disabilities. They tend to hide them away. They tend not to let them have access to schooling or education,” says Yin Yin Nwe, the head of UNICEF in China.
But Nwe is optimistic. As China’s economy grows, she said she thinks the government will continue to devote more resources to the country’s weakest and most vulnerable.
Posted: Thu - October 11, 2007 at 09:19 AM