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Why I dislike the Paralympics and refused to watch the Games

Is this society’s idea of equality? Isn’t it a further example of segregation or discrimination?

The Paralympics wrapped up on Sunday and I did not watch any of the Games.

People are shocked when they excitedly ask me if I am ‘glued to the TV to watch the Paralympics’ and I reply with a firm and quick ‘no’. I have never watched it in the past and have no intention of ever doing so. In fact, I am pleased it is over and the entire population can go back to their default setting of ignoring disabled people’s needs and their very existence. Everyone thinks I am being negative, but the reality of the Paralympic is a far cry from what mainstream media have been drilling into people’s minds.

I am a massive football fan, a devoted Chelsea FC follower, and I do like other sports — but it's funny how no one asks me if I am excited for the start of the football season. Instead, there is this assumption that I would get all hyped up about the Paralympics. Is this society’s idea of equality? Isn’t it a further example of segregation or discrimination?

This feeling was not born recently but is far more deep-rooted from when I was a child at a special needs school; the one place where I truly believed that we (disabled people) were all equal and accepted as we are. I soon discovered the reality of the hierarchy that is present within the disabled community, which is a very common practice. The realisation that your ‘worth’ is dependent on the severity of your disability came into force when I witnessed first-hand how some students were picked to train for various sports so they could eventually compete at national and international levels.

At the time, I wasn’t too bothered because if you weren’t chosen, you got a whole hour for lunch break — plus, I didn’t fancy being outside in the rain and cold weather. After a year or so though, I noticed that a disabled person’s value is attached to their achievements — which, most of the time, was reliant on their physical ability. This caused the students to split into those who believed they were ‘better’ because they had the strength to compete and others who felt worthless because they had no (visible) achievements. Even though I was top of the class academically, no one — apart from my teachers — saw this, and there were certainly no awards or trophies to show for it.

As I got older, went to university, got first in my degree, then a distinction in my Masters and started a PhD, yet I was still deemed lesser than others because my achievements were both not visible and of no value to the wider society — in the sense that they did not bring medals or attention to the country. Often, when people I meet ask if I participate in sports and I reply no, I can see the disappointment and immediate disinterest in their eyes. It is a look that says: ‘You are a failure, a waste of resources and existence.’ I know deep down they don’t mean it in a horrible manner but it is what they have been ‘taught’ and preconditioned to believe by the mainstream media.

The same media that, throughout the year, ignore and dismiss disabled people’s struggles to access education, employment and health. In fact, even the solitary day in the year where the focus is on disabled people — International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3 – is hardly acknowledged. During the pandemic, we witnessed how disabled people were deemed less important to be saved in comparison to the wider society — but suddenly, during the Paralympics, disabled people are worthy. They are ‘inspirational’, but how they got there and what obstacles they had to go through is of no interest, because that would involve taking action and responsibility — and no one wants to do that.

A friend of mine, Onthoana Archer, a wheelchair user, has the complete opposite view, for the simple reason that she is a fan of athletics and the Olympics. In fact, she attended the Olympics in France to watch a few of the games. She regards the Paralympics as ‘amazing’ and, although she isn't personally inspired by it, she believes in the saying, “See it and you can achieve it”, and hopes that it can inspire children like her non-disabled nephews and nieces.

Carrie Aimes, a disability activist who was born with a muscle-wasting condition called muscular dystrophy — like I was — can see the negativity of the Paralympics coverage. “There's been a lot of motivational discourse, suggesting that there's a sport out there for anyone and everyone, regardless of ability. Furthermore, I've noticed a reinforcement of the message, 'You can do and be anything', particularly aimed at kids, which I find quite toxic, though clearly well-intentioned. The fact is, not all who are disabled have the ability to participate in sports. Not anyone can be a Paralympian.”

Not everyone will view the Paralympics in the way Carrie and I see it, especially the non-disabled. I strongly believe in following your dream and choosing the path that your hearts dictate. I do not like the media coverage and its hypocrisy trying to sell the ‘inspirational story'. It might serve the non-disabled segment of society, but I believe it is a toxic and dangerous message that the disabled community has to deal with.

Raya Al-Jadir is an Iraqi-British freelance writer. She holds an English degree and Masters from Queen Mary, University of London. Her interests range from culture, TV, social projects and initiatives to literature and art, but her main focus is disability rights issues. She is the co-founder of Disability Horizons Arabic, the first disability lifestyle e-magazine in the Arab region. She also runs her own site, Careless. Raya is a 2020-22 Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism fellow in the UAE.