The celebration of sports and abilities
that is encompassed by the Paralympics is truly uplifting and inspirational. In
themselves, the Paralympic games represent the ability to use athletics as a
means of international diplomacy through the creation of personal friendships
that surpass nationality or citizenship. At the same time, the Paralympic games
promote international diplomacy across boundaries and borders in the promotion
of those with disabilities as part of society and indeed as key representatives
of their states.
Beyond this, the Paralympic games offer the
ability for those disabled by violence to assert their abilities as athletes
and as members of a society of Paralympians that does not regard them as
victims but rather as competitors and equals. Paralympians at the 2016 Rio
games have disabilities from forms of violence that are as different as the
sports they compete in.
For example, Brazil native Jovane Silva Guissone, a wheelchair fencer, suffered damage to his spine and legs when he
was shot years ago in his own neighbourhood. Despite the impact of local
violence, Guissone is a deeply proud Brazilian who has been eager to show off
his country as well as his own skills. The results of violence in combat zones
also have impacted the Paralympian community. There are many examples of this,
such as powerlifter Micky Yule, a former British Royal Engineers staff sergeant wounded by
an IED while serving in Afghanistan, and triathlon runner Melissa Stockwell,
formerly a first lieutenant in the United States Army, who was similarly
wounded in Iraq.
These are only a few of the Paralympians
who have found their lives changed by violence and who have used sports to
recreate themselves and give them continuity of identity. Their stories are
heroic and many have used their status as Paralympians to bring attention to
those similarly impacted by violence.
At the same time, the Paralympics allow
those impacted by violence of any kind to develop an identity beyond the experience
of conflict. It creates a different society in which there is a shared
experience of competition and athletic pride. This is a very deep aspect of
citizenship of sport, one that involves identity and inclusion.
No comments:
Post a Comment