Alice in Paralympics Land

Brazilian Newspaper, O Globo, Opinion, 08/19/2016

Alice in Paralympics Land

By Andrei Bastos

In Alice in Wonderland, beings of all kinds interact in many forms, and the differences between them are not causes of prejudice and discrimination. The characters’ fictional adventures and misadventures demonstrate the nature of each of them in the environment they share in Wonderland.

For the beings that live outside the realm of fantasy, the impossibility of interaction, even among equals, defines their existence—successful interactions are an exception to the rule. Such is human nature, in action and living outside Wonderland.

If we consider the possibilities offered by science fiction and by technological developments, we can think our world will be able, one day, to welcome the most diverse beings, even if this future world is different from Alice’s.

In fact, if we consider that fiction has anticipated much of what technology offers us today and that is part of our daily lives, we can accept the premonitory nature of the adventures of many different beings. These stories come from the deepest corners of human imagination and include the ability to fly, to walk on the moon, to speak with someone on the other side of the planet, and to know and live with very diverse “beings,” like the characters in Alice in Wonderland do.

We still have a long way to go before we can have a world in which all differences are truly accepted, and one example of how far we are from this world is the lack of funds to hold the 2016 Paralympic Games. Some important steps have been taken—gender differences are beginning to be accepted; women are expanding their role in society; prejudices against race are already considered “a thing of the past”. But there’s still a lot of work to be done.

The collective unconscious holds a predominant image of what a human being should have—two legs, two arms and, most important of all, autonomous mobility. When we think of the diverse human groups, we naturally exclude people with no legs, no arms, or wheelchair-bound.

Influenced by cultural aspects, we consider this “forgetfulness” as something natural, but it is culture itself that will allow us to instill in our psyche the acceptance of human beings with different shapes and forms. These beings are called “disabled.” Although they have accomplished a lot in terms of human rights, they still face the challenge of the huge and insurmountable wall of invisibility, and are always isolated in ghettos. One obvious example, which deals specifically with the performance of the human body, is the separation between the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

If we have different sports and different categories within each discipline, why can’t we include the sports of the disabled athletes as categories within different disciplines?

In order to make this idea more acceptable and understood by all kinds of people, disabled or not, and in order to make it happen for all—athletes and audience—, I would like to propose Wonderland as a possible venue for the next Olympic Games, an event that would include all people and that would have enough funds to accomplish everything that still needs to be accomplished.

Andrei Bastos is a wheelchair-bound journalist and member of the National Forum on Inclusive Education