Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson

But it was a quote by British Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson that caught my eye the most, when describing having to be transported by the airport’s one ‘transport’ wheelchair:

“You’re in a chair that’s not your own.

“It’s like being asked to wear someone else’s clothes. That’s what it’s like sitting in another person’s wheelchair.”

I thought it quite aptly encapsulated a feeling I get every time I’m in a similar situation. Interesting.

Anyway, read the full story here if you like.

From November 21-29, I was one of the very fortunate 300 young people to take part in this amazing, once-in-a-lifetime event in a place I have always wanted to travel to – incredible India. First, let me explain what the programme is all about. Back in February, on my eighteenth birthday in fact, I applied to be part of the Oxfam International Youth Partnerships (OIYP) 2010-13 cycle, which is a programme run by Oxfam Australia involving social change and human rights of various kinds. The goal is to bring 300 young people from all over the world together to create a force for positive change over the next three years. While some are involved in gay rights, women’s rights, climate change and so on, I am involved in disability rights. Kaleidoscope, so-called because of the diversity of the people involved, was the bringing together of the 300 “Action Partners” chosen to participate in the programme, which has been going since 2000. This time was the first time it was held outside its Australian origins, and what an incredible experience it was. An experience I decided to do completely independently; no support person or personal assistant. I rolled solo.

When I told people this before I went, they looked at me as if I was insane and said things like “You’re going to India, BY YOURSELF?”

“Yes,” I replied casually, “Why not? It’s a place I’ve always wanted to go. I may as well take the step and do it alone. Not that I’ll be alone… there’ll be hundreds of other young people to keep me company.”

To be fair, I could see why they were shocked. It was a big risk for me to take and I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage. But here I am, home, jetlagged, safe, well and missing India and all the amazing people I met there.

There are far too many things to write about, but it was a truly incredible experience. I had the opportunity to meet so many people from so many places across the globe doing wonderful things in their communities despite the adversity they face. Very few had disabilities. Only four out of the 300 had a visible disability of some kind – all physical. But I think it was good that way. I learned a lot about advocacy and campaigning, about mentoring and coaching, about personal empowerment, about how to create change, and most importantly, about unity and friendship. Everyone was so accepting of one another and I made so many friends from across the world – from places like Papua New Guinea, Australia, Fiji, Vanawatu, the Solomon Islands, Canada, the UK, the USA, Brazil, Nigeria, Kenya, Liberia, Uganda, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Iraq, Algeria, Palestine, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, South Africa, Guyana and Zimbabwe just to name a few. Places I have never been, but now wish to visit in the future. I’ve always wanted to travel the world, and at Kaleidoscope, the world traveled to me.

Of course, deciding to do this trip independently had its challenges. Getting there and back was probably the biggest mission. Though I traveled with two other New Zealanders, both of whom are wonderful people who I became very close friends with, the journey was long – as in 30 hours or so long – and stressful, especially the trip home. I traveled via Dubai, an airport which apparently doesn’t have enough wheelchairs for its disabled passengers, meaning that I was kicked out of the wheelchair I used there and made to sit in a room called the “special handling area” until they could escort me to the boarding gate. I did protest about this, but my complaints fell on deaf ears and to make matters worse, because there aren’t enough wheelchairs, we had to wait for a spare before we could go to the gate. By the time we got there, the flight was on “final call” and we were very close to missing it. Going through Indian immigration was also an interesting, stressful experience as they kept telling me they had to take my wheelchair away, but no one was telling me why. Eventually it turned out that it needed to be x-rayed for security purposes, and I did get it back after about half an hour of waiting. The language barrier sure made things interesting at times, but I think that was all part of the experience. Overall, though, I managed remarkably well and there was always someone to give me a hand if I needed one.

I saw many things I had never seen before in Delhi; sometimes shocking things: people living on the side of the highway, stray dogs roaming the streets, malnourished cows and other animals eating the piles of garbage on the side of the road, children begging and a great amount of poverty. But I also saw and felt things that inspired me. I saw acceptance, hope, love, friendship, and an incredibly strong sense of unity among us all; rich, poor, black, white, gay, straight, disabled and non-disabled alike. While we were there, a gay pride parade took place in the centre of Delhi. Thousands of people joined together, including a number of Action Partners, to protest for gay rights in the streets of Delhi. Many colours, inspiring signs, drums and chants filled the streets, as did a powerful message of hope and equality for all. I also had the pleasure of visiting a disability organisation in Delhi called AADI, much like CCS Disability Action, and afterwards visiting a village which they worked in. It was great to see some of the “real India” and I think one of the highlights of the trip was clapping and chanting with the schoolkids there – a few of which had disabilities. It was a great experience and one I will never forget.

Yes, it is fair to say that I miss India. All of it. The sights and smells, the food, the traffic jams and the honking of horns, the smoggy air, and most of all, the people which I had the honour to meet and get to know. I didn’t get to sight-see much at all, but I really don’t think it mattered, because in the end, I returned home with many new friends, many memories, a strong sense of gratitude, and a new-found confidence and belief with in myself, which I believe can never be taken away from me or broken.

I am proud; proud that I accomplished my goal of going to India by myself, proud that I was able to prove to myself and others that I could do it, proud that I could make some sort of difference while there, proud that I came back a changed, better person, and proud that I will continue to change myself and my community.

The only question I’m asking myself now is “Where to next?” and the answer? “Anywhere I want to go.”

I’m having trouble choosing what pictures to insert in this post, so to view them all, click here.

The statistics should shame us all. Nine out of 10 people with learning difficulties have suffered bullying or harassment – indeed, even as the thugs from Eccles were being convicted this week, cases emerged of a disabled woman being bottled as she arrived at her home in Essex and a Yorkshire woman tipped from her wheelchair and mugged. And there is at least one trial going on over the killing of a disabled person, with another looming.

There is no official data on hate crimes against the disabled, since the government does not think it is worth publishing. One helpline has fielded a near-doubling in the number of calls from disabled victims this year, but there have been just 576 prosecutions over the last two years, compared with 11,264 for racial and religious crimes over the last year alone.

We need to wake up to this whirlwind of hate, driven by fear of difference and a symptom of a society that fails to embrace those with disabilities. Communities must look out for those in need of help. Teachers must stop tolerating hateful language and bullying. Police and council officials must tackle the low-level abuse that devastates life for so many – and, as in the Pilkington and Askew cases, can end up with a funeral.

What on earth is going on? I know this is a report from the UK, but I imagine its findings are replicated here too.

What’s been your experience with bullying? Have you – or someone you know – ever been attacked?

Her name is Kiruna Stamell, and she’s an Australian actress who is now based in the UK. She’s appeared on Eastenders, Cast Offs, and the Baz Luhrmann’s masterpiece, Moulin Rouge. She’s shorter than some, but her achievements are totally inspiring. Now, I hate it when the word “inspiring” is used to describe someone who has experienced disability, but this is an exception, because I damn well mean it! Check out her latest video blog below, and tell me you’re not amped to start something similar in your neck of the woods.

Kiruna, I LOVE YOU!

So imagine my delight when I visited Vancouver as part of my Wheely Big OE, and found automated, truly wheelchair friendly buses and bus drivers! It might have helped that their former mayor was a wheelchair user himself, but nonetheless Vancouver currently stands as the most accessible city I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting.

Isn’t this just a gorgeous image? Captured by the fine folk at Reuters, it shows a group of people in India, with various disabilities, participating in a traditional Indian dance routine. If you’re keen to see some mixed-ability dance back here in New Zealand, maybe it’s time to check out Touch Compass’ upcoming performances.

I cannot stress this enough: when travelling to Rome in a wheelchair, planning is essential. In order to take the Leonardo Express from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport to the main station, Termini, you have to email the Sala Blu team at trenitalia.it in order for them to arrange the requisite lift service at Termini. Unless you’re comfortable being hauled down steps, don’t forget to do this! Also, don’t expect a readily-available wheelchair-accessible taxi service! We had a few muckups with our flights, and after ringing what seemed like every taxi company in Rome, ended up spending 140euro (which is around $280NZD) on a taxi to the airport. Absolutely criminal.

All right. Let’s assume you’ve managed to get to Termini okay, which is the central transport hub of Rome. If you’re a power wheelchair user, or don’t really deal with stairs particularly well, you can forget about using the metro in Rome. So it leaves you with only one option really: stay in Termini. And I’ll be frank: Termini sucks. It’s a tired-looking, run-down, seedy and bloody expensive area of Rome. We stayed at The ‘Yes’ Hotel [TripAdvisor link] and it was, well, just okay. Small, expensive, and fairly run-of-the-mill. But it was accessible, which was cool. Needless to say we left the hotel fairly quickly, and went in search of some food, which brings me to the next (fairly major) issue I had with Rome: where are all the curb cuts?!

As you can see in the photo above, curb cuts were few and far between, which meant long periods of rolling my wheelchair along the cobblestones. Which was fine, until a car came along. And a scooter. And a pram. Oh, and another scooter. And a bike. And a crowd of tourists. I tell ya, sometimes there weren’t even any footpaths! So it was a on-the-road free-for-all which, to be honest, would’ve been quite exciting if I wasn’t so concerned for my well-being!

And therein lies the beauty of Rome, really, in the sense that it was just so chaotic, and so hot, and so overwhelming, that it was unlike any other city we visited. Every corner you turned, 2000-year-old buildings were crumbling, roads were melting, and statues glistened in the 30 degree heat. We had the best gelato I’ve ever tasted, some beautiful pasta in Piazza Navona, and some equally-expensive but utter rubbish meals in the Termini area. We took the iPhone Lonely Planet Rome Guide with us, I can’t recommend it enough! It really sorts the great from the average.

Despite my caveats: make sure you plan ahead, mind the (lack of) curb cuts, and be prepared to spend more than you’d anticipated, Rome is a marvellous city and not one to be missed. The Colosseum is simply overwhelming, the Trevi fountain is breathtaking, and at the end of the day, my 100-kilo electric wheelchair and I spent 6 beautiful days in the Eternal City.

If you’d like to know more about my trip, or thinking about going to Rome yourself, leave a comment below!

I find it so so frustrating that disabled people are often seen as asexual beings, thanks in part to the media’s tragic portrayal of us the eternal sufferer. So I’m raising my glass to this lot – I’d love to do something similar down under!

Check out their website for more information.

New traffic laws passed in Indonesia require disabled pedestrians to wear signs identifying them as handicapped.

AFP reports that amendments to local Traffic and Transport Law says “handicapped pedestrians must wear special and clear signs which can be easily recognised by other road users.”

Politician Ahman Muqowam told the news agency that the laws were designed to protect disabled people.

“This is a humanistic act. It’s for their safety on the streets,” he told AFP.

What are your feelings on this?

Video blog #3: Travel!! from Red Nicholson on Vimeo.