No.48 September 2006 |
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Abstract
The author spent the last four years working in “developing”
and post-war nations creating sports programs that include and advocate
for people with war-related disabilities. The article discusses how
international Sport for Development organizations and national government
institutions around the world are working to develop programming that
encourages the values of human dignity. It notes where these organizations
may still be falling short in their goals. The article suggests best
practices for individuals/organizations planning sport programs seeking
to promote and protect human rights. Introduction
In the past 10 years, a new and growing interest in the Sport for Development
movement has emerged. This movement received heightened international
attention when the United Nations named 2005 the International Year
of Sport and Physical Education. Though the principles behind the movement
may not be entirely new, an increased number of international organizations
have begun working in developing countries in recent years. Organizations
are popping up everywhere, all with the intention of using sport as
a vehicle to improve the lives of individuals and entire communities.
Organizations such as Right to Play, Grassroots Soccer, Sports for Life
and Playing for Peace are just a few. Working hand in hand with local
organizations and national governments, these organizations develop
accessible and educational sport programs.
Though the organizations vary in size, focus area and approach to programming,
they all share the belief that sport can be a cost-effective, extremely
enticing and exciting method to stimulate development. “Development”
can include a variety of improvements to quality of life such as improved
health, education and economic opportunity. Development should be considered
a human right in and of itself, but it is also a process leading to
the protection of human rights and dignity. Sport can be considered
similarly. In recent years, many have contended that the access to sport
is itself a human right (UNESCO, n.d.). Sport, however, can also be
used as a vehicle for achieving, promoting and protecting human rights
(Blauwett, 2005). This can only be done however, if program planners
and participants are aware of the issues connecting sport and human
rights and consistently strive to use a human rights approach to program
planning and implementation.
Stories from the Field
Both national governments/organizations and international non-profits
are making great efforts to increase access to sport and recreation
for people living in developing nations, including women, children and
people with disabilities. Though the international community is being
made more aware of the relationship between sport and human rights,
it is clear there is a long way to go before sports programming consistently
promotes and protects human rights. The following examples from my own
experience demonstrate areas where even the best-intentioned programs
reinforce a violation of human rights. I have intentionally excluded
names and logistical details in order to protect the identity of the
individuals interviewed.
Vietnam
In 2005, during my visit to a national sports training facility in Hanoi,
Vietnam, athletes with disabilities explained that though all athletes
present had recently qualified for an upcoming international sporting
event, only a select few would be considered by the government of Vietnam
to actually participate in this event. They knew, however, that a higher
percentage of their “able-bodied” counterparts would be
chosen to participate. They also mentioned that athletes with disabilities
were only allowed to use this particular facility after 06:00 during
special training periods such as this one. They said this was a common
rule for many of the top sporting facilities in Hanoi. Though they said
they were discouraged by these practices, they also recognized a need
to continue to give their best effort in order to increase the opportunities
for future athletes with disabilities in Vietnam.
United States/Africa
Recently I spoke with the leading member of an organization that brings
professional basketball players from the United States to African countries
to teach about HIV/AIDS through basketball. The participants in the
first two programs had been predominantly “able-bodied”
boys. I approached this leader with the idea of a partnership so that
more athletes of different backgrounds could be included in this beneficial
program. When I suggested we find a way to include our wheelchair basketball
athletes and work to attract participants with disabilities, his response
was “That’s not our thing.” Unfortunately, this is
not an uncommon response. However, it was extremely disappointing considering
the recent reports stating people with disabilities are equally vulnerable
to HIV/AIDS as their able-bodied counterparts (Groce & Trasi, 2004).
A Country in Africa
Several years ago, the National Paralympic Committee held a workshop
for trainers, referees and athletes involved in the budding wheelchair
basketball program. During the workshop, the trainers and referees (all
of whom were “able-bodied”) were provided with double or
quadruple rooms. The athletes, all of whom had a physical disability,
were placed in group rooms. Many of them did not have proper beds and
were required to sleep on foam mattresses on the floor. During lunch,
trainers and referees were given the choice between two meals, one European-style,
the other African-style. The athletes were automatically provided with
the African-style meal. After the second day, the athletes wrote a letter
to the Committee and staged a small protest. The following day they
were allowed a choice of meals and the Committee made an effort to be
sure each athlete had decent sleeping accommodations.
Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games are considered by many to be a shining example
of how sport can be used to promote human rights. These Games highlight
the skills and abilities of athletes with physical and some sensory
disabilities. Athletes with disabilities from around the world have
demonstrated their skills and strengths in this international venue.
However, athletes from developing countries have a difficult time being
able to participate in these Games. First, they face the obvious challenges
of obtaining any resources at all for training and competition. But
even more impossible to overcome are athlete classification systems
and equipment standards that teams from developing countries simply
can not meet, at least not without foreign intervention. Although governing
bodies create these systems and standards to protect the athlete and
provide growth opportunities for the sport, they have all been created
in developed countries where the survivors of various disabilities and
the equipment available are simply different and unequal to those in
developing countries. Athletes from developing countries will continue
to be consistently excluded from certain sports until the rules are
adapted or the quality of life in these countries is significantly improved.
United States
As a teenage student, growing up in the mid-western United States in
the 1990s, I played competitive sports for my junior and senior high
schools. During that time, my fellow female athletes and I often mourned
the fact that our teams were never issued new uniforms. Every other
year, the boys’ teams received new uniforms and the girls’
teams were provided with the hand-me-downs of the boys teams from the
year before. This was viewed as an effective cost-cutting measure by
the (all male) administration of the schools. Interestingly, I was told
two years ago that this practice still continues.
This example seems unimportant compared to the challenges faced by the
individuals mentioned earlier in this paper, who often have no access
to equipment whatsoever. However, it definitely sent an insidious message
to all the female athletes, “You deserve less than the male athletes.”
It also shows how common inequitable resource distribution is, even
in the United States, where the amount of resources available for sport
is probably greater than anywhere else in the world.
In each of these examples, well-intentioned organizations reinforce
social insults to human dignity. These situations may not seem extreme
because they simply reinforce the status quo within a given society.
They reinforce the idea that one group is better than another and therefore
more deserving of resources. Luckily, we also often see members of groups
affected by these ideas standing up and changing them. They are able
to use the sport field as a playing field for addressing larger societal
issues. This of course can only be done in an environment open and conducive
for change.
Recommended Best Practices
The challenge to use sport as a tool to address human rights issues
starts within the programs themselves. Governments continue to develop
laws making access to sport a right for all, but acceptance of these
laws can take a long time, and even after ratification, may often be
of low priority for enforcement. Also, the laws do not explain how to
make sport a right for all and can leave room for interpretation. It
is therefore crucial that people involved in sports programming be aware
of the need for a human rights approach in program planning and implementation.
During the last four years, I have worked with a program called Sports
for Life, which is dedicated to increasing sporting opportunities for
people with disabilities. The intention of the program is to use sport
as a tool to allow people with disabilities to advocate for themselves
within the world of sport and beyond. The programs have achieved important
successes, but have also faced frustrations and shortfalls. The lessons
learned through these programs lead to the following suggestions of
best practices for program planners:
Conclusion
This list is merely a beginning of how to develop sport programs that
serve as examples to the world at large. It is up to program planners
and participants to constantly monitor and manage their own programs
to promote and protect human rights and to share their suggestions for
improvement with the Sport for Development community.
References
Blauwet, C. (2005). Promoting the health and human
rights of individuals with a disability through the Paralympic Movement.”
International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved from www.paraympic.org.
Groce N., & Trasi, R. ( 2004). Rape of individuals
with disability: AIDS and the folk belief of virgin cleansing. The
LANCET, 363, 1663-1664.
UNESCO. (n.d.) International Charter of Physical Education and Sport. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved from: http://www.unesco.org/education/information/nfsunesco/pdf/
Contact
Anita Keller Sports for Life Program Manager Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation Washington USA akeller@vi.org ![]() http://www.icsspe.org/portal/index.php?w=1&z=5 |