London2012TheGames_Green

‘News in the World’ project by Quinto Orazio Flacco High School, Bari, Italy

P.O.N. C5 FSE 02 Por Puglia 2012 – 152

London 2012

The GAMES

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Contents and contributors

The Green Team: Deborah, Marianna, Barbara and Michael from Quinto Orazio Flacco High School in Italy who have produced a special Exposure magazine on The Olympics and Paralympics. Ben fatto, ragazi!

Green Team contents P3. The Olympics, bread & circus?

by Barbara Barile P4-5. The other face of the medal

by Marianna Memmola P5. Fomous Londoner, David Weir

by Green Team P6. An explosion of energy

by Deborah Trastulli P7. Empty words

by Michael Rubino P8. Photo gallery

by Green Team The whole of London breathed the incredible atmosphere of the 2012 Games. So we have decided to focus on the merits and flaws of the Olympics and the Paralympics.

Like thousands of others we cheered until

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our throats were raw; we sat wide-eyed as a hundred colourful nations paraded in front of our TVs; we watched in wonder as both Olympic and Paralympic athletes accomplished outstanding feats.

However, once these magical weeks passed and the excitement faded away, we found ourselves with a few doubts.

How well do disabled people fare in the city hosting the Paralympics?

Have the people of London started to see disabled people in a new light or is it just a fleeting sentiment? Could the Olympic Games be little more than ‘smoke and mirrors’, diverting the attention of the public from serious problems?

Trying to answer all these questions, we have researched and interviewed volunteers, Paralympic athletes and, most importantly, the people on the street.

Is the Olympic Spirit truly dead? Read on and find out.

The Olympics: bread and circus?

by Barbara Barile Student social classes where only free men could participate in politics. Women always had to stay at home and slavery was commonplace.

“The Olympics are reaching for a dream that no matter who we are... or what hand life has dealt us, with hard work and discipline and dedication we can make it if we try.

That is the Olympic Spirit.”

This is the message President Barack Obama sent to the Olympic athletes.

Sadly, in global meetings of this stature, something paradoxical happens: wars still take place, corruption and violence continue but suddenly the whole world seemingly becomes more virtuous and people talk about ‘Olympic Spirit’. In our minds there is an ideal world where this spirit exists: ancient Greece.

Wars were interrupted, social differences were set aside and athletes were the official bearers of values, like respect, loyalty and equality.

But, all is not what it seems. The ancient Greeks considered anyone who wasn’t Greek a ‘barbarian’. They had several

So, can we really say that the Olympic Spirit has ever existed? Or has there always been a paradox?

The ancient Olympic Games were just a dim light in the darkness, where ‘panem et circensem’ (Latin for ‘bread and circus’) was the order of the day.

All the sports arenas were no more than an instrument of power, in the hands of the tyrannical emperors, to distract the common people and keep them from revolting. Gladiators fought to the death, Christians were thrown to the lions.

It didn’t matter what problems ailed society as long as the people had enough food and entertainment to keep them content. In this way they could disregard their leaders’ excesses as if nothing had ever happened.

What about now? Sadly there isn’t much difference. We don’t kill men in arenas anymore but we still enjoy seeing them cause each other permanent brain damage in the boxing ring.

We live in democracies but we have no faith in our corrupt governments. We don’t sell men as slaves but our money system has created new, subtle forms of slavery.

So, the Olympics continue to be just a temporary escape, where everything seems happy and perfect. Although we’re living in an economic crisis, the UK government spent some £2 billion on the Olympic circus.

Despite this, there are still many who continue to believe in the Olympic Spirit. If we keep this faith alive and let it grow we can build a better tomorrow.

Created in Photoshop by Barbara

And it is exactly in the name of this Olympic Spirit, so mocked and perverted, that all of us must strive to, in the words of Baden Powell, “leave this world a little bit better than we found it.”

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The other face of the medal

by Marianna Memmola Student Are the Paralympics a façade to hide disabled peoples increasing dismay?

Are the Olympic and Paralympic Games the new face of London?

The city we are used to has changed because of this celebration. Posters everywhere, newspapers focused on nothing but sport, a kid in front of you on the Tube with a t-shirt covered in Olympic logos, his mother’s shoulders wrapped by a British flag!

In terms of the Paralympics, this was the moment to show the world how interested we are in disabled people’s problems. But behind this apparent optimism how much are we really interested in this issue?

Public opinion is divided: there are those who consider the Paralympics as a chance for the disabled to prove themselves and there are those who consider the whole thing tokenistic.

Walking through the crowd at the Olympic Stadium, we meet people forced to struggle every day just doing simple actions.

Created in Photoshop by Marianna

“We are still a second class. First class is and will always be able bodied. The disabled are supposed to be equal but the facilities show we are nowhere near equal. I think

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the Paralympics showcase those who have disabilities but if people were really interested they could mix the Olympics and the Paralympics into one event so that everybody gets to see it all, instead of separately,’ said Tom, a Paralympic athlete.

Hundreds of millions of pounds were invested in making the capital’s public transport system more accessible ahead of the Olympics and Paralympics. But how comfortable and suitable is the transport system in London for disabled people?

“It’s useless,” said Tom. “The access for wheelchair users is very limited in most of the stations and the help is next to nothing.

As a disabled athlete travelling you find it harder than if you were able bodied.”

Sandra, a member of staff at the Olympic Stadium was of a similar opinion.

“It’s a pity in this day and age Train and Tube services aren’t of the same level as other areas in Europe. My neighbour has reduced abilities and he is a Tube user so I’ve seen him struggle every day going to work. I’m hoping the Paralympics will change people’s thinking, their attitude, the infrastructure and the way forward for upcoming generations”.

“There is still quite a way to go in terms of restaurants and bars.” said Julie, a wheelchair bound woman. “Often the restaurant is accessible but doesn’t have an accessible toilet. I think independent businesses don’t have the money to change so the government should give more support to make the changes.”

The transport situation, all the cuts in disability benefits and social care show us how the government doesn’t seem to be interested in giving disabled people a chance to live a normal life and achieve their real potential.

A concrete example is the scandal of Atos, a French multinational corporation that

was one of the main Olympic sponsors.

Can a corporation accused of declaring disabled people fit to work for the sole purpose of cutting their sickness benefits be an official sponsor?

There is also the case of Dow Chemical the company connected to the world’s most disgraceful industrial disaster in Bhopal, India. The disaster continues to cause damage by polluting this area and creating a huge number of disabled children. This contradicts Dow Chemical’s ironic slogan “putting humans first”!

Our last resort against the oppression and

hardships disabled people suffer every day is to highlight their plight. We end with Sandra’s words: “Disabled people are an after thought.

Coming from a family who had a wheelchair bound member for me it’s the first thought. But for other people who it’s not so close too it’s a second thought.

My hope is we are changing and getting better across the world because now we have communication platforms, internet, Facebook. People are not afraid anymore to tell the world how they feel, to ask for help.

So I think we will change… slowly we will!”

Famous Londoner, David Weir An Olympic gift by Green Team “It seemed I had a gift. I knew I had to work hard at that gift, but I realised straight away it was going to be a career.”

This is the statement of Paralympic wheelchair athlete, David Weir, who won four golds including the Queen of Races, the Marathon, making him the symbol of the latest Paralympics.

He was born with a spinal cord transection which left him unable to use his legs. This didn’t stop him from starting a sporting career in his youth that saw him win the junior wheelchair marathon seven times.

But Weir's first experience at the Paralympics wasn’t a good one; “I went to the Games in Atlanta in 1996 as a young lad of 17 but it wasn't what I had expected.

I could count about five people in the crowd at times. It disheartened me because I had missed my teenage years, growing up with my friends, to compete at a Paralympics. I fell out of love with the sport and when I got back I just didn't want to do it any more.”

However, Weir had a change of heart and started to believe again in the spirit of the Games. He has commented that the last four Paralympics have seen an increase in public interest, culminating in the London 2012 where he carried the flag, the greatest honour for an athlete, at the closing ceremony.

David Weir created in Photoshop by Green Team 5

An explosion of energy

by Deborah Trastulli Student Athletes teach us that every hurdle can be overcome with the right spirit.

“Sport is the greatest tool of social inclusion, because we can overcome our own limits, physical and psychological.

It is in sports that Paralympic athletes better overcome their challenges. Maybe because we struggle against hardship every second of our lives, we can handle extreme situations more easily during competitions.”

This is the thought-provoking declaration of the Brazilian World Champion Paracanoer Fernando Fernandes Padua.

What exactly are the Paralympic Games? An alternative form of Olympics? I don’t think so. Having spent time at the Olympic Park in Stratford, I consider the event as an even greater stage, where powers of superhuman intensity clash, producing a remarkable explosion of energy!

What kind of energy? That of muscles of course, but also that of determination; the overwhelming psychological force, demonstrated by these exceptional athletes.

The Paralympics show the world that natural limits caused by disability can be overcome at the highest level of competition, where physical and psychological excellence work together for success.

Athletes teach us that every hurdle can be overcome with the right spirit.

A collage created in Photoshop by Deborah 6

For Paralympic athletes perhaps the real test is to overcome abstract barriers: the doubting of their abilities, borne out of other people’s prejudice and their tendency to patronise, even innocently.

Self doubt is, perhaps, even more disabling than any physical disability, because it’s what prevents us from choosing our course of action!

Another ingredient that belongs to the soul of these amazing athletes is courage, essential for people who have overcome challenges and then have found the energy to excel! A courage which is rewarded with rapturous applause from the audience in the stadium.

The atmosphere in the Olympic Park is that of excitement and collaboration. There were a lot of volunteers, helping the spectators and the athletes.

“I feel the need to come here. As someone who has fought cancer, I understand what it is to touch the bottom and try to rise again!” said a lady who I met in the Olympic Park.

Her example can inspire others to overcome any type of hurdle that life presents.

The Olympics and Paralympics, and all the athletes together have done the world proud. They show if you truly want to succeed, there are no limits!

A collage created in Photoshop by Deborah

Empty words

by Michael Rubino Student

Background collage created in Photoshop by Michael

Now you notice us, Now you offer us your hand, Now you add your voice to ours.

For so long we were the unseen, The unnoticed, The lonely, lonely strugglers.

Too afraid to ask for help.

For it is better to be ignored Than spat upon.

Forgive us then, good friends, If we are still wary to shake your hand, If we do not yet dazzle you with our smiles.

All your cheering, All your cooing, Is good and well and fair But it changes little, It changes nothing.

Not the beatings from thugs and bullies, Always strong against the weak, Not the ‘fit for work’ policies Awash in the red of our blood, Not this cruel world of shackles, Far worse a prison Than our broken bodies.

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This supplement was produced by talented students from Quinto Flacco High School in Bari, Italy at Exposure, North London’s award winning youth media organisation, in association with the UK Educational Development Agency (UKEDA). UKEDA work with European schools delivering inspirational educational programmes aimed at ambitious Europeans looking to learn English and experience British culture first hand. www.languageeducation.eu

Below is Green Team’s photo gallery, around London

Graffiti Art north London

Graffiti Art Notting Hill

Light effect, South Bank Festival

Old printing blocks in Portobello Road

tel: 020 8883 0260 email: info@exposure.org.uk