The ‘Swasie’ Column
©
Ambassadorial’ children can certainly teach adults about Disability awareness.
by Swasie Turner MBE
Like the rest of us, when I was a fully able - bodied person, I just took life for granted as I pottered along through my daily life
of gratuitous violence as I performed my police duties out on the angry streets, I was suddenly and traumatically transformed into living life on the seat of my pants in a wheelchair. Oh how life became so utterly different. What a completely different scenario lay before me. Many friends, even some relatives appeared in a totally different light. I found that many people were not quite as kind and considerate as they once were. I found that simple things were
entering narrow doorways and negotiating my way through shops and restaurants were sometimes nigh impossible. Using public toilets now became an embarrassment if there were no ‘disabled’ toilets available.
entry was thwarted because I didn’t possess
how
much my life would have to change to overcome the adversity I was starting to
were sometimes extremely rude and insensitive. Having spent a lifetime in the gym and indulging in martial arts, boxing and weightlifting, I was thankfully blessed
with reasonably strong arms and upper body strength. This would prove invaluable when I had to propel my 47 lb NHS issue casterd wheelchair out and about after attempts to enlist the aid of prosthesis were unsuccessful. The slightest of inclines emphasised how much effort was needed to successfully overcome them. I was amazed
illustrated just how wheelchair ‘unfriendly’ they were, the deeper the pile the more the casters would show their ‘dissent’. As I gradually overcame or ‘came to terms’ with the various forms of adversity I realised that there were others who were maybe not as
Whenever I came across something which I considered to be blatantly wheelchair unfriendly or a detriment to those suffering
disability, I would inform and even harass if necessary, the appropriate bodies or authorities, to rectify or eliminate whatever the problem was. This I continue to do with unabated zeal and initiative, even to the point of being a ‘boat rocker’ or ‘loose cannon’, I care not which, so long as long as
suffered by those with a disability.
I have complained bitterly to shop owners, canal authorities and local councils if and
about the elimination of problems or physical obstructions which inhibit the disabled fraternity. Many times I have invoked the wrath of café owners because there is no room for people in wheelchairs to get to toilets or even make to tables. One pregnant lady wheelchair user was asked by an extremely offensive woman: “What
is it you are expecting”? and then added: “…are you sure it will be alright”? I too was
once stopped by an equally ignorant and insensitive moron and asked: “Oh dear
what have you been doing”? The man then
instructed his little boy to….”say hello to the funny man”! Also, it is always the case when people meet those in wheelchairs and wish to enquire about them; they always ask whoever is accompanying them, never the person in the wheelchair: “How
is he today”? “What’s her name”? “Isn’t
he cold”? Or, the alternative is to shout at the person, assuming they will understand grossly offensive; it is also extremely frustrating and humiliating. However, there is another side to this type
and considerate side. Where does this come
from the younger generations, children and young people, especially those in our schools. Since my wheelchair fundraising endeavours began I have been blessed with the most enviable honour and privilege of
Enable Me Project’
young people in schools and the community to raise awareness of disability, and to challenge and change negative attitudes towards disabled people. This initiative was the brainchild of Mr Nik Demetriades and Mrs Ann Stimpson, two extremely generous and tireless people who have nothing but the interests and welfare of others less fortunate at heart. Initial visits to schools and colleges by the Enable Me team which comprised of myself and other wheelchair users, brought about amazing results as the pupils and
and
courtesy and understanding. Indeed, many who have relatives with physical or mental
of the efforts of our Enable Me team as we continue our regular visits. I have found
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