For Viviane Macedo, Brazil's five-time wheelchair dancingchampion, the Rio Paralympics won't have to wait until September 2016. She isalready trying to tango with the challenges right here and now, in this citywhere virtually nothing is done to meet handicapped people's needs.
At a bus stop, several buses whizzed by, ignoring her. Thosethat do stop are not equipped to lift her wheelchair. For the 35-year-oldMacedo, getting around this metropolis is a daily nightmare. Indeed, challengesfacing the disabled here run the gamut from subway elevators breaking down alot, to sidewalks being uncommon, and often pocked with potholes. That makes ithard for anyone in a wheelchair to get around.
And she does not know whether she will be able to stay inthe Copacabana district much longer,given that her rent soared 100 percent in one year. She gets no state aid andis suing city authorities to try to get a computerized prosthesis which costsaround $30,000.
Only half of the city's bus fleet is adapted to carry thehandicapped, compared with 100 percent in London, which has just staged verysuccessful Paralympics. Rio city officials have pledged that the BRT (Bus RapidTransit) system for the 2016 Olympics will be adapted for people with reducedmobility.
On his return from London with the paralympic banner, RioMayor Eduardo Paes vowed that things will change. "All (Rio residents)must commit to making this city an accessible and welcoming place for thehandicapped," he said. Brazilian paralympians shone in London, winning 43medals, the seventh biggest haul among participating nations.
"The disabled athlete often experiences a moment ofglory but when he returns home, he must face a harsh reality: he has no job andhis rights are not respected. After winning gold, some even go hungry,"said Amaral.
