Ghanaian Special Olympics team denied visa
Ghana will miss this year’s Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria after The Netherlands Embassy in Accra denied the team representing the country visas to enable them to travel to Austria for the competition.
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The Intellectually Disabled athletes had been in camp for the last three months feverishly preparing for the March 14-25 Games, but their hopes of participating in the Floorball competition of the Games were dashed after the Dutch Embassy, which represents the Austrian government in Ghana, denied them entry visas on the grounds that the athletes would not return to Ghana after the competition.
The athletes, who had hoped to travel to Austria yesterday, held a press conference at the Dzorwulu Special School in Accra at which they narrated their ordeal, which they described as “discriminatory, insensitive and inhumane”.
Team captain Isaac Okyere was almost close to tears as he told the media that the hardline position of the Dutch Embassy smacks of downright discrimination, especially since the athletes had previously participated in a similar competition in the United States and immediately returned to Ghana.
“The Embassy might have arrived at their decision because to them, we are intellectually disabled, so we are not capable of doing anything good for Ghana.
“Two years ago, we participated in the Los Angeles Special Olympics World Summer Games and won four silver medals for Ghana. So in spite of our disability, we are determined to develop our potential in sports and also to get well
integrated into society,” said Okyere at the emotional press conference yesterday.
Earlier, a member of the Board of Special Olympics Ghana, Nana Wereko-Ampim Opoku, lamented that the Dutch Embassy remained intransigent despite the intervention of the sport’s governing body on the continent, as well as Ghana government, through the ministries of Youth and Sports and Foreign Affairs.
“The adamant stance of The Netherlands Embassy forced the president of Special Olympics Africa and the world body to intervene, but their posture remained the same.”
“Our athletes take delight in sporting activities and are motivated to make Ghana proud, after winning four silver medals in United States and producing the second fastest woman in the world in the 200 metres, after Princess Ayin of Bator Special School clocked 25 seconds.”
“It is sad and disheartening that the embassy without proper checks, will harshly deny athletes who have been to United States for similar games because they are intellectually disabled,” added Mr Opoku.