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Timothy P. Shriver, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Special Olympics, has released the following statement regarding SARS and the upcoming 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games:
The World Games of Special Olympics is an occasion of joyful competition and sharing among athletes, their families and coaches, as well as an unforgettable and life-changing opportunity for ordinary fans to see people with mental disabilities perform at their very best. The World Games are a living metaphor for human acceptance and reconciliation, a dramatic demonstration of our need and responsibility to include all our citizens in productive society — of the basic truth that what unites us as people is both more plentiful and powerful than that which makes us seem different.
It is sadly ironic that we live in a time when what we as responsible global citizens need to overcome — violence, terror, disease, suspicion — are the very things that tend to keep us apart, isolated and unable to share hope-building experiences with others. At a time when we most need to be together, to build each other's hopes and dreams, we find ourselves facing the prospect of the absence of our athletes from several countries where cases of SARS have occurred.
Special Olympics has been working tirelessly with our friends in Ireland, with governmental and health leaders in the United States and around the world, to find a solution to the concerns of the Irish health authorities about admitting our athletes from several countries in Asia.
We have been heartened and encouraged by the recent statements from the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, setting sound precautionary standards which would seem to ensure that no SARS-infected individuals would be traveling to Ireland for these Games. Our spirits were uplifted when we saw that the National Table Tennis teams have traveled from China and Taiwan to Europe with precautions in place. Finally, we have been gratified by, and are grateful for, the numerous people — both within and outside Ireland — in the international Olympic Movement, in public life and in health care, who have spoken out forcefully in favor of allowing all Special Olympics athletes to compete, once suitable and recommended precautionary steps have been taken.
The safety of our athletes, family members, volunteers and the Irish Special Olympics World Games fans is, of course, our primary concern. We are confident that the World Games can be a safe place of welcome for all, with the appropriate authorities working together to implement plans that meet the guidelines set forth by the World Health Organization. Understandably, we are very concerned that Special Olympics athletes not be treated unfairly or differently from the way any other global citizen is treated, and we are encouraged by the outpouring of support from the people of Ireland. It is our hope that the Irish authorities, in considering additional options, can arrive at a favorable and equitable resolution for all.
We are grateful and thrilled by the recent developments reinstating the Philippine delegation, and we eagerly await similar good news regarding the delegations from Singapore and Hong Kong. Furthermore, we are optimistic that the athletes from China and Chinese Taipei will likewise be reinstated upon further consideration by Irish Health authorities.
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