1999

 

 

                      DANCE AS A COMMONPASSION

 

 

For several years, the tradition of the Association of Integration Dance SWING - DUET is a trip to the Netherlands for the Wheelchair Dance World Cup.

The departure is usually a few days before Easter, so Mrs. Iwona and Wlodzimierz Ciok - coaches and founders of the association, all the competitors and the accompanying members of their families spend Easter outside their homes.

I wasn’t sure if I would be able to go to the Netherlands as well, because my able-bodied partner in the COMBI category [Integration pair – a male able-bodied partner and a female partner in a wheelchair ] could not accompany me. Neither did I have a partner in the DUO category [dance of two people in wheelchairs] As I couldn’t go without any partner, I asked my able-bodied friend to be my partner in the DUO category. I doubted that Adam would agree, because in order to dance with me in the DUO category, he would have to sit on a wheelchair. But in just one month Adam mastered the wheelchair and our dances.

It was my first trip for a competition. Despite the fact that I’d heard many stories about these trips, I didn’t know what to expect. Already during the first night on Polish territory near the border with Germany I had to go through a true test of independence.

The hotel where we stayed wasn’t adapted to the needs of disabled people. For example, to enter the bathroom you had to perform a maneuver in your wheelchair within the space of one meter, while the length of my wheelchair was a little over a meter.

After crossing the Dutch border we could admire the stunning views of

this beautiful country. We were amazed with miniature towns, houses and gardens.

I compared these small towns to one of the lands from Andersen's fairy-tales.

I'd heard from the competitors who go to the Netherlands every year about "Spartan" conditions at the hotel where the Polish group was accommodated.

Coming out of the bus I was full of fears. I was going to experience these conditions myself. My partner and I got a room on the first floor, because almost all the ground floor was already occupied by groups of dancers from Mexico, Greece, Russia and other countries.

Fortunately, overcoming the stairs with Adam’s help wasn’t a problem for me. The room was quite large with three bunk beds and we could accommodate freely

With our two trolleys. It wasn’t as bad as I’d imagined.

In fact, there was only one bathroom adapted for disabled people in the whole hotel, but when I concentrate on how to perform my best in a tournament,

I don’t care about comfort or lack of comfort.

Almost immediately after our arrival we had dinner, I must admit that it was a little strange, or rather prepared in a different way. During the dinner, Mrs. Iwona announced that in the evening there would be a room available for those who feel like practicing again before such an important tournament.

So after dinner Adam and I went to that room. Unfortunately, we couldn’t practice our dances there because there were a lot of people. Everyone wanted to be well prepared! More than ten pairs were practicing in this tiny room, just a few meters long. Not only from Poland. We could hear the music measures for each dance in English, Polish, Mexican and Greek. From time to time the music coming from the discs specially brought for training was jammed into loud laughter and exclamations in different languages.

As we had no space for training, we decided to explore the neigbourhood and return to the room later.

Although we came back after 11 p.m. the hotel was still vibrant with life.

The room was a bit less busy and we could train in peace. But it soon became busy again and we had to complete the training at the canteen.

The competition of dancers from many European countries was to begin the next day. Early in the morning we were almost ready. The female dancers had beautiful makeup on their faces, the male dancers had nice hairstyles. When we’d got to the place of the tournament we had to put on our beautiful costumes.

To get to the hall where the tournament was taking place we had to go by bus a few kilometers to a nearby town. We got there about 10 a.m., at the moment when the last trail of the floor was being finished, so Adam and I quickly repeated our dances. And then we just admired the performances of other couples waiting for our turn.

After the official opening of the tournament, the competition began in the DUO category for the most disabled persons.

What I saw there surprised me in a pleasant way - people on motorized wheelchairs were dancing. The thing that stuck in my memory was a dancer almost completely paralyzed, who was moving on the dance floor with a great charm dancing Waltz, Samba, etc. and controlling his motorized wheelchair with...his chin.

I could see with my own eyes that even the most physically handicapped persons can also dance in suitable conditions.

Classes, styles, rhythms were changing on the dance floor at a frantic pace...

Very impatient, I was waiting for our performance. Such an expectation is always accompanied by incredibly strong emotions and a stage fright, which confuses your thoughts.

In this situation, the best remedy is to attempt to focus. It’s also good to dance all the positions in your thoughts in order to avoid mistakes.

Finally, after more than an hour, our turn came. In one moment the whole world disappeared for me. I didn’t see anything around me. Nothing but my partner. I heard only the music. We danced three dances one after the other.

After the performance we could only wait for the results. The uncertainty remained - how we’d been evaluated by the judges. I was aware of the fact that some of the pairs who were dancing at the same time with us, around twenty, must have been a lot better than us. So we had to wait more than four hours for the semi-final, which would make the winners emerge.

Again, we watched and admired the performances of other couples, and above all we supported the Polish couples. All tournaments of this type, whether national or foreign, are always accompanied by is a huge support from the participants’ family members [mostly the mothers.] They encourage their children loudly shouting their names, which makes the players from the other teams smile in a friendly way.

While waiting for the next entrance on the dance floor you could eat something – all the participants had received two colorful plastic chips that were exchanged for a sandwich or a drink. Moreover, we’d got so-called "tickets" that we had to give to the security guards at each exit of the hall and get them back on the entrance.

In the meantime, I went for a short walk with Adam. This town was incredibly clean and tidy. These tiny houses and narrow streets seemed almost unreal.

The tournament always takes place during Easter holiday, so the shops were closed and the streets were almost empty. I was very impressed by the fact that I didn’t have any problems with moving on my wheelchair on equal sidewalks. And although the kerbs were quite high, there were ramps everywhere.

The few passers-by we met greeted us with friendly smiles seeing our dance costumes. For years, at this time of the year, the inhabitants had been seeing in the streets of their town beautifully dressed dancers on wheelchairs and their able-bodied partners. Tired after the performances, the dancers go outside to get some fresh air.

We came back half an hour before the semi-final. Once we were out on the dance floor, we learned that we’d passed to the final automatically. I was very surprised at this, because we competed with more than ten pairs. So we had to wait another few hours.

When the semi-final finally began, my stress prevailed over the self-control and during the show I made a mistake in one of the configurations. I think that it was the reason why we didn’t take first place. We got the silver medal. I think it’s a good result for our debut at the World Cup.

On the second day of the event we didn’t perform, as this day was intended only for competition in the COMBI category. So those who didn’t dance supported their friends and colleagues.

In the evening, most of the players went to a nearby bar for a discotheque. The Polish team had a reason for celebration, because it won in total 56 medals. That’s how the party started, which lasted until morning. And again it was a mixture of languages, temperaments and cultures. At such times, language barriers are disappearing and, most importantly, we are all equal - those who dance on their feet and those who dance on their wheelchairs.

A common passion brings us together - music and dance.

 

 

 

1999

             EAST, WEST, HOT SAMBA AND NOT ONLY

Last July the Association of Integration Dance "SWING - DUET" organized a dance camp behind the Polish eastern border, in Belarus.
This was a "trial" camp, because we didn’t know the conditions of the center to which we were invited. That is why only 6 out of more than 20 pairs went to Minsk.
Three pairs were trained in COMBI category [an able-bodied dancer and a dancer in a wheelchair] and three in DUO category [both male and female dancers in wheelchairs].
Very early in the morning, after a twelve-hour journey, our train reached the capital of Belarus.
At the Minsk station the director of the center himself along with several co-workers welcomes our group. We had at our disposal two minibuses not adapted for disabled people. After forty minutes we reached the outskirts of Minsk.

When we got out of our car, a few smiling women welcomed us with bread and salt, according to the Russian and Belarusian custom. As it turned out later, they worked in the kitchen.
We were accommodated in two wooden camping houses. The area of the resort and the cottages are fully accessible for people in wheelchairs. I was very pleasantly surprised because as a Russian I know well the reality in most of the countries of the former Soviet Union. It was like another better world in comparison with poverty faced every day by ordinary people.

After checking in we were invited to breakfast, where Mrs. Iwona Ciok – the President of the Association Swing - DUET, established the schedule of our daily activities.
That first morning we had a day off. It was the moment to unpack our luggage and to have a short tour of the resort area. Some dancers used this time to catch up some sleep, because the customs officers had waken us in the train in the middle of the night to check our documents on the border with Belarus.
A few hours before dinner two Belarusian couples came - they accompanied us during all the classes until the end of camp.
The next day was a normal working day. Our schedule looked like this:
Punctually at nine o'clock we had breakfast. An hour later, the dancers in the COMBI category - [an able-bodied dancer and a dancer in a wheelchair] had private lessons with Mrs. Ciok. But during these lessons the other participants of the camp could take advantage of a magnificent gym.
Ballet classes for dancers in wheelchairs, run by a wonderful ballerina Maria, started around 11 am. We started with warm-up. Observing Maria’s graceful movements to the rhythm of Latin American music, we tried to repeat them.
Then we did typical ballet exercises, where each drawing of a hand, each slope of the torso and each turn had a French name.
"Ballet" lasted 40 minutes. 

When the dancers with disabilities were in the hall, our partners were practicing in the gym. At 11.45 a.m. we changed places. It was "ballet" time for the able-bodied. As for my partner and me, we went to the gym to practice.
At 1 p.m. we went for lunch. After lunch some of us had free time and one of the pairs had to go to an individual lesson with Mr. Włodzimierz Ciok.

At 4.30 p.m. DUO training began.
My partner and I had to repeat the same dances a lot of times. After such training I was usually very tired and wet from the effort. Immediately after the training, which took place at around 5.30 p.m., the practical activities for all began.

I didn’t have to attend those activities, because I danced only in DUO, but I asked one of my colleagues, whose partner couldn’t go to this camp [my partner couldn’t go either] to dance with me in the Latin American dances in COMBI.
At the beginning it was very difficult to get used to the new temporary partner.
In my case, changing the partner in COMBI is not recommended because of the severe spasticity in the upper body. It was hard to feel new and different impulses from the hands we sent to each other.
But I wanted to dance in COMBI very much to remain fit and also because I love to dance Latin American dances above all. Latin music inspires me to constantly invent and perform new "movements" and exercise my very spastic arms and torso, these exercises make me fitter. Besides, this music gives me a great satisfaction!

During the camp I made friends with Belarusian dancers. They are very nice and open. I felt very comfortable with them. I could brush up on my native Russian language and in many cases be an interpreter.

                 

                                                                                                            2000
 

                          WHEN THE WHEELS DANCE
 

The 4th International Polish Championship in Wheelchair Dance was held on the 11th of March in Warsaw.

This tournament was organized by the Polish Association of Sports for Disabled People and the Association of Integration Dance SWING-DUET.
It all started with "classification" of participants at 10 a.m. at the hotel near Warsaw Academy of Technology.

The competitors [persons in wheelchairs] were categorized by four classifiers who were giving commands that each "wheelchair man" had to perform: simple dance moves such as turnover or drawing by one hand. The faster and more efficiently the move was made, the more points participants were getting.
The number of points allowed the classifiers to subdivide competitors into two "classes": those with stronger performing abilities and those with weaker ones. After the classification was over, the wait of several hours began.

Immediately after my arrival [I came a little later than some of the participants] I was proposed by my DUO [two dancers in wheelchairs] partner to use free space on the dance floor to start the rehearsal.

Thus we began our training a little earlier than the other couples. As time was passing, more and more pairs were filling the dance floor, not suitably dressed yet, but rehearsing before the show.

Out of the 31 pairs of competitors, there were three pairs from Belarus, three from Holland, one pair from Germany and three pairs from Norway.

The Championship began with a general presentation of all the competitors and organizers. Immediately after the presentation there was a demonstration of RIGHT TO LEFT dance configuration performed by 8 dancers in wheelchairs. DUO was the next part of the show.

There were only two couples dancing in the first class of the SWING-DUET club, who competed with each other. Due to the absence of a bigger competition, both pairs got straight into the semifinals and the finale.
In the finale, the pair no. 1, Marta Sikorska and Kuba Sulewski, took the 2nd place, while the pair no. 2, Greg Żuchowski and Olesia Kornienko, won the gold medal.

Then the real vertigo began. Various dance styles, pairs and classes were changing in a dizzying pace. While my able-bodied partner and I were waiting for our turn, we were going through our dances over and over again to warm up well before the next performance.
Every time I stepped on the dance floor, I felt extremely strong emotions and excitement.
Stress makes you suddenly forget all the moves that you've done hundreds of times; that is why you need to calm down for a second and remind yourself step by step everything you have to do to achieve good results.
But if during the performance one of the partners makes a mistake, improvisation is desired and needed.
After each performance, the participants received warm friendly hugs and congratulations from each other.
There is a great atmosphere during all the tournaments!

Among the Association's awards in this year's championships there were 8 gold medals.
In the DUO category class 1 gold and silver medals. DUO class 2 three first places.
In the KOMBI category class 1 Latin American style the first and the second place.
In the Standard style also 2 first places.

As for the class 2 in Standard, the Polish couples took the second and third places, and in Latin, the first and third ones.
In the class 2 category PROMOTION they took 3 first places.

For me, dance is like another world. When the wheels are "dancing", I feel free!

 

 

1997

 

DISCOVERING YOURSELF

 

I found out about the Warsaw Center for Social Rehabilitation from a friend that I had not seen for about a year and when I met her again I immediately noticed a difference in her behavior. She told me that the classes at the center had a very good influence on her physical and - most importantly – mental condition.   She also said that the staff insisted on full independence of patients. She was not sure if I would be accepted because of my high disability, but that I should try.

Two months later, so I qualified for a psychotherapeutic camp. In fact, I was terrified when I heard that I would have to cope alone with the cooking of meals, shopping and maintaining cleanliness in the room. So far my mom had been doing all that. I was warned me that the support staff would help me only in extreme cases. At the same time I felt that I must take up this challenge to gain as much independence as possible.       I started a real fight with myself about my own independence. Danusia, an excellent rehabilitation specialist, told us she’s indicated it that she will make us work hard and that she would not want to hear words such as: I can’t do, I can’t, I will not cope! Similar complaints simply do not exist for her. The beginnings were very difficult for me because I’d had quite a long break and my rehabilitation was not so intense. I’d done general fitness exercises in a group, but Danusia talked separately with each of the patients and selected a set of individual exercises for each, tailored to their needs and opportunities. The classes were very exhausting, but after a few days at home I noticed some progress. A particularly important thing for me was that Danusia immediately put me at the walker and started to teach me to walk. I’d tried to walk with a walker in other rehabilitation centers, but no one could help me find a way to walk, because of the constant tension of the muscles in my hands.  After three hours of rehabilitation the time for psychotherapy came. These classes, conducted by psychologists, typically lasted about an hour. At the beginning the hardest thing for me was to speak before the whole group. Because of my shyness and slurred speech. I was surprised that these people knew how to listen to me, and that someone might be interested in what I had to say. The topics of these discussions were very different, from family relationships to the professional and personal plans. I learned not only to listen to other people, but also to understand their problems, sometimes even help them to solve them.       In the afternoon, when the staff finished their work, we were left alone. We had, however, the nurse’s phone number who would come in case of emergency.       

A month and a half at the resort - because the camp usually lasts that long - is a wonderful school of autonomy and life with the others. I had to learn tolerance for very different character features of my colleagues. Have a memorable day when he first had to pour himself a glass of water. I will always remember the day the for the first time in my life I had to pour water to my glass, make a sandwich and then during the class I declared, not without irony: Today I had at war with a sandwich! When one of the psychologists asked - and who won? - I replied, with great joy and pride, that I did. The whole group and the psychologists congratulated me.       

I was scared most of going shopping on my own. I put it off as long as I could. I was afraid of human glances, of the pity in their eyes. And most of all I was afraid that the shop assistants wouldn’t be able to understand what I would be looking for.       

But one day must be the first time. One day I ventured out into the world! It was easier than I had imagined. It was a self-service shop and when I could not reach for something the other customers helped me. Just being here, I realized how much harm cause the parents to the people with disabilities. They often believe that if their child is in some way different from their peers, they need to help them in all things and replace them in their daily duties. Hence the absolute lack of physical and psychological independence and adaptation to normal life. Too often they do not realize how much contribute to the tragedy of their child, depriving them of the possibility of taking their own decisions and learning from their mistakes.       

Many people I met during his stay in Warsaw Center for Social Rehabilitation had decided to do something with their lives and become independent. Being in a wheelchair since birth, or after an accident, they managed to find a job, some of them even in their profession.       

Being in the center I learned and achieved very much, but I also realized that I’d still have much to do. Any difficult activity is not only a fight with the disease, but also a small step towards the independence. I think that I have changed. I learned to stand up for my rights. Now, I'm not afraid to bear the consequences of my own mistakes. In the center I realized that although still moving about in a wheelchair, I'm not inferior to able-bodied people and that I am a valuable person.       

And though the road to my full independence is still long, I will not cease in the pursuit of it - discovering myself. 

 

 

 

 

20 November 2001

 

OVERCOMING THE WEAKNESS

         Dreams often need time to fulfill. So it was in my case. Several years ago I watched a TV program about a climbing and horse-riding camp organized by the Spirit Foundation for Natural Rehabilitation of People with Disabilities in Torun. Seeing the physical efforts of the participants in order to face the rocks and overcome their fears, I set myself another goal - "to try" climbing. Rock climbing has become my dream.
       It took me some time to realize my intentions, the reason was of course the lack of money. After three years of solicitation for funds, I finally succeeded. With the help of Caritas, I left for a camp of the "Spirit."
       It all started at the premises of the Foundation, in Torun. All the participants gathered there. We had to spend more than six hours in the foundation’s coach to get to the small town of Podlesice, in Jura Krakowsko- Czestochowska.
       We spent the first day of the camp watching the area. The landscape was beautiful. Around there were lots of rocks, I ‘d dreamt for years of climbing them. In the evening the instructors showed us the climbing equipment and taught us how to make knots needed for climbing. Tying knots caused me much trouble, but I knew I had to learn it!
      Every day after breakfast we went under a rock, divided into two groups. The most able-bodied persons and the tutors went to the place of climbing. The people in wheelchairs and the climbing equipment were taken to a small bus of the Mountain Rescue Service and transported directly at the feet of the rock. In the bus I enjoyed the view of the beautiful scenery visible through the windows.
       Under the rock the day was planned. The riding instructors determined the order of horse-riding lessons for each of the participants and the climbing instructors set the positions for climbing. So every day I had the opportunity to be in contact day with the horse for half an hour, which has a great impact on the balance and the recuction of spasticity. And of course I could start to climb.
       The first day I could not take my eyes off the rocks. Observing the others climb, I waited eagerly for the moment when I would fulfill my dream and touch the rock with my own hands. Finally it was my turn. It was decided that I’d do the "monkey". Not knowing what it meant, I was very happy. After putting the "harness" - special interconnected strips on the hip and thigh, tying the "eight" – the alpinists’ node – I hung on the rope. The instructor said he would help me to "enter" to the top, but stated that I wanted to try to do it myself.
    Using a device on the line, called 'monkey' by the climbers, I had to pull myself up on hands and feet. To my huge disappointment, it turned out that my arms were too weak to cope with this task. The instructor had to pull me up. When asked how I liked the views, I thought that I had to learn to climb on my own.
       The next day, it was a real climbing. Two instructors helped me. One was under a rock and belayed me, the other one was hanging on a rope next to me, told me what to do and helped me with every movement. They both tried very hard to keep me upright, when in spite of my efforts I could not grab the rock with my spastic fingers. Nevertheless, much depended on me, where I set the leg and if I manage to hold it - I decided this myself. When I reached the summit and touched "rifle" like the climbers do – I looked down - and fell in love for good with rock climbing. Up there, I felt suddenly an incredible freedom! Looking from the top of the rock on my wheelchair, I could not believe that finally I’d fulfilled my dream.
       Although after descending from the rock I was battered and tired as never in my life, I was above all a very happy, because I’d tasted of true freedom. But the best was still ahead of me. Michał - a qualified climbing instructor, and at the same time a physiotherapist knowing what my illness was - wanted me to climb immediately after the horse riding. So I "entered the wall" still feeling horse's heat in my body. I had no time to lose! I wanted to use every opportunity to climb, because on the next day Michael, yielding to my "prayers", let me go for the second time in one day. This time we were in the wall, just the two of us and somehow we managed. And because I had to maintain my body myself, a lot of times I lost the balance hitting the rock my knees and elbows. But it certainly did not discourage me, and since then until the end of camp, I was in the wall twice a day with only one instructor. It was really a great success and a challenge!
       Descending from the rocks turned out to be quite difficult. Keeping the body at right angles to the rock you have to go back, placing your feet carefully. The entire consciousness is focused on maintaining your balance, and every moment of inattention means a fall ... strong impact on the rock ...further abrasion or bruise. And then, back to the vertical position and moving further down.
       These struggles with climbing lasted for two weeks of the camp. Two wonderful weeks during which my dreams came true.
       At the end of camp, I was entrusted with belaying one of my colleagues. It was another amazing experience. Under the supervision of Michael, who was next to me and helped me in case of difficulty, I had to keep the other person on the line. I was responsible for her. It was amazing!
        I am fascinated by all the things related to climbing. It liked to hear stories of old regulars in the evenings - the rocks, their friends, about interesting, sometimes tragic accidents ... Mountains and climbing are something I experienced. Each day of climbing means hitting the rocks, bruising, pain, lack of strength and total evening fatigue, but also everyday new experience, overcoming my own weaknesses and simply fulfilling my dreams of freedom.

 

 

2004

 

UNITED THANKS TO THE LITTLE PRINCE

One hand sets in motion the wheel of her wheelchair, the other hand rests in the hand of a man walking with a crutch. They both use wheelchairs and have been a couple for two years. He is healthy, she will never walk, but they have been married for a couple of years and have a few month-old son.
Couples of disabled people, and especially those in which one partner is healthy are still rare. There are several reasons. Raised by parents who ignored their need of starting a family, isolation from peers - most of them are just waiting for a rehabilitation camp, where they can make friends with the opposite sex. Most, however, are unable to leave. Then how do they meet their partners? Over the Internet.
Weronika and Bogdan met at one of the sites for disabled persons. Bogdan had a funny tag saying that he would like to let someone tame him, like the fox from The little prince. She replied to him, because she loved this book. They began talking about the prince and they couldn’t finish - after four months they met. They had been writing a lot to each other and when they met they could feel the heat of the virtual contacts. Veronica moves on a wheelchair due to an accident. Bogdan is a leg amputee, he uses a crutch.
They are both are in their forties. For now, they are separated by a distance - she lives in Olsztyn, and he in Lodz, where he works in a textile factory. They plan a common future. They already established a small orchard, because they both love trees. They both went through failed relationships - Veronica was left by her partner shortly after the accident, Bob has a child from a previous loose relationship.
They accept each other's physical limitations, but do not agree to it and maybe that’s why they are together. "We need to put our happiness from the crumbs as a mosaic of tiny pieces" - Veronica says, and adds: "And without all these tears, how would we know what happiness is?"
Justyna and Paweł met on the Internet Portal for the Disabled People. Due to a medical mistake during an operation, she had been confined to a wheelchair. She is 37 years old, is an instructor in active rehabilitation, lives with his parents in the countryside. Her previous Internet acquaintances had come to an end after one or two meetings. Paweł lives 700 km away. He is a pensioner, because he was a victim of street robbery.
They beat him so hard that he is not able to work, physically healthy but the trauma caused some losses in his psyche. He is 33 years old, lives with his parents. They meet four times a year, and they know each other for more than 3 years. The got engaged during the last New Year's Eve. In addition to the disability, to the vast distances separating them, they must deal with Paweł’s parents' lack of acceptance.
"He was looking for someone genuine and came across divorced women, married women. This is a man of principles. He does not violate human rights or divine one, waiting for the one and when he saw a picture of me, he instantly wanted me to become his wife "- says Justyna. Finally, after nine months they met and instantly knew that they would be together.
They plan to marry next year. They do not want to have children, they both agree about it. Soon they will stay together for three weeks - again. "He gives me a sense of physical security, and I can make him feel a valuable person. We say: you're the legs and I'm the brains in our relationship. I know that I can’t have intellectual conversations with him, in turn, he knows that his woman will never dressed up in sexy clothes exposing her body. She’ll never dance with him and every step will be a challenge for her, he knows that it will never hang curtains "- says Justyna.
Robert and Ola met on New Year's Eve meeting organized by the Internet Portal for the Disabled Persons. He is from Gliwice, works in a security company, walks with crutches. She lives in Rybnik, suffers from myasthenia - rapid fatigue and muscle weakness, uses a wheelchair.
They’ve known each other for two years and five months ago they got engaged. He was captures by her beauty, resourcefulness and way of being. After the wedding they will live in Ola’s place in Rybnik. Robert will have to find another job, but for his loved one is willing to sacrifice. He believes that: "One drop of love means more than an ocean of reason."

 

 

 

 

2007

 

FROM ANOTHER POINT OF... SITTING

 

What does it mean that something is the best? During the inauguration of my first year of studies I heard that the University of Warsaw has the best teachers, the best library and everything is simply the best!
Everyone in my place would be proud having the possibility of studying at the Zamoyski Palace, one of the oldest buildings in Warsaw. I am not proud.
I asked my healthy colleague, Marek, a few somewhat strange questions, and then confronted his replies with my experiences and thoughts. How long does it take you to get from the street to the ground floor of our faculty?
- M. A few seconds? I did not count. I just enter and that’s all.
- It takes me from 5 to 10 minutes if everything goes well and if an assistant can help me. They must open both wings of the door which opens reluctantly, otherwise my wheelchair will not fit. Do you sometimes use the elevator in the block B?
- M. Sometimes. When I don’t feel like climbing the stairs, for example, to get to the third floor and when I have time to wait for it.
- I use the elevator every day, when I have time and when I do not have it. I wait a few minutes until it deigns to come. The lift measures one meter long and 80 cm wide, and to make the door close, the wheelchair’s footrests must firmly stick to the front wall, so I better not move. If you have a class on the fourth floor, you climb the stairs, how long does it take you?
- M. Yes, but not from the yard, only from the side of Nowy Świat St. If I walk fast, I'm on top in two or three minutes. I have to use the lift to get to the fourth floor lift. The next step is to get to the Centre for Research on Ancient Tradition. Someone has to press the entry phone button, I can’t reach it. Then I have to cross the corridor of the Centre, ask someone to open the lecture hall, through which also have to pass, fighting with chairs for every inch of the surface. At such times, I only see the stairs, thresholds, a whole bunch of locked door, a few pair of doors on the latch, steps I have to overcome to enter or exit to the elevator. So it takes me about 15 or 20 minutes every time I want to reach the fourth floor. Is there a toilet on each floor of our institute?
- M. I think so. At least I think so.
- In the entire building there is only one toilet suitable for the disabled persons. It’s the only one I can use, because the wheelchair doesn’t fit in the other ones. The adaptation is based on a somewhat larger area, wider doors and (oh, bliss!) one clip.
To get to the toilet, I have to overcome two doors leading into the corridor of the School of Foreign Languages, with wings, one of which is always closed, exit the elevator on the first floor, behind the door there’s another door and you have to open one wing. The next door is locked, I carry the key while staying at the institute. Behind this door is the toilet ...
My "expedition" to the w.c. and back to the room takes another ten or more minutes. Without the help of the others, I could not study at a faculty which is not suited to the needs of the disabled people. I do this route sometimes several times a day, because we have classes at different levels in different parts of the building. It is really hard if one takes into account that it must be overcome five days a week throughout the academic year. My healthy colleagues also have to do dozens of kilometers, for example along the library shelves, but I do not have any strength or ability to do it.
Returning home in the evening in an adapted bus carrying students with disabilities, I feel a kind of pride, because in this situation, the University of Warsaw rose to the occasion ...