[URBAN BEAT] Eurasia Marathon: Mobility is freedom

Cankurt, who is paralyzed from the neck down, received wide media attention earlier this year due to his wish to travel abroad for euthanasia. “To sit and think about euthanasia all day is not very healthy,” said Cankurt, “but I think it is important to share this with society.” His newfound will to live is fueled partly by his efforts to make Turkish society and the government of Turkey more responsive to the needs of paralytics. In addition, over the past two-and-a-half months, Cankurt and a team of runners from Adım Adım (AAO) -- a running and fundraising organization -- have prepared to compete together in the Eurasia Marathon.

“Tuğrul Bey faces more obstacles [than most], but today he offers hope to thousands,” said Baş. “I'm sure that many people will become hopeful and that the authorities will build on this hope ... all of society will derive benefit from the sacrifices that Tuğrul Bey has made,” Baş continued. He credits Cankurt with attracting media attention to the barriers that the handicapped face every day. “The lack of basic support leads many to consider thinking about how to bring their lives to an end,” he continued, pointing out that contrary to legal requirements, many public streets and buildings are inaccessible to the handicapped. “So our coach,” said Baş referring to Cankurt, “will run on wheels side by side with our Adım Adım friends, and we'll be there on the course with him.”

The Turkish Spinal Cord Injury Paralytics Association

Together with Dr. Şafak Karamehmetoğlu, Baş helped to found the Turkish Spinal Cord Injury Paralytics Association (TOFD) in 1998 to address the medical, occupational, economic and social needs of all orthopedically handicapped people in Turkey. In 2005, the TOFD began a campaign to collect donations for electric wheelchairs, which give paralytics more independence than the manual type. Battery-powered wheelchairs offer broader mobility and facilitate a more socially integrated lifestyle. In short, electric wheelchairs enhance paralytics' ability to manage for themselves and live on their own, to work, go to school, go shopping, etc. The TOFD launched its campaign with the slogan “Get Moving, Get Others Moving.”

With the assistance of the AAO, the TOFD has so far provided electric wheelchairs to 2,200 individuals. This year's İstanbul Eurasia Marathon marks the third year of the TOFD-AAO partnership, which now aims to collect donations to make electric wheelchairs available to the 3,000 people who remain on the waiting list.

Itır Erhart, a founding member of the AAO, explained that runners and TOFD members will participate in the Eurasia Marathon in teams of one wheelchair racer and three to four runners. “In the past, we raised money as we trained and after completing the race would come to the TOFD to present the wheelchairs,” said Erhart. “This year we will try something different,” she continued, explaining that five teams, including teams led by Cankurt and Baş, plan to complete the 15-kilometer course.

Baş emphasized that the purpose of the campaign is not simply to provide electric wheelchairs, but also to make it possible for people in wheelchairs to become more independent and participate fully in society. He noted that the TOFD works with the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality to remove barriers and make improvements according to international standards for wheelchair accessibility. A city where people can get around in a wheelchair is also suitable for the very young and the very old alike.

Turkish cities and towns have a long way to go. “Conditions in this country lead people to dead ends ... the state should think about this more seriously,” said Cankurt. “The important thing is to make it possible for the handicapped to live with dignity,” he added. “In 2005 a law was enacted to raise the quality of life of the handicapped,” observed Baş. This law, he explained, requires “structural obstacles to be removed by 2012 and new buildings to conform to standards.” Baş noted, however, that very little has been accomplished since the law was passed. “There is little time before 2012,” he said, observing that public transportation facilities, pedestrian bridges, sidewalks and streets create countless barriers that restrict the movement of people in wheelchairs and prevent them from participating fully in society.

For those who cannot use their legs, a wheelchair is fundamental to mobility. As Cankurt, Baş and their fellow competitors advance along the course, it is obvious that mobility is both a kind of freedom and a source of deep contentment. Limitations on individual mobility are not a matter of personal handicap, but of collective choice. It takes social, political and legal action to remove physical barriers, to eliminate the dead ends that destroy hope.