What Swimming the Channel Has Taught Me about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
How meeting diverse people can change your life and how we can hold ourselves accountable for the contribution we make in disabling people. [This article has been edited since its first publication]
We did it 💪 Our 6-people relay made it from Dover to a beach near Calais in just under 14.5 hours, after swimming in the glorious sunshine and in the pitch-black night.
It's been a journey since I signed up for this challenge back in December 2020. More than just swimming, it's been a human adventure filled with learnings, about myself but also about the world we live in. I'd like to share these with you with a light on diversity and inclusion, and how it's affected my view about these.
Diversity opens up opportunities
"How did you get into open water swimming?", "Why did you sign up to swim the Channel?". I got these questions several times and I like to answer "I am not quite sure how I ended up here 😂 ". And this is true: I have simply taken up the opportunities as they've arisen, and they have led me to this day.
Let me explain: I volunteered with WeSwim (a non-profit focused on swimming for people with disability), swam with a visually-impaired participant, moved to swim with him in the local lake due to the pools being closed (and said I would never do it again after only 30 seconds in the water at 13 degrees! 🤦), carried on swimming with him in this lake (but with a wetsuit 😁), signed up with him for a 2km open-water challenge, then a 14km one with him, met Channel swimmers at my local club with him, read together books about Channel swims, searched for a team but thought we would never find one (as supporting boats and pilots are usually booked one to two years in advance), and ended up finding a relay team that had space for both of us so signed up for it.
At the risk of repetition, I have on purpose included "with him" in all the steps because this is my point: someone, whom I would never have met in my usual circle, has changed my life and made me become a Channel swimmer. He saw the world differently, he made me see the world differently and opened me to whole new perspectives beyond my comfort zone, me who could not even envision swimming in cold water.
Diversity challenges your view of the world, and challenges you at the same time.
The definition of discrimination has changed
Edit on 29-Sep-2021: please note that the next paragraph reflects my personal experience of the events that have taken place and it may be that I do not have all the information with regards to discussions which have been happening behind the scenes between all the parties involved.
Unfortunately for this person, not everything went as planned and he wasn't able to take part in the Channel swim. When we initially signed up, we thought I could be his swim guide, that is he would swim next to me just like we had been doing for months. This wasn't possible though because the rules of the swim are strict: apart from the transitions and the final swim to the beach, there shouldn't be any two swimmers in the water at the same time. Although we had been discussing this for months, we had never had proper confirmation that accommodation couldn't be found to let him swim. Worse, as he hadn't trained to be guided in another way (for example by sound emitted from the boat), there was no way he could follow the boat and swim the Channel with us, so his participation this year was cancelled altogether just a week before the event, with an option to swim next year after appropriate boat-following training. This was a hit after nine months of training in cold water and he took it as an "unfair dismissal due to (his) disability". That made me think: this doesn't quite fit my definition of discrimination, i.e. when a person is excluded unfairly, because there is a real safety reason behind it.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary:
Discrimination is the treatment of a person or particular group of people differently, in a way that is worse than the way people are usually treated.
Let's think about this (and don't worry if you haven't figured it out yourself, it took me a whole afternoon cycling on my own with my thoughts to come to this conclusion): there's no notion of intention or voluntarily causing harm in this definition. Let me explain: if a venue isn't accessible for people using a wheelchair, this is likely not intentional, i.e. nobody wanted to prevent those people from accessing the building on purpose, but still they cannot enter it. Not having an access ramp or a lift results in a different (and worse) treatment for wheelchair users, so this is discrimination.
Going back to the Channel swim:
Having rules that do not take into account special needs of people with disability is discrimination
Not putting in place the right training plan to accommodate the needs of a swimmer with special needs is discrimination
Just like the definition of racism is now widely recognised as the way the system favours white people, as opposed to the old-fashion view of mistreating people of colours voluntarily, it's time to broaden our view about discrimination against people with disability.
Everything which is not accessible by all people is by design discriminatory.
Living by your standards
I like to think of myself as an ally who helps to create a more inclusive world: I introduce myself with my name and my pronouns, I volunteer to help people with disability practice a physical activity and make meaningful relationships through swimming, I have read eye-opening books about black history and how to be an anti-racist as opposed to simply not being racist, I make a conscious effort to compliment women on their skills rather than their look, I genuinely ask men how they're feeling rather than assuming they should be "manly", I challenge people who refuse to hire people in their 50s "because they're going to retire soon" and so on. But is this really enough?
What do I really do when I gain thanks to my privilege at the expense of someone else who's getting discriminated against?
Once I had come to the conclusion that my fellow swimmer had been discriminated against, it didn't make sense for me to carry on as if nothing had happened: this wasn't in line with my values and what I stood for. Let's make a parallel for a second: if a black person had been excluded from a relay, would I be comfortable as a white person to take their place? So on the Saturday evening, less than 6 hours before the opening of the swimming window, I was ready to step down from the relay, because I didn't want to support organisations that discriminate. I consulted friends and disability advocates with the following dilemma: was this really discrimination and if so, should I pull out of the relay? If I pulled out, would the organisers change their mind and take the swimmer on the boat to replace me – fulfilling his dream of swimming the Channel as a visually-impaired person – or would I just let the team down? Would I be able to explain to people (and especially my ego) that I wasn't going to swim the Channel anymore, not because of fear but to stand against discrimination?
Given careful consideration, personal circumstances not detailed here and recognising that the organisers were extremely sorry for the situation and they wouldn't let him swim anyway for his safety, I came to the conclusion that my thought process was commendable, but that I would rather go ahead with the relay because my non-participation wouldn't send the signal I wanted. Rather, I have written this blog to raise awareness, started this new fundraising to support the cause of visually-impaired people and am supporting the push for the Channel swim associations to change their rules to accommodate people with special needs.
In summary: what being an ally really means
TLDR, then you're missing the full story but here are my take-aways from this wonderful although bumpy journey:
Making the effort to meet people outside of your usual circles (from a different background, skin colour, culture, ability, gender identity...) is worth it for everyone.
No matter how hurt you are when you witness discrimination or are involved in an uncomfortable situation, it's nothing compared to the pain of the people who are discriminated against (also a lesson from one of the books I read in support of #BlackLivesMatter).
Be proactive to fight against discrimination: once you're facing it, it's already too late. Changing rules and behaviours takes time, now is the time to start.
Hold yourself accountable to your standards. If you are part of the dominant group, you're responsible for your actions and checking your privilege before making a decision.
What next? If this article inspired you:
Donate to the Guide Dogs charity which helps people with visual impairment.
Comment and share on social media to increase the impact, and be an ally