D2020 WORLD PROJECT - INDIA Part 3.

To read the first and second part of this article press here.

Sometimes Dr. Surekha Ramachandran would intervene and they would all laugh. You could clearly see that each one of the parents was somehow grateful to be part of this community where everyone was welcome. I don’t know what it is like to be a parent of someone with Down syndrome and I believe it is impossible to guess what it must be like. But please don’t get me wrong! Do not focus on what could make their job as parents a bit more challenging! I am talking about the way they looked at their kid and couldn’t stop smiling. All the parents were there and they could all share their different stories. Dr. Surekha Ramachandran also told me that some parents would ask questions such as « When will my son/daughter talk? » « Why can she talk and mine still doesn’t? » And she would tell them that each kid was unique and different.

After a while we all moved to the court they had outside to take a picture. I still had my funny socks on and now that I look at the picture I think I was the only one who had socks on… If I had to pick one favorite picture of my meeting with the foundations during this world tour I think this would be the one. Seventy two of us sitting on three different steps and so many different colours. It almost looks like a painting. As I showed the picture to my family and friends they would often tell me that they couldn’t find me in the photo. Frankly, the picture was not about me, it was about all the others! Through this picture I could share my experience with the rest and send a bit of « India » to everyone also informing them about what I had learned about Down syndrome in this country.

« Do you argue more with your sister than with your brothers? »

After the photos I also answered a few more questions they had and once again, I could not tell you how long I stood there in front of them. It was a unique moment and I would have stayed there even longer if I had had the chance. There was one thing Dr. Surekha Ramachandran and I certainly had in common and it was that both of us like to talk! Therefore, if someone had not stopped us to tell us it was time for everyone to grab some food, I think we could have continued a lot longer. In the end some parents even came up to me to have a little chat and this meant the world to me. It proved that they were interested by my answers, by my project, and that they wanted to learn more. I remember one father who came up to me with his son with an orange shirt and asked me one question: « Do you argue more with your sister than with your brothers? ». At first I thought it was a quite peculiar question and told him that I don’t necessarily argue more with Victoria. I then explained that in my house we were all treated the same way, therefore there was no reason for me to argue more with my sister than with my two brothers. Generally I do believe that if we treat everybody the same way it is harder to see the differences between each other. It doesn’t matter if you are different, what matters is how you treat people who are different and that does not depend on them, it depends on you…

I remember him holding his son in his right arm and I really wish I could remember his son's name. He was a bit tired but he had these beautiful eyes. They had shaved his hair a few days before for what I believe was a religious ceremony so he looked like a little monk. A mother also came up to me with her daughter that had a lovely dress and I managed to get a goodbye kiss on the cheek. While we were taking the photos I also sat next to a young kid who looked at me in a very concentrated way which made me laugh. He smiled in return. I’m not sure who his mother or father was but we had a funny little moment. It lasted seconds, but as I often say, on photos it lasts forever.

« People look at beautiful people only… »

It was then time for me to leave. The kids were getting hungry and the driver was at the door waiting. I thanked every one of them, especially Dr. Surekha Ramachandran and her team who had kindly welcomed me. Allowing me to be part of the group was simply magical and even months later I still remember that moment as if it were yesterday! India was tough but my time at the Down syndrome federation of India had completely thrown to the bin all my negative thoughts about the country. Had I misunderstood the country? Yes. Had I misunderstood the Indian culture? I think so… A phone call from Dr. Surekha Ramachandran a few minutes after arriving at my hotel also confirmed my new thoughts. We had a nice conversation about the meeting, about our families and I didn’t know how to make her understand how grateful I was. She told me that I had just met the group of younger kids and that the groups of older kids were different which made me want to learn more! I will not tell you more about what we talked about but I do believe that Down syndrome connects people in a beautiful way. I will however end this post with a beautiful sentence of Dr. Surekha Ramachandran’s daughter concerning people who stare at people with Down Syndrome: « People look at beautiful people only… »