*Translated by Sara Pasino
BUSTO ARSIZIO – She booked parasols and deck chairs, but when she asked for help to push her son’s wheelchair on the beach she got an «I’m sorry, you’ll have to do that yourself» as an answer. «The lifeguard? No, we can’t have him doing this,» said the beach club owner. It happened to a mother from Busto Arsizio who was on holiday in Alassio. This episode shows that if breaking architectural barriers is useful, when we don’t break the mental stereotypes and ostility against people with disabilities, everything else is of little help.
Questions and answers
Those who know Laura Rigolio know that she would do anything for her son Alessandro. But in this case, she asked for help from the beach club staff to push his Job (a beach wheelchair for people with reduced mobility) for about twenty metres, from their parasols to the shoreline. But the owner of the beach club said: «We do not offer this service. And we can’t ask the lifeguard to help you because his job is to be on the “perch”. He can’t go back and forth all the time. You have to think about it yourself».
Little help
«Alessandro – explains Laura Rigolio – goes for a swim once in the morning and once in the afternoon. And I only asked for a hand since there is not even the catwalk to push the wheelchair in this beach club». It would only be a matter of a few minutes for the lifeguard. A few minutes and a few metres (we are talking about a beach with less than 20 parasols and not the endless beaches of the Riviera Romagnola). But for the owners of this beach club, the request of Laura Rigolio is classified as an extra service, not budgeted by the company policy and not even contemplated in the mandatory job description of the lifeguard. «But this happens in many beaches of Alassio,» says Laura Rigolio.
Accessible beaches
The woman has told her story on her Facebook page, provoking many reactions from her followers. After all, there has always been a special connection between Busto Arsizio and Alassio. There are many Busto Arsizio citizens who spend their holidays in Alassio, not to mention the historic summer colony.
Reactions on social media
There have been many responses to Laura Rigolio’s post, with people sending her comments of solidarity and condemning the beach club’s attitude. Someone has sent this story to the mayor of Alassio, Marco Melgrati, and others have gone so far as to blame it on the Ligurians’ personality traits. «But that is not the point,» says Rigolio. «In Sestri Levante, for example, there is an accessible beach, where people with disabilities can feel comfortable and welcomed. The same goes for Santa Margherita, where there is a small accessible beach thanks to the commitment of some volunteers».
What came to Laura Rigolio as shock was the motivation behind the refusal of help from the beach club staff: «We do not have time to accept your request. We must look after our customers». A sad explanation, as one would think: «But aren’t Laura and Alessandro also their customers?».