為輪椅上的朋友做好準(zhǔn)備

編者按：隨著2008年奧運(yùn)會的臨近，民眾越來越關(guān)心“中國”品牌的樹立，學(xué)習(xí)英語的熱情也被點(diǎn)燃。越來越多的外宣干部和業(yè)內(nèi)同行向我們表達(dá)了期待看到雙語欄目的期望。因此，我們在2006年第一期起開辦了《雙語視窗》欄目以滿足廣大讀者的需求。

看看周圍的媒體，《北京青年報》、《參考消息》、《國門時報》上有許多精粹的小短文，像一只只啄木鳥，善意地提醒了中國人習(xí)以為常的行為背后“尚未和國際接軌”的細(xì)節(jié)，讀后讓人回味不已，在獲得借鑒意義的同時，也帶來更深入的思考。我們效仿中英文對照的版面形式，旨在通過外國友人的視角來看中國，從中折射出東西方觀念、習(xí)俗的異同。通過一篇篇這樣的文章，讓讀者在領(lǐng)略異域文化同時，也能達(dá)到學(xué)習(xí)英語的目的。

住在北京總是令人興奮的，她擁有眾多的文化場館和豐富的文化活動，而為2008年奧運(yùn)會做準(zhǔn)備的過程則更加令人興奮。但是，我在想：北京的文化場所和未來的奧運(yùn)會能在多大程度上方便殘疾人呢？所有想進(jìn)場館并且進(jìn)得起的人是否都能夠進(jìn)去呢？

2003年，作為“北京市民學(xué)外語活動”的一部分，我們開展了教殘疾人學(xué)外語的活動，但我們還沒想出辦法，如何讓殘疾市民以有意義的方式親身參與相關(guān)活動。這事想來很令人遺憾：如果我們不能讓殘疾市民參與進(jìn)來，那么，又怎么能讓來自世界各地的萬千殘疾人參與呢？而這些人若知道北京的確適合坐輪椅的客人來訪，他們就會蜂擁而至，來快樂地感受北京，感受奧運(yùn)。2008年奧運(yùn)會可以辦成一屆真正讓所有人參與的奧運(yùn)會，那樣的話，使北京變得適合殘疾人出行的益處將在奧運(yùn)會結(jié)束后的很長時間里都被感覺到——來京旅游的殘疾人及其家屬的人數(shù)會更多，因為他們所游覽的是便利而好客的北京。

北京作為一個既現(xiàn)代又具有人文關(guān)懷、對社會中每一個群體都伸出雙臂的國際大都市，這樣做將樹立極好的公關(guān)形象。殘疾人往往被看作是呆在家里的可憐人，但實際情況并非如此。在世界各地，有許多身有殘疾的富人和中產(chǎn)階級人士喜歡旅行，也有錢支付旅行費(fèi)用。但在發(fā)展中國家，能讓坐輪椅的游客進(jìn)入公共場所的設(shè)施一般很少——當(dāng)然了，古老的歷史文化場所在當(dāng)初修建時不會考慮到輪椅通道，但在不影響那些場所的美感和歷史真實性的前提下，讓更廣泛的公眾可以進(jìn)入那些場所的方法是可以很容易地找到的。

以下是我的建議：

一、指定一年一度的“北京無障礙通行日”。在這天，讓身有殘疾的北京市民、外國游客及住在北京的外籍人士（尤其是那些坐在輪椅上或拄拐杖的人）參觀北京的賓館、餐廳、旅游購物區(qū)、機(jī)場和火車站，看看這些場所在多大程度上能方便殘疾人士通行。對于那些被認(rèn)為是真正方便殘疾人通行的場所，北京市政府將允許它們向社會宣傳自己是“無障礙通行”的單位，這些單位將得到印有官方對這一事實認(rèn)證的引人注目的貼紙，用來貼在門面上；殘疾人聯(lián)合會將舉行新聞發(fā)布會，向那些最方便殘疾人士通行的單位或是在其后幾年在無障礙通行方面進(jìn)步最大的單位頒發(fā)認(rèn)定證書，這有助于提升各有關(guān)企業(yè)的聲譽(yù)。

二、指定一年一度的“無障礙通行文化節(jié)”。同樣，有殘疾的市民和外籍人士將參觀北京的博物館和名勝古跡，以此來彰顯這些地方是方便殘疾人通行的，同時也指出還有哪些地方需要適當(dāng)改進(jìn)。在這方面做得較好的場所將更受游客的喜愛，并且收入也更多。媒體的積極報道也是至關(guān)重要的，尤其是面向國際受眾的報道。

三、“無障礙通行的奧運(yùn)會”。設(shè)想奧運(yùn)會是在這樣一個口號下舉辦的：“北京奧運(yùn)會，無障礙通行的盛會，為了每一個人！”其細(xì)節(jié)最好由北京奧組委的專業(yè)規(guī)劃人員做出安排。

四、“我是無障礙通行的導(dǎo)游”。我提議應(yīng)將這句話寫在北京殘疾人士或者其家屬佩戴的黃色大徽章或飾帶上，他們將接受特殊培訓(xùn)，為殘疾旅游者做導(dǎo)游。這些導(dǎo)游應(yīng)全都是身有殘疾的北京人或是其家屬，他們已經(jīng)充分理解殘疾游客可能會有的畏懼心理和潛在的問題，因此，在讓殘疾游客心安、提供恰當(dāng)建議、幫助解決問題等方面，他們比普通導(dǎo)游好得多。

為了使這項提議獲得成功，應(yīng)當(dāng)認(rèn)真做好篩選導(dǎo)游的工作，并且在語言、導(dǎo)游原則以及具體文化場所的知識方面給予廣泛的培訓(xùn)。要使游客確信北京是無障礙城市，這些導(dǎo)游將起到至關(guān)重要的作用。旅行社應(yīng)當(dāng)在國外廣泛宣傳北京能提供這樣的導(dǎo)游。聘用這些導(dǎo)游的費(fèi)用可由游客承擔(dān)，作為旅行社包團(tuán)旅行費(fèi)用的一部分，或含在飯店安排的特定旅行活動的費(fèi)用中。這樣做除了可為這些導(dǎo)游提供額外收入外，還可在將北京塑造為具有人文關(guān)懷的現(xiàn)代都市的過程中，讓有殘疾的北京人承擔(dān)一個真正有意義、有價值的角色。

你認(rèn)為這些主意怎么樣？

（本文作者現(xiàn)在北京第二外國語學(xué)院任教）

原文：

It is always exciting to be in Beijing， with its many cultural sites and activities， and the excitement is even greater during the preparation for the Olympics. But I wonder how accessible Beijing cultural sites and the Olympics are to the handicapped. Will everyone who wants to and can afford it get access to them?

Last year we kicked off a program of English classes for the handicapped as part of the \"Beijing Learns Foreign Languages Program\"， but we have not yet figured out how to involve our handicapped citizens in some meaningful， personal way. This is unfortunate: if we cannot get disabled residents involved， then how can we involve the thousands of handicapped people from around the world who， if they knew Beijing was really accessible to visitors in wheelchairs， would flock to enjoy the city and the Olympics? These could be the first truly accessible Olympics. And long after the Olympics， the benefits of making the city accessible to the handicapped would continue to be felt in the higher number of disabled tourists and their families visiting a convenient and welcoming Beijing.

This would be excellent public relations for Beijing as a modern yet caring international city that reaches out to all segments of society. Too often the handicapped are thought of as poor stay-at-homes， but this is not really the case. Throughout the world there are many wealthy and middle-class people with disabilities who like to travel and have the money to do so. But access to public places for visitors in wheelchairs is generally scarce in developing countries -- and of course， ancient historic sites were not constructed with wheelchair access in mind. But without impairing the beauty and historic authenticity of those sites， ways can readily be found to open them to a wider public.

Here are my proposals:

(1) An annual \"Access-Able Beijing Day\". On this day， local residents and foreign tourists or residents with disabilities (especially those in wheelchairs or on crutches) would visit Beijing hotels， restaurants， tourist shopping areas， the airport and train stations to see how accessible they are. Those found to be truly accessible would be allowed by the Beijing city government to advertise themselves as ACCESS-ABLE; they would receive an attractive decal officially announcing the fact for the front of their businesses. The Handicapped Federation would hold a press conference and give certificates of recognition to those businesses and sites that are most accessible or which， in the following years， make the most progress in becoming accessible. This would be good for the reputation of the businesses.

(2) An annual \"Access-Able Culture Day\". Again， disabled locals and foreigners would visit Beijing museums and historic parks to highlight the fact that they are accessible and to point out where appropriate changes could be made. The more accessible ones would become favored destinations for tourists and tourist dollars. Positive media coverage， especially for international audiences， would be crucial.

(3) \"Access-Able Olympics\". Imagine the games being held under this motto: \"The Beijing Olympics: the ACCESS-ABLE party for everyone!\" The details could best be worked out by the skilled planners of the Beijing Olympics Committee.

(4)\"I'm an access guide\". I propose that this is what we have written on LARGE yellow buttons or sashes worn by handicapped Beijing residents or their family members who would be specially trained to serve as guides for tourists with disabilities. These guides should all be handicapped Beijingers or their family members， people who already fully understand the fears and potential problems that handicapped tourists may have. Thus they would be much better than ordinary tour guides at reassuring handicapped visitors， providing suitable advice and helping with problems.

To make this initiative a success， the guides would have to be selected with care and given extensive training in languages， tour guide principles and knowledge of specific cultural sites. These guides would play a vital role in assuring the tourists that Beijing is accessible; their availability should be widely publicized abroad with tour/travel agencies. The cost of their employment could be borne by the tourists as part of the package deal with the travel agent or particular tour arrangements made by specific hotels. Besides providing extra income for the guides， this would give handicapped Beijingers a genuinely meaningful and valuable role in refashioning Beijing's image as a modern city with a heart.

What do you think of these ideas?

（感謝北京青年報《雙語視窗》欄目張愛學(xué)編輯對本文提供的支持）

責(zé)編：周瑾