Much Appreciated

This post is dedicated to my local grocery store called Spa in Rosmead Avenue Cape Town Kenilworth.

 As most parents of LP will know, going out to public places can be daunting at times, in fact I think I mentioned this in a previous post I would go public with guns blazing ready to attack at any stare or comment!!! But as time moves on things get better and you just know that its no use trying to attack every ignorant comment or stare you just go about your day and do your thing and realize how blessed you are to be the parent of such a special little one J

 So today I thought I would start “Leah Friendship Hugs Awards” it our way of highlighting VERY special people who have made a difference in our lives.

 Our first award goes to “Spa Supermarket Kenilworth” for the past 5 years we have been doing our weekly grocery shopping at Spa, Its like being with one happy family as everyone knows you and we stop for the short chat then carry on. When I pregnant with Leah every visit to the store was filled with excitement and some even counted the weeks as they went by , when she was born her first grocery outing  was greeted by very enthusiastic staff who could not get a wait to get a glimpse of our new bundle of joy, and  as Leah grew older we told them that she had dwarfism and that she how it would affect her development  , but they were not bothered by this to them Leah was their “Little Friend”

 Now that Leah is 4 years old, she knows some of the  staff by name, she is always willing to hand out her weekly hugs and now and then they sneak a chocolate or 2, and when its grocery day Leah will always say “Am I going to my friends today?” and there are times when I sneak a trip on my own but I dare not let Leah know, as this would cause major problems for me… cause as she  says “ Mummy how could you leave me behind, what about my friends did they ask for me?”

 Some might say Im making a fuss about nothing, but when you have walked in my shoes it’s the LITTLE things that makes a big difference, and you see life through different eyes and you tend to  appreciate that there still are good caring people out there.

 So thank you to my local Spa store it warms my heart to know that you took the time to get to know Leah and im sure you have left a lasting impact on her little heart.

And they said I would never get it right…

  December last year a radio station breakfast show decided it was a funny thing to make jokes about living with Dwarfism and directly poked fun at short stature using the “M” word they just slandered on and on. This bothered me so much because it was so demeaning and discriminating. What got me going was I had so called friends calling to ask me if I had heard the “funny midget” jokes on radio I just could not leave what had happened that morning so I emailed the radio station in question, I did not get a response instead they played a new set of “funny midget” jokes a few days later that was when I took the case to the Broadcastings complaints commition of South Africa, and this was their response after reviewing the case:

“Dear Ms Kay

Your complaint concerning the ******* jokes on ****** has reference.

 We have listened to the material in question and considered your complaint.  We agree that the jokes were in exceptionally questionable taste and it is our opinion that it at least, justifies an internal discussion at the radio station as to whether the internal policy of the station was, complied with.

 The Broadcasting Code, however, only protect race, gender, ethnicity and religion against hate speech. Even if persons whom you represent had been included,  the speech would not have amounted to the advocacy of hatred. In terms of the Code we, accordingly, cannot entertain this complaint.

 We will, however, refer this matter to the station’s management for consideration of their internal policy, and will also refer this to the Chair of the Commission so that the Commission may, in future, consider what steps should be taken about other sections of the community who require protection.

 We thank you for making use of our services.

 Yours sincerely”

 

First of all I did not submit it as HATE SPEECH!! And second you admit that it is in “exceptionally questionable taste”???? So the Broadcastings Commission completely misses the plot…..

 

As you can well imagine I was left very angry so I took it one step further I contacted the Human Rights Commission of South Africa as it states in our Bill of rights “section10” that discrimination of any kind is in violation of the act.  I strongly believe the MEDIA should make a serious effort to be more aware of the jokes and terms they use on live air as it could have a influence on society and it makes it seem that its okay or funny to poke fun at a little person. I sure that any DJ would watch his words when it comes to joking about race so what makes them think its “OKAY” to joke about disabilities?

 (TEXT BELOW QUOTED FROM INTERNET SOURCE)

 “Terminology is important because words reflect our attitudes and beliefs, however some terms we tend to use may NOT reflect how some physically and mentally disabled people see themselves. Using the right words matters.  ‘The names we get called and the status of the people doing the naming can have a enormous impact on our lives”

 So after 10 months of waiting and back and forth emails I got a hearing date at the HRC and I met with the radio station and their legal team and it was just me and my file of facts. At one point I wondered what I had gotten my self into but I just thought well you made it this far and I might as well grab the bull by the horns. So im proud to say we got our official apology, which I tend to post on the Little People of South Africa blog , FaceBook page  You name it im going to spread it, and I guess I can say without shame that I AM SO PROUD of this accomplishment, I promised Leah the day she was born I would fight for her rights and I will make sure I do whatever it takes to raise dwarfism awareness in South Africa

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY LEAH!!!

Happy Birthday my little princess Leah, we love you so much. The past 4 years have been amazing, you have changed our lives forever and we find ourselves doing things we never dreamed of doing you have inspired me and taught me that I can do anything i set my mind to, and I thank God he made us be your family, so happy birthday my sweetheart and I look forward to many more happy birthdays with you.

Love Mummy. Daddy, Simone and Nicole