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KT edit: Special Olympics, a lesson in tolerance and inclusion

The Special Olympics has made Abu Dhabi, rather the UAE, a haven of compassion, understanding and tolerance, broadcasting to the world that these are values that are the most powerful. Over 7,000 athletes from 192 countries are competing in 24 sports categories in the week-long event, set to be this year's largest sports and humanitarian gathering. Teams comprising people with and without intellectual disabilities of similar age and ability have come together inspired by the belief that training and playing together are a quick path to friendship and understanding, thus making this year's games the most unified ever. Having sport in common is surely an effective way to keep away preconceptions and false ideas. There is no denying the fact that people with intellectual disabilities should be better understood, for they are a lonely people, more likely to be bullied in schools, more likely to be humiliated by those around and less likely to hold good careers. Yes, they are men and women of great courage and great kindness, but they are marginalised and not rewarded enough.
The UAE, a beacon of inclusiveness, has been providing year-round sports training and competitions for people with intellectual disabilities with the aim of empowering them. The country has also been taking efforts to raise awareness and educate the public about this segment to encourage tolerance within the community, to help create unity and understanding and thus to break down cultural and social barriers. Let initiatives such as the Special Olympics - of play, of games and of joy -help end the discrimination and neglect such athletes and millions of others endure every day. Let these athletes, through their skill and ability, end the fear of difference. And let nations of the world follow the UAE in bringing thousands of people together, regardless of faith, gender, nationality, colour and intellectual differences to nurture the seeds of progress. By holding the 50th Special Olympics, the first in the region and the biggest ever, the nation has proclaimed to the world that it must be a more inclusive place and that the UAE is definitely in the lead.