This blog post was supposed to be about a 10k / half marathon run by me and Phil in our local area this morning. We registered for this event several weeks ago and Phil in particular has been looking forward to the run as a good opportunity to beat his half marathon PB and run the distance in under 1h30 minutes.
Phil picked up our running bibs on Friday morning and we were looking forward to the run until receiving a phone call from the race organiser on Friday evening.
Apparently, they had decided that foreigners could no longer participate in the race as this would be "security risk". We were told that our participation would turn this local run into an "International Event" which therefore warranted greater levels of police security, external approvals and costs which the organisers were not able to provide.
This has never happened to us before and is very disappointing and saddening. India is willing to provide visas which allow us to be resident in the country and for me to work, thus providing many new jobs and paying a bucket load of tax to the Indian government. We had paid 750 rupees each to enter (this is a lot in India, more than a day's pay for the average Indian) and we have participated in many other running events in India in the past with no problems at all.
This is the first time in my life when I have felt discriminated again because of my race, and it's not a nice feeling. I accept things like having to pay 20 times more than Indians for museum entry as a foreigner tax, but barring me from running in my local area is too much. I was boiling angry for a while after the phone call although have mellowed a bit now as there is not much you can about some of the restrictions placed on non-Indians within India, except to push ahead and hope that these bureaucratic barriers will lift over time. We must also keep in mind that many of our friends and colleagues are very supportive and inclusive and are just as embarrassed by these restrictions as we are incredulous and that things are changing, albeit slowly.
Growing up in the UK, I took it for granted that those in my class at school; white, black, Asian; had an equal chance to succeed. Realistically, I know that opportunities are still not equal but at least the laws of the UK attempt to level the playing field. Everyone is welcome at a Parkrun, irrespective of their place of birth or colour.
Anyway, my rant is over and I'm sure that we'll enter and enjoy many more races in India in the future.
Phil picked up our running bibs on Friday morning and we were looking forward to the run until receiving a phone call from the race organiser on Friday evening.
Apparently, they had decided that foreigners could no longer participate in the race as this would be "security risk". We were told that our participation would turn this local run into an "International Event" which therefore warranted greater levels of police security, external approvals and costs which the organisers were not able to provide.
This has never happened to us before and is very disappointing and saddening. India is willing to provide visas which allow us to be resident in the country and for me to work, thus providing many new jobs and paying a bucket load of tax to the Indian government. We had paid 750 rupees each to enter (this is a lot in India, more than a day's pay for the average Indian) and we have participated in many other running events in India in the past with no problems at all.
This is the first time in my life when I have felt discriminated again because of my race, and it's not a nice feeling. I accept things like having to pay 20 times more than Indians for museum entry as a foreigner tax, but barring me from running in my local area is too much. I was boiling angry for a while after the phone call although have mellowed a bit now as there is not much you can about some of the restrictions placed on non-Indians within India, except to push ahead and hope that these bureaucratic barriers will lift over time. We must also keep in mind that many of our friends and colleagues are very supportive and inclusive and are just as embarrassed by these restrictions as we are incredulous and that things are changing, albeit slowly.
Growing up in the UK, I took it for granted that those in my class at school; white, black, Asian; had an equal chance to succeed. Realistically, I know that opportunities are still not equal but at least the laws of the UK attempt to level the playing field. Everyone is welcome at a Parkrun, irrespective of their place of birth or colour.
Anyway, my rant is over and I'm sure that we'll enter and enjoy many more races in India in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment