Does any of this sound depressingly familiar to those of us who lived through the Athens Olympics 2004 ?

From the Guardian

Olympic site Gypsies fight removal

Families of Gypsies and Travellers launched a legal challenge today over plans to move them to make way for the Olympic village.

Their lawyers asked a high court judge to rule their human rights were being breached as the country prepares to host the 2012 Olympic Games in east London.

Three mothers are leading the fight against being moved to alternative sites so that construction work can begin.

The campaigners include Lisa Smith and Mary Reilly who both have children at schools near the sites where they live. A third applicant, Julia Reilly, has three children and is registered disabled.

They are challenging the government’s decision in December last year to confirm the London Development Agency (Lower Lea Valley, Olympic and Legacy) compulsory purchase order (CPO) for the land on which the caravan sites stand.

Marc Willers, appearing for the three women, argued the CPO was an unlawful interference with their right to private and family life, as protected under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

He told Mr Justice Williams, sitting at London’s high court, that the secretary of state for trade and industry, who confirmed the CPO, was wrong to conclude that the interference occurring was “proportionate and justified”.

Mr Willers contended fundamental rights were at stake, including not only the right to respect for home and family life but also respect for their traditional way of life.

The government was under a duty under human rights laws to “protect the Gypsy way of life”, Mr Willers said.

There had been a failure to consider whether it was possible to develop the Olympic site while the families stayed put, he added.

Government lawyers said there was no question of the Olympics project being developed without acquisition of both sites where the families live and claim the Gypsy case is “ill-founded”.

The hearing is expected to last three days.

As most of you know, I live in Athens, Greece now but my former home was London. I was thrilled that Athens got the 2004 games because I had the chance to experience the whole spectacle. From the moment the name was read out to the closing ceremony. OK, I admit it, I’m a fan of many sports and the chance to see the world’s biggest sporting event up close was incredible. I was also thrilled when London got 2012 because I would get the chance to be there too! Two Olympics in my two home towns in one lifetime. What can I say?

This all happened before my blogging days had begun and I hadn’t really grasped the magnitude of what was happening behind the scenes. The other story of the Olympics is ugly and distasteful. Money and building scandals, people displaced and trampled on, disrupted lives and loss of life. 14 documented deaths (possibly up to 40 Olympic related deaths) on work sites for Athens 2004. At the end of the article it says:

There wasn’t a brick laid for the first three-and-a-half years. We’ve now got about one injury or one death every couple of days.

This is a Greek tragedy that we will have to face after the Olympics

As far as I can tell that has not happened. And it’s not only about death and injury. It’s about homelessness, evictions and suffering in the name of a global sporting event where we talk about noble causes and the Olympian charter.

Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in
a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport
with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life
based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example and
respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.

The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the
harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a
peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.

The Olympic Movement is the concerted, organised, universal
and permanent action, carried out under the supreme authority of the
IOC, of all individuals and entities who are inspired by the values of
Olympism. It covers the five continents. It reaches its peak with the
bringing together of the world’s athletes at the great sports festival, the
Olympic Games. Its symbol is five interlaced rings.

The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must
have the possibility of practising sport, without discrimination of any
kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding
with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play. The organisation,
administration and management of sport must be controlled by
independent sports organisations.

Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person
on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is
incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.

Belonging to the Olympic Movement requires compliance with
the Olympic Charter and recognition by the IOC

An olympian occasion where most people could not afford to attend a single event. A show of sponsership deals and financial arrangements that did not leave a legacy of sports facilities and training for young athletes. Where human rights were not respected. Where people were evicted, fired, injured and killed with impunity. What we are left with in Athens (apart from the city beautification which is substantial in the posh parts) are empty, rotting stadiums, huge debts and a human toll that is too great to even contemplate.

I don’t think I will be going to London in 2012.

Technorati: Olympics, Athens 2004, London 2012, Olympic Charter