Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, the final leg
I would like to express my deep gratitude to all the people that have been close to me with their affect and support during these years.
I would also express my thanks to all those that shared and, I am sure, will continue to share my battle: for a world without barriers and borders.
My gratitude also to all the reporters that, thanks to their sensitivity, made to know my project to the world, such as Valeria Robecco from ANSA:
Swimming in the seas of the world with only one leg, in order to make public opinion sensitive to the subject of disability.
Salvatore Cimmino is a 50 years old man, originating from Torre Annunziata, but adopted by Rome; with his strokes is not trying to win a record, but to carry on his challenge for a world without barriers and borders.
The king of crawl marathons has concluded, in New York, his tour in the seas of the world: “It is a project that started in Israel in 2010 and was born to break all architectural and mental barriers, that still prevent the integration of disabled people in our society” explained after the successful conclusion of the ‘Manhattan Island Marathon Swim’, a 54 Km circumnavigations of the Manhattan Island, in 9 hours, 34 minutes and 46 seconds.
My special greetings to all the people met during the way that, without knowing, gave me their time and friendship. I started this adventure because I am deeply convinced about the importance of sharing.
Only bringing to the attention of public opinion the difficulties and troubles that are daily faced by the Disabled People, only if we sensitize the consciences, it will be possible to build, together, a world to dimension of all of us.
If we share the idea of a society that takes care of the others and stimulate everybody to make available to others their capabilities, then we shall be able to overcome and definitively break all the barriers of distrust and marginalization and achieve targets – that are primarily for us as Disabled – such as the chargeability of the laws that regulate the disability, preventing that more than a billion people could remain behind, to face their life alone.
Nowadays, the Governments are still doing very little, perhaps even without awareness and persuasion, on the matter of disability;
they should, on the contrary, start to take materially care about it, dealing with the reality of disabled people like a problem to be solved, and also looking at our world of Disabled people as an important and significant resource to exploit for the growth and development of the Countries of the World.
Governments should promote real integration processes, real changes in the organization of cities, districts, transports, schools and of all public organizations.
They must understand the importance of an entrepreneurship policy to industrialize the extraordinary steps forward, made by scientific research and technological development, in order to make effective those processes that will allow disables to fully enjoy them.
Welfare system has to be radically changed, providing for higher investments, listening centers for families, easy to reach structures. Make access to work easier. Exploit capabilities and attitudes of each citizen e, moreover, never permit to leave somebody alone.
Disabled Peoples have to cooperate and assist the other people to understand the obstacles that they are daily facing; we must engage ourselves and never stop talking, communicating, assisting voiceless people to have their say.
Next step, within this year, is called Goma, a city in the North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, and our target will be to bring a material aid to the Prothesis Center “Shirika la Umoja” and for this I will need, once more, a great support and solidarity
Salvatore Cimmino