Sharmistha Gooptu in Paris
I remember reading a friend’s FB post at the start of the Olympics, where he wrote that the media have different standards when reporting on events hosted by the Western world and those hosted by the Global South. I felt then that he was overreacting. However, as it’s now been more than two weeks since I have been in Paris for the Olympic Games, and more so after my experience yesterday, I’m not so sure anymore. While being at the Olympic Games is pure privilege, especially seeing Indian athletes compete, some aspects of organisational management here in Paris are not only baffling, but just a sheer disappointment, and at times a matter of serious inconvenience, for visiting media persons.
While the lack of enough volunteers who speak basic English has been a peeve since we landed here, other issues have included athletes not getting food or even water at the shooting venue, and having to stand in long queues for their food in the much-hyped speciality restaurants at the Games village – hardly anybody has talked about these things.
In fact, during my ordeal yesterday, I mentioned the point about not having enough volunteers who spoke English to one of the other volunteers – who in all fairness did her best to help me – and she seemed very surprised. Evidently, nothing much of this has been written by the international media.
Coming back to yesterday – our team was at the athletics venue for Neeraj Chopra’s qualifying round and one of our teammates got a deep cut on his leg. He needed some kind of antiseptic and a basic bandage. At the athletics venue, nobody at the help desk in the press centre seemed aware of the existence of a basic first-aid box in the entire 80,000-plus capacity Stade de France. We went from one floor to another with the said team member limping along, his jeans pulled over his knee to avoid scraping the wound.
After some trying, somebody directed us to an on-ground medical facility (temporary) outside the main stadium building, where we all trooped across, only to knock on the door and peep inside to find it abandoned. There were some sanitising wipes on a shelf and we helped ourselves to those, but didn’t find any antiseptic or Band-Aid.
Our next stop was the Main Press Centre – a distance of 40 minutes from the Stade de France where we again tried the Main Help Desk, which serves the entire media set up in that building. Here again, they didn’t have a first-aid box!
For the Latest Sports News: Click Here
By then, the colleague concerned had given up, but one of the volunteers suggested I accompany her to the Hyatt Hotel next door where the main help desk is set up in the lobby for the Olympic Family and all officials and delegates. ‘You have to walk a bit,’ she said apologetically. We talked a bit on the way – she’s an American and has lived in France for thirty years. She herself expressed surprise at there not being something so basic as a first-aid box in the Main Press Centre, and once at the Hyatt, she found a sign leading to the level above – for a medical centre. Dead end yet again – the sign on the door said to knock, which we did, but on not getting a response, we climbed down and approached some volunteers at one of the help desks in the lobby.
We were now pointed in another direction up a flight of stairs and passed a few doors to finally reach a room set up as a medical unit with some medical personnel. ‘Well, they’ve certainly hidden it away nicely here’ were the words of the friendly volunteer who had originally accompanied me. I myself wondered how anybody in an emergency was expected to find this room, which was anyway meant for officials and support staff and NOT the media.
I explained that a colleague had a cut and needed a basic band-aid and possibly some antiseptic if that was possible. I was asked to produce the injured person, and since my colleague was waiting elsewhere, I was literally turned out of the door. They could not give me any medical help since it was against protocol. I tried to explain that we wouldn’t have needed all of this had there been a basic first-aid box in the athletics stadium or the Main Press Centre, but to no avail.
The pharmacy inside the mall that houses the MPC was closed, I returned empty-handed, and we then waited till the end of the day to get home before the said colleague could dig out some antiseptic and band-aid from his own medicine box that he had carried from home.
And that was another day of Help Desk for the international media at the Paris Olympics!
Also Read: Celebrating ‘national javelin day’ on August 7 and Neeraj Chopra’s effort