In 2008, Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics. Recently they have been selected to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. I believe that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) members must reconsider based on the effects of the 2008 Olympics on the people of Beijing.
In preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics, China displaced "1.25 million people", according to the Geneva-based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE). That is 1,250,000 people whose lives were changed for sake of building arenas and fields that get used rarely or have not been used since 2008. Below is a picture of the where the kayak competition took place, that is now deserted. Below that is where the baseball stadium used to be, now populated only by a dog.
For three weeks, these grounds were buzzing with life; now the only life left are weeds, wild animals, and the occasional tourist. 1.25 million lives ruined for three weeks of fun; those numbers don't add up to me. Jean du Plessis, the director of COHRE said, "It is shocking and entirely unacceptable that 1.25 million people have already been displaced in Beijing, in preparation for the 2008 Games, in flagrant violation of their right to adequate housing." And yet, despite all this, Beijing was chosen for the 2022 Winter Games. This simply opens the door for the Chinese government to do it again, because there were very little if any consequences for doing it the first time.
China doesn't believe that they are hurting citizens' lives either, because they are giving compensation. As said by Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu at a news conference, "During the process, the citizens have had their compensation property settled. No single person was forced to move out of Beijing." However, according to the COHRE report, "Many cases, tenants are given little or no notice of their eviction and do not receive the promised compensation." This is unacceptable, and how does the IOC respond? According to The Guardian, "The International Olympic Committee has agreed to attend a COHRE workshop." Along with this an IOC spokeswoman said, "We're in contact because it's a matter important to us. It's important for us to understand what kind of international norms that exist on this matter, that governments can follow."
The IOC needs to do more, attending a workshop and giving statements are not enough. It is unacceptable that after all of this they would still award the city another Olympic Games. On an important side note, we must take into account that this is just what we know, which isn't a lot. China is under a Communist government. Many of those affected by this were not allowed to speak and even news agencies within the country are controlled by the government, free speech and free press don't exist. Many could be imprisoned or even killed if they spoke out against it. Even pictures are limited, however, I was able to find one on Los Angeles Times website which is shown below. These people were being forced from their homes by the government. You can see the grief and fear in their faces and body language.
Sadly, this is not the only place where this happens in preparation for the Olympic Games. According to COHRE, "720,000 people were forcibly evicted in the preparation for the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and 30,000 people were displaced in the gentrification and development for Atlanta in 1996." This happened in our very own country, yet it's not even near the levels seen in Beijing or even Seoul. This is a major problem, yet the IOC refuses to take any real action against it.
In my opinion it should be moved to one permanent location. This would prevent evictions, and stop countries from spending billions of dollars to pay for buildings that will only be used a couple of times. If it were left to me, I'd place all the Olympics in Greece. This is the country is where it all started, so it would be honorable to place the games there. It would also help Greece economically, and they've been having detrimental economic issues. I believe this is the way to prevent millions of lives losing their homes, jobs, and livelihoods.
But in order to solve a problem, we must recognize there is a problem. 1,250,000 million people being forced from their homes is a problem, and we must speak up. It is our job as members of the human race to protect and defend one another; nowadays it seems like we've forgotten that. So please, make the International Olympic Committee hear your voice. We mustn't sit back and pretend it isn't happening. As Desmond Tutu said, "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor." Share this article, so that everyone may learn about the injustices of the Chinese government and the International Olympic Committee. More importantly let the OIC know your concerns and demand change.
