Life and Leisure
Small is beautiful
By Xu Junqian (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-24 08:01
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Little people affected by dwarfism are helping themselves through an association to protect their rights and provide support for members. Xu Junqian reports
It was a chilly spring afternoon at a primary school in Beijing. A group of boys were playing football on the muddy field. There were no coaches and few people watching, but when a goal was scored the players celebrated like it was the World Cup. An ordinary scene you might think, but actually all the players were about 1.4 meters tall and members of the Chinese Little Person Association. They had come from all over China to play soccer for the first time in their lives, at the age of 20 or more.
Chen Lu, one of the match organizers, clearly recalls the game.
"At first, I was surprised to see so many 'little people'. Usually they are nowhere to be found, but here they were gathering together," Chen says. "I wanted to take off my high heel shoes and join them."
The "little people" Chen is referring to were born with a growth hormone deficiency, otherwise they are much the same as anyone else.
They are commonly called "dwarfs", which is considered offensive by some of them, who prefer the term "person of small stature", or little people.
Lu Jiarui, a little person who founded the association, says life for people like her can be depressing and lonely. "It's difficult to live in such an oversized world that was not designed for us. But the big people in this world are even more unfriendly," Lu says.
"We are turned down by schools, employers and taxi drivers. We are mocked by classmates, neighbors, relatives and passersby. If you're not strong it is enough to consider suicide, if you are strong it may drive you to shut yourself off."
Zhou Kuiqing, department chief of Dwarfism Program Management of China Red Cross Foundation, says, among the 8 million dwarfs in China, 90 percent have some form of depression.
But psychological treatment is rare, as the majority of little people cannot even afford to get treatment for their physical problems, he says.
In Kunming, Yunnan province, a real estate tycoon has built a miniature world and hired 108 dwarfs from across the country to do daily comic performances, like Swan Lake, charging 80 yuan ($12) a show.
The businessman defends himself by saying he is providing job opportunities for little people and doing a public service.
Lu Jiarui chose another path in life, leading up to the founding of the Chinese Little Person Association in 2009.
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She was a top student at every school that initially rejected her because of her diminutive stature and had to attend lectures at college by standing, as the chairs and tables were too big for her.
In 2008, the 28-year-old traveled from her hometown of Changchun, capital city of Jilin province, to Shanghai.
There she found her Mr Right, a 1.5-meter-tall Shanghai native who is an IT engineer.
She is dubbed the "petite talent" by Chinese media, who have been impressed by her attempts to help out people like her, by posting information about her association in chat rooms, organized outings and sports matches. She has also been a successful matchmaker.
"I have successfully match-made five couples in our association. Now, when someone has a crush on someone, I am always the one to send the message. And when a girl has a tiff with her boyfriend, I am always the one to patch it up," Lu says.
The association has more than 500 members and several branches in 10 cities, and a website of its own. "Before, when we were at home, we did not know anyone our size, while in the association, I feel that I am among equals," says Xiao Wen, a member of the association.
But Lu also wants little people like herself to get treatment. According to Luo Feihong, professor of endocrinology from the Children's Hospital affiliated to Fudan University in Shanghai, dwarfism can be cured through injections of growth hormones, if done in a "timely" fashion.
By timely he means before bone growth slows, usually before the age of 16.
Lu says it is the association's responsibility to inform as many people as possible of this, as clinics in remote areas, in particular, may not diagnose and treat the problem appropriately at this critical stage.
"I grew 10 cm because of the treatment, but it was still too late. I don't want other boys and girls in the same position to have regrets because of a lack of effort on our part," Lu says.
Zhou, from the Red Cross Foundation, says his organization has launched a free growth-hormone program sponsored by GenSci Medicine.