REBECCA AND SUSAN FRONT AND CENTRE AT WORLD YOUTH DAY 2002
Opening ceremonies to convey message of inclusion

Tuesday July 16, 2002
Linda Viscardis

Rebecca and Susan Beayni will be front and centre during the opening ceremonies of World Youth Day 2002, and Susan wants to make sure that as many people as possible see the significance of the event to people who have disabilities. "The message is beautiful," says Susan, Rebecca's mother. "It is profound in more ways than people will understand. It's about true inclusion."

The ceremony, which includes a symbolic journey to enlightenment and peace, will depict the people of the world, dressed in three different colours, making their journey to the top of a mountain.

"At some point along their journey, some of each group begin to realize that they can't reach the top unless they walk together, and you begin to see the mixing of the colours," says Susan. "When they reach the top, they realize that they have left Rebecca and another fellow, Kevin, who uses a white cane, behind."

Twenty-year-old Rebecca Beayni, totally dependent on others for her care, will be supported at the base of the mountain by her mother, Susan, until such time as 12 strapping young men lift Rebecca and carry her to the mountain's peak.

After Rebecca gets to the top, everyone is excited - in recognition of the fact that they have learned something very valuable. Then Rebecca and Kevin send the others down the mountain to share what they have learned with the rest of the world.

The ceremony, organized by Father Vito Marziliano of Epiphany of Our Lord Catholic Church in Agincourt, is intended to convey that the journey to enlightenment and peace is difficult. But to Susan Beayni, the message is even deeper than that.

"Rebecca is totally dependent and does not speak," says Susan. "She is one of those people who is most marginalized in our society, and yet she has led this most amazing life - being integrated in school, and having the most amazing friends. The rehearsals have brought together hundreds of young people from our community. And the most beautiful thing is that all of these kids know Rebecca and are close friends, or they know of her, so there is no discomfort there. When they carry her up the mountain, it will not just be because it's part of the ceremony. It'll be because they have said, 'Rebecca needs to get to the top; she needs to be lifted. No problem. We'll lift her.' That they know Rebecca so well, to me this is truly real. They think this is absolutely no big deal."

Another important message, according to Susan, is the importance family plays in the lives of people who have disabilities. Susan's role in the ceremony is to support Rebecca, but also to represent the many families who provide safety and stability to their sons and daughters. "At first, I thought, 'I'm Rebecca's mom. I shouldn't be involved. After all it's World Youth Day. I should let her best friend Anna take my place,'" says Susan. "But Father Vito told me he wanted me to support Rebecca. He said, 'You know what? You are Rebecca's anchor. It doesn't mean that other people are not important, but they come and go in Rebecca's life. The family is the anchor.' He wanted to recognize and honour that. I am representing the family in that sense. Most people will not understand that."

Yet another message is the way people who have challenges reach out to support one another. During the ceremony, it is Rebecca and Susan who reach out first to Kevin when they see that he has been left behind. "We realize what has happened, and we go over to Kevin and bring him around. This is the first time when you see the three colours of World Youth Day together. You see that people who have disabilities are the first to reach out. Father Vito says that, in society, people who have been rejected and hurt are often the first ones to reach out."