Delay a huge burden on athletes
Unless the Irish government intervenes, the only way the Hong Kong team members can attend the closing ceremony is if they stay behind in Dublin for days afterwards to get the next available flight to London.
Christopher So Kwok-on, director of the Hong Kong Down Syndrome Association, said that might place an unbearable burden on the youngsters, who would have already spent weeks away from their homes and families.
'It is quite a challenge for any child to spend that amount of time away from home. But these are mentally handicapped teenagers who find it much more difficult to adapt to new environments,' he said.
'Every day away from home could bring them more anxiety which is bound to cause problems. They have had to put up with so much uncertainty because of the Irish government's decision. It has been one problem after another.
'As far as I am concerned, the quarantine is totally unwarranted and means they have yet another environment to adapt to even before Ireland. During this time they have been separated from their families in Hong Kong, only being allowed to speak to them on the telephone, and being treated as if they are highly infectious when they are perfectly healthy.'
Mr So said the squad had also had to come to terms with leaving many of their teammates behind because of the organising committee's concession to Ireland to cut the number of athletes taking part from 44 to 22.
'Those who have been left behind are very disappointed. One mother told me how tears ran down her son's face when he heard he would not be going. He's a swimmer who won two gold medals, two silvers and a bronze in a tournament in eastern China last year. The whole thing has been a tragedy. Everything was arranged perfectly until the Irish government imposed the ban. I'm very disappointed in Ireland.'
