Speaking with the Daily Mail, Star Wars actor Warwick Davis has discussed his fight to raise awareness for dwarfism and the fact that ‘a portion of society remain cruel to disabled people.
After founding the charity Little People UK with his wife Sammy, Warwick spoke of the importance of shedding light on the problems facing those with dwarfism, although he admitted thankfully that he has not faced much adversity.
He said: ‘I co-founded the charity 7 or 8 years ago and part of our work within the community is education and I deal with that side of it…
‘I go out to schools. Sometimes there’ll be a child at the school with dwarfism and sometimes there won’t. I talk about my life and career and answer questions…
‘They have no filter on their questions. They’re very blunt – how much do you earn and what’s it like to be famous. They’re obsessed with it…
‘I remind them me being well known is a result of me being successful so I tell them you could be famous but don’t just try for the fame try for success.’
On the focus on their charity, he said: ‘We try and raise awareness for dwarfism but people say we’re aware of people with dwarfism but I don’t think people understand how challenging it is for some people in society today…
‘We try and think of it in a world where we’re more accepting and understanding and yes there is a portion of society that’s like that but there is a portion of society who are still not accepting and quite cruel.
Warwick discussed the heartbreaking truth that some of this cruel segment of society go as far as taking pictures of those with dwarfism and posting on social media.
He said: ‘With the advent of cellphones, some of our community – some people take pictures of them – like a drive-by photo and then people post them on their social media with humorous comments…
‘That to an individual, it’s very difficult to build their confidence and it’s important that these issues are highlighted to society and to make people think about their actions. I’ve got a bit heavy here!’
To learn more about the charity Little People UK and their work, visit their website here.
