A proud story

Eight Palestinian athletes, the largest number ever, are set to compete in the Paris Olympic Games beginning today. Two are middle distance runners, two are swimmers, and four take part in boxing, judo, shooting, and taekwondo. This is the largest team ever to represent Palestine and its global diaspora.

Their story is the story of Palestine over the past 75 years. While they and their countrymen and women have endured war, ethnic cleansing, exile, occupation, and discrimination, Palestinians remain Palestinians wherever they are. They remain determined to tell their story to a world which has failed to listen and help them to achieve self-determination in their ancient, thrice holy homeland.

Swimmer Valerie Tarazi, 24, has both Palestinian and US citizenship and is about to begin a doctorate in supply chain management at Alabama’s Auburn University. In an interview with NBC news, she said that her mission in Paris would be to speak for Palestinians who cannot speak for themselves, particularly those in Gaza. Her family’s roots are in Gaza where her relatives are struggling to survive Israel’s nearly ten-month onslaught.

She stated, “I say I’m one of the luckiest Palestinians in the whole world because I’m not there – but at the same time, I’m one of the unluckiest Palestinians in the world because I can’t be there because it’s not safe enough. [Gaza] weighs on all of us every single day.”

The second swimmer, Yazan al-Bawwab, 24, stated in an interview with Le Parisian, “One of the big problems right now, apart from the fact that those who live in Gaza are risking their lives, is that we do not have a budget. Whether it is to participate in qualifying events or training camps, it is very complicated.”

He continued, “In countries like Palestine, where there is little money, sport is a privilege. Families try above all to feed themselves, and sport is not a priority. I am one of the privileged few and I want my country to feel proud.” Al-Bawwab – who has not lived in Palestine and has Italian nationality – declared, “I have never had a place I could call home, but I have always known that Palestine is my home and that I should be proud of it.”

While he has family in the West Bank, he was born in Saudi Arabia and grew up in Dubai, where he trains with retired Palestinian Olympic swimmer Ahmed Gebrel, who represented Palestine at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Gebrel said, “I’m confident that he’s at the top level and will represent us in the best way.”

Al-Bawwab told Reuters in Dubai, “My father’s dream was to learn how to swim and become a swimmer.” His father, Rashad al-Bawwab, who left Palestine at 18, was not able to realise that dream. Both swimmers will compete in the 200-meter individual medley.

Taekwondo fighter Omar Ismail, an 18-year-old West Banker, is the only competitor who formally qualified for Paris and the first in a combat sport. The other seven athletes have been granted Universality Places under a programme that allows athletes from nations with less-established sports programmes to compete without having to meet qualification criteria. Almost 100 national Olympic committees are represented on this basis – Palestine is not alone.

Judoka Fares Badawi, boxer Waseem Abu Sal, and runner Mohammed Dwedar are also from the West Bank. Layla Almasri, 25, runs the 800-metres track event while Jorge Antonio Salhe, 50, shoots skeet.

Nader Jayousi, technical director of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, said that the athletes’ presence at the Games was of huge importance, not only as a means of inspiring younger generations, but also to reinforce the Palestinian identity on the global stage.

The National Olympic Committee of Palestine was founded in 1933, during the British mandate, disappeared due to warfare and dispossession until returning in 1986. The Palestinian body was recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) only in 1995, after the launch of the Oslo peace process. Naturally, Israel, which had sent teams to the Games since 1952, objected, arguing that the Games were being used for political advancement.

At the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, 10,000-meter runner Majed Abu Marahil was the first and only athlete to represent Palestine. Two Palestinians competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics in 2000 and at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Mohammad Hamada, a 19-year-old weight lifter, represented Gaza for the first time. Three men, including Hamada and al-Bawwab, and two women competed in the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, which were postponed for a year by covid. In the past 28 years, Palestinian athletes have represented their homeland 25 times in the Games.

More than 400 athletes and coaches have been killed since Israel’s war on Gaza and crack down on the West Bank began last October. Among them Marahil, 61, the first Palestinian Olympian. He died from kidney failure after the Israeli military prevented him from travelling from Gaza to Cairo for medical treatment. Palestinian Olympic soccer coach Hani al-Masdar was slain by an Israeli air strike in Gaza in January.

When asked if Israel’s 87-member team would be barred from the Paris Games due to its war on Gaza, IOC President Thomas Bach stated, “No, there is no question about this.”

Palestinians have long called for Israel to be excluded because it violates the Olympic Charter which states that the games the are meant to promote a way of life founded on “respect for internationally recognised human rights and universal fundamental ethical principles.”

Apartheid South Africa was barred from the Games of 1964 and 1968 and in 1970, it was expelled from the Olympic movement. Charged with violating the Olympic Charter’s prohibition against discrimination against any country or individual because of race, religion, or political affiliation, South Africa was readmitted in 1991 after the abolition of apartheid.

Russia and its ally Belarus have been banned from Paris over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Their sportsmen and women can participate in individual sports as Individual Neutral Athletes if they meet “strict eligibility conditions.” Despite the example of Russia and Belarus, the double standard prevails. Israelis compete as Israelis under their flag while their armed forces have invaded and devastated Gaza and killed and wounded at least 125,000 Palestinians and driven 1.9 million out of 2.3 million from their homes.

Photo: TNS