The voice and anger of Palestinian athletes at the Paris Olympics

The anger, difficulties and pride of the Palestinian athletes who participated in the Paris Olympics.With hope of a medal.

• At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Palestine is represented by eight athletes, in the disciplines of boxing, judo, shooting, swimming and athletics.
• To put things in perspective, the Italian delegation numbers 400 athletes
• Some of them were born and raised in Palestine, but most live in other countries but have chosen to be spokespersons for the message of the Palestinian people

The Olympic Games they are a media event of extraordinary power:they keep millions of spectators glued every day and their echo in the media is very strong.These days what happens to Paris it is grabbing the front pages of newspapers and a huge space on social media.For this reason, historically, the Olympics have always been a stage for athletes not only to show the world their sporting skills and performances, but also to assert political issues dear to them.Just think of one of the symbolic photos of the twentieth century, that of Tommy Smith And John Carlos at Mexico City Olympics from 1968.The two American sprinters, who came first and third respectively in the 200 meters final, lowered their heads and raised their clenched fists shod with black gloves when singing the American anthem on the podium:the photo that was taken became a symbol of the civil rights struggle and summed up a decade of protests for rights of African Americans in a single, very powerful image that still inspires books, essays and songs today.In 2024, the stage offered by the Paris Olympics was used by the delegation of Palestinian athletes to remind the world of the situation of the Palestinian people and territory, which has been under attack by Israel for ten months.

They are in total eight Palestinian athletes in these Olympic Games:To put things in perspective, Italy, which is thirty-sixth in the ranking that establishes the relationship between the population and Olympic athletes, is represented by 402 athletes.Only one athlete would have qualified, Omar Ismail, who competes in taekwondo.The other seven representatives, who have played or are playing the races of boxing, judo, shot, I swim And Athletics, were invited by Olympic Committee.

In a sporting reality in which the day of athletes from all over the world, as well as their diet, has been planned and controlled to the millimeter for years, Palestinian athletes have continued to train despite a thousand difficulties, including not being able to compete in many tournaments international because their passport is not accepted in the country where they are held or because they are not able to interact directly with their coaches or because the sports facility where they trained was destroyed.However, among those taking part in the Games there are also those who have Palestinian roots but have never lived there but have chosen to carry the flag of their parents or grandparents on their chest to become spokespersons for the Palestinian cause in the world.THE Palestinian deaths since the beginning of the conflict there are more than 39 thousand and, according to data released by the Palestinian Olympic Committee, 400 of these are athletes, volunteers and sports workers:a number practically equal to that of the Italian delegation in Paris.

Wasim Abusal, the first Palestinian boxer at the Olympics and the shirt with bombs

The first boxer Palestinian to attend the Games he was also the standard-bearer and his greatest message was launched during the inaugural ceremony, parading in a white shirt on which jets were embroidered dropping bombs on a group of children playing at soccer.“This shirt represents the current image of Palestine,” the athlete explained to LaPresse.“Carrying the Palestinian flag at the Paris 2024 Olympics was an honor beyond words.This shirt was designed by the talented Never Salameh and symbolizes the immense difficulties faced by the children of Palestine due to the occupation and represents a tribute to the spirit of resistance of the children of Gaza.My journey from these struggles to becoming the first boxer to represent Palestine at the Olympics is a testament to the power of hope and determination.This moment is for all the children who have returned home:may it inspire you to dream big and fight for your dreams."

Abusal's Olympic journey unfortunately ended after the meeting with the Swede Nebil Ibrahim, but the meeting at North Paris Arena saw the stadium explode for the Palestinian boxer, accompanied by the continuous chants of "Freedom for Palestine".“I promise you that I will continue to train for the next four years until 2028, when I hope to get a medal,” Abusal said.“God willing, I will fight again.In four years I will raise the Palestinian flag on the podium."“He is not just representing his people and his country,” declared opponent Nebil Ibrahim at the end of the match.“He is representing every oppressed nation in the world.Right now, Palestine is facing oppression.So he has a big weight on his shoulders.”

August 7 is the day of Omar Ismail, taekwondo talent

Palestine has a hope of a medal, and it is in the hands of Omar Ismail very young athlete specialized in taekwondo."Is a dream.Every athlete has a goal in their life, and my goal is to reach the Olympics and get a medal.Nothing is impossible, I have worked very hard and I hope I can get a gold medal.And you will see me on the podium."Ismail's parents moved to the United Arab Emirates from Palestine in 2003, where the athlete was born and began practicing taekwondo at the age of 10, but internationally he chose to represent his historical homeland.“Representing Palestine in this great event is a great pride for me, particularly in this historical moment.”

Valerie Tarazi and Yazan Al Bawwab:swimming and hope

“As I swim to prepare for the Paris Olympics, I watch the news and see people swimming to receive packages from the sea,” the swimmer said Valerie Tarazi, American with roots in Gaza Strip who competes for the Palestinian team.“We're not here to compete for ourselves or represent ourselves,” said Tarazi, who was born and raised in Chicago:“This participation in the Games is much bigger than us.”The swimmer, who went to the West Bank in July, just before the Olympic Games, expressed all her love for this land in a post on Instagram: “How proud I am to be Palestinian and what an honor it is to compete with the flag on my cap . I love you, Palestine. You have my heart".

Yazan Al Bawwab and another swimmer:he lives in Dubai and also has an Italian passport, because his father had emigrated to Genoa "We Palestinians, he underlines, want to let the world know that we are human beings.I can do sports like everyone else, I'm like a kid from Gaza", continues the swimmer who is also the founder of SwimHope Palestine, an organization that aims to empower disadvantaged communities and refugees in Palestine by providing access to essential swimming education and life-saving water skills.“My family is in Palestine, I have extended family in Gaza.I don't want to talk about the atrocities that happened to them, I just want to let people know that some of my family members were killed.But I'm here and I represent my flag."

Runners Mohammed Dwedar and Layla Al Masri

Layla Al Masri, specialized in medium distances who ran the 800 meters in Paris 2024, was born in Colorado Springs and lives and trains in United States but, as she herself declared "I always knew that if one day it happened to me to participate in the Olympics, I would do it with the Palestinian flag.“With the eyes of the world on screens watching the Olympics, we want to use our unique platform as athletes to keep attention on what is happening in Palestine.I am running for Palestine to represent something bigger than myself, the resilience of the Palestinian people, to give a voice to the voiceless."The parents, both emigrated from West Bank, have always kept alive the family roots with their land of origin, which today Layla is proud to represent.The story is different though Mohammed Dwedar, who to compete in the 800 meters had to compete in his personal Olympics well before arriving in Paris having to leave his native Ramallah for theAlgeria where he was able to train for just two months his greatest achievement, he said, was in showing the determination of the Palestinian people.

Palestinian judoka Fares Badawi trained remotely because his coach could not travel

The Palestinian judoka Fares Badawi, born in Syria, represented Palestine in the U81kg category, unfortunately going out in the first round of his first Olympic experience, having in fact participated in the 2019 World Championships in Tokyo with the refugee team.“This has been my dream since I was 10 years old,” he said.“Every day I went to sleep and woke up thinking about how I could get to the Olympics.”However, his training for Paris was far from ideal, as his coach, who was unable to leave the occupied West Bank with him, sent him training instructions every morning via text messages only.

Jorge Antonio Salhe, Palestinian Chilean shooting

Born and raised in Santiago, Chile, Jorge Antonio Salhe he has never set foot in Palestine, the country he represented in skeet shooting at the Paris Games.Salhe, born to a Palestinian mother from Bethlehem and a South American father but raised in the largest Palestinian community in South America, did not reach the men's skeet final, but just being able to compete at the Chateauroux Shooting Center gave him a sense of fulfillment huge:“I am very happy and proud to represent Palestine,” Salhe told Reuters.“It is a historic opportunity to represent Palestine in Olympic shooting.”