Paralympics: Palestine athletes want to be “free to fly”: Ald
Source: – Kyodo News+
Fadi Aldeeb, Palestine’s only representative at the Paris Paralympics said Saturday that athletes from his native Gaza long to be “free to fly,” a desire to pursue their dreams, even as they face the constant threat of Israeli bombardments.
Aldeeb said Gazans are “living in a box” with nowhere to escape, and that prospective athletes are among those who never realize their full potential due to unending risk from airstrikes, gunfire, and other forms of deadly force, coupled with inadequate access to equipment and sporting facilities.
Palestine’s delegation marches during the opening ceremony of the Paris Paralympics at the Place de la Concorde in Paris on Aug. 28, 2024. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Shot putters like himself, for example, sometimes practice with stones as they cannot find anything else, said Aldeeb, who turned 40 on Sunday.
“More than competing or winning a medal, I have the opportunity to be a voice for my people,” Aldeeb said after finishing last in Friday’s men’s F55 shot put final.
Palestine team member Fadi Aldeeb throws during the shot put finals at the Paralympic Games in Paris on Aug. 30, 2024. (AP/Kyodo)
“My message for the world is that there are dreams, goals and hopes in Palestine. These people are searching for freedom and they want to have the same human rights.”
Aldeeb’s struggle is all too personal, having lost 17 relatives, including a brother, a nephew and two cousins, in the current war in Gaza at the time of the interview.
“What is happening now is genocide,” he said, adding that his family home has also been destroyed and he has no possessions left from his younger years.
Aldeeb has always loved sports. He recalled how in October 2001 he was disabled by Israeli gunfire during the Second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, leaving him dependent on a wheelchair at age 18.
A multisport athlete, Aldeeb took up wheelchair basketball in addition to becoming a decorated competitor in para athletics.
He eventually left Gaza, after going to through an arduous visa application process so that his young family could be safer and he could pursue his sporting career.
Aldeeb played wheelchair basketball professionally in Turkey and Greece before eventually relocating to France, where he is currently based.
He has a full schedule with training, coaching younger athletes and giving presentations about para sports at schools and universities, all while stayed update with the news and trying to keep track of his family back home.
When asked how he can cope with such a burden, he says, “Sometimes the choice is not yours. You have to push yourself.”
Aldeeb recounted being given less than a month to prepare for the Paralympics after he got a call asking him to represent Palestine, as no other athletes were available.
Despite having abandoned athletics for years, he agreed to take up shot put for the Paris games. He practiced for just 25 days before competing in front some 45,000 people at Stade de France near Paris.
Now that this Paralympic chapter has ended, Aldeeb said he is going to focus on “social inclusion” initiatives and cooperate with international sporting organizations to help support Palestinian para athletes in need of vital resources.
He said he hopes to increase the size of Palestine’s future Paralympic delegations. “We are focusing about the younger athletes, so we can start to build a future,” he said.
“My big message for the world is that we are not finished. We are still alive,” he said. “We are still fighting for our freedom.”
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