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Athletes
from war-torn Somalia going for gold in Beijing Olympics.
(Beijing, July 14,
2008 Ceegaag Online)
Samiyo Yusuf,
a young woman in her early 20s, is training strenuously for
the coming Beijing Olympics and has high hopes that she will
bring success back to her home country, Somalia, as she is
the only female athlete representing the war-torn nation.
In one of the
dilapidated old sports stadiums in the Somali capital
Mogadishu, Yusuf and her fellow runner, Abdinasir Saeed, as
the only male athlete, both regularly train in preparation
for the Olympics this year to represent Somalia, the Horn of
Africa nation that has been in chaos and lawlessness for the
most part of the last two decades.
"We are
hopeful that we will succeed in the events we will take part
in Beijing," said Yusuf, who will run in the women's 400
meters and 800 meters.
Saeed said he
will be participating in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and
expected to "raise" the name of his country which has been
"synonymous for war, death and destruction".
"I know being
the only male athlete representing a whole country carries
huge responsibility and there are a lot expected of me and I
will try to do my best to raise the name of my country,"
Saeed told Xinhua as he trained along with Samiya in Stadium
Konis in the north of Mogadishu.
Somali
Olympic Committee, better known by its Somali acronym GOS,
has been trying their best to train and select the athletes
representing Somalia in Beijing.
"For us being
part of the Olympic spirit is more important than getting
medals. But we are confident that these two young persons
will better represent Somalia," Aden Haji Yebarow, GOS First
Vice President, told Xinhua at his office in Mogadishu.
Yebarow said
that the number of athletes representing Somalia is limited
not by the ability of their athletes but by lack of funds.
"We are
sending two athletes to take part in the Beijing Olympics
and we are pinning our entire national hopes," said he.
Since its
creation in 1959, Somalia Olympic Committee has been working
to develop sports in Somalia despite the insecurity in the
east African country for the past two decades which has
destroyed much of the sports facilities.
The
Chinese-built Mogadishu Olympic Village, the biggest
national sports center in Somalia, has been turned into an
army base by the Ethiopian troops in Somalia. The stadium
has been in a state of disrepair for the nearly two decades
of lawlessness in Somalia particularly in the restive
Somalia capital.
"We have
historic ties with China which has built a number of sports
facilities in Somalia and have helped train many of our
sports coaches and athletes," Wiish said.
"But those
sports facilities are not being used in the interest of
sports in Somalia and are being destroyed on a daily bases
in Somalia."
Although
sports in Somalia has been adversely effected by the
continuing civil strife, GOS has managed to sent athletes to
attend in the last few Olympic Games and has organized a
number of national and regional sports events inside the
country.
The old
Italian-built Konis stadium in the north of the Somalia
capital is the only sports ground maintained by GOS and used
by the few sports clubs that operate in Mogadishu
However, the
participation by the two athletes, Yusuf and Saeed, in next
month's Beijing Olympics brings a ray of hope for many
Somalia sports fans and continues Somalia's symbolic
presence in the world sports stage.
"We are going
for gold, no less," said Mohamud Addow, coach of the
athletes.
Source:
Xinhua
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