Surrounded by the violence and anarchy of Mogadishu, some young athletes cling to whatever shred of normalcy they can find, or create.
We, or at least I, found this a tiny but welcome corrective to the endless parade on the news of people displaying the worst of human nature everywhere, responding to ugliness with greater ugliness, or simply giving up and throwing themselves on the thin mercy of the world. Â I was moved by the spirit of these young Somalis who are creating a path through the ruins of their society, finding within themselves the capacity to nurture a dream instead of passively surrendering to circumstances I can barely imagine, even after seeing this news video from UK’s Channel 4.
Here’s the video: Â Training for the Olympics in Somalia
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This is a phenomenal story. Once again, we learn the people are ahead of the politicians. Abdinasir and his fellow athletes are doing more to unite Somalis and help bring about peace than the ineffectual, bloated and corrupt Transitional Federal Government. According to the recent testimony by the State Department’s Deputy Director for African Affairs, Amb. Yamamoto, the US is sponsoring a program for garbage collection in Mog. One would have thought security might have been a more important priority, followed by the need for food and shelter. After having seen this video, I think supporting these athletes so they can attend the London Olympics representing Somalia and its people, not a faction, tribe or clan, is also more important than garbage collection. Perhaps, the US could finance bringing these athletes and those from Puntland and Somaliland to a safe place where they can train intensively and prepare for the Olympics, instead of running the road of death each morning.
I should have added the official US policy is supposed to be two track: one continued support for the TFG and the second, improved contacts with the Governments of Somaliland and Puntland, and other local administrations. Perhaps the third track should be supporting the Somali track team.