Exchanging missiles for medals: Syrian athletes stand out in times of war

Syria's athletes have put their lives at stake, their spirit far from broken by the bombs, missiles, death and destruction around the places they live and train, and driven by a desire to make the country proud.

Training in the country ravaged by years of civil war is different from elsewhere, but its athletes are made of different stuff, too. The ones participating in the Special Olympics (SO) here are fine examples of that.

Syria is fielding a contingent of 125 people, including 105 athletes, of which more than fifty percent are women.

"In the last few years the situation has been really bad. We have had a lot of missiles and bombs land in the training areas but we have no other option. There is no safe place in the country, so as long as you want to train you need to get out of the house," a SO Syria technical official told PTI.

The athletes have heard of missiles landing on the tracks they train on, seen their houses getting wiped out, but they have taken everything in their stride.

What is a frightening situation for anyone can have a magnified effect on athletes with intellectual disabilities.

"Watching the missiles and bombs land in the tracks, gyms and pools has led to the deterioration of the mental abilities of many athletes. When they hear gunshots or explosions, they get frightened, some start crying others are confused."
"The parents stop sending them. You can't convince them. We are bringing them to training at our own responsibility but we can't guarantee that there won't be a bombing."
"The journey from one place to another within Syria takes upto 15-16 hours when the normal travel-time is just two-three hours. The athletes get really tired and cranky. We have to get them all together and start doing activities for them to change their mood."
"Some of our athletes didn't get their visas the first time we applied so we had to reapply. We had applied for everyone's visa in September 2018 and we received confirmation in March 2019 - only two days before the travel date."
"Some of the athletes didn't get visas, some of the coaches didn't get them. So now we have got athletes here with no coaches. We have no one to guide them, take care of them."
"We have a lot of displaced athletes, internally they have moved from one place because they have lost their houses. To get them back in the daily routine requires a lot of effort."
Asked how the Syrian athletes and staff overcome all these challenges and the answer is: "We want to make Syria proud."