After gaining global recognition for their recent aid missions in Gaza, athletes from paracycling team the Gaza Sunbirds could be the first in their sporting field to represent their country at the Paralympic Games. They hope to form part of the Palestine national team there, sponsored by the Gaza Sunbirds.
However, having overcome life changing injury, facing years under siege as well as Israel’s current assault, it all lies in the balance of visas being granted in the coming days. They call on Belgian and Italian authorities to stop their dream being cut short.
The Gaza Sunbirds: trying to reach the Paralympic Games
The athletes were forced to stop training in October 2023 due to Israel’s brutal assault on the Gaza Strip. Instead they organised over $110,000 worth of aid for the people around them, risking their lives for their communities’ right to survive:
Founder and captain Alaa al-Dali and team member Mohammed Asfour have been successfully evacuated alongside independent athlete Waheed Rabah as of last week. With the three now in Egypt, the squad’s hopes of reaching the Paralympics to proudly fly the Palestinian flag as part of the national team depend on visa decisions by Italy and Belgium.
These would allow them to compete in qualifying races starting on 2 May.
Sport: the only place the world officially recognises Palestine
The threat of being denied the right to compete internationally at the Paralympic Games due to rejected visas, is all too common for the Sunbirds. Despite previously being asked to race in events in France, Italy and Switzerland, their sporting ambitions have repeatedly been obstructed as governments fear team members won’t return to Gaza and instead seek asylum in Europe.
This is an experience shared across the community and as a result, the Palestinian National Paracycling Federation is composed of athletes who have never been able to train or compete on a road longer than 33 km, the longest road in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The Gaza Sunbirds believe that, regardless of where they come from, no one should be held back from pursuing what they love in sports. It’s a world that is so important to the athletes, especially at the Paralympic Games. You can read the Canary’s full interviews with the Gaza Sunbirds here.
Karim Ali, Gaza Sunbirds co-founder and international coordinator, said:
Sports is super important for us because on the global stage, its the only place where Palestine is recognised officially…so sports really is our only way to raise our flag internationally. Sure we have ambassadors to the United Nations but we’re not considered a state there. Beyond that, sports is our main way for expression in this form.
Support the Gaza Sunbirds
The Gaza Sunbirds are calling on the world to support them in this important international sporting context of the Paralympic Games.
They ask for recognition of the discrimination they have faced due to their geographical background and appeal to the spirit of the Paralympic Games, whose ultimate goal is promoting inclusion and rehabilitation specifically for athletes coming from war zones or who have suffered disabilities because of conflict.
In the midst of Israel’s current assault which has killed so many of the team’s friends and family members and impacted their own lives in unimaginable ways, they are still determined to hold up the Palestinian flag proudly and fulfill their dream at this year’s Paris Paralympics.
Join the call to #LetThemRide: sign the petition | donate to the fundraiser
Featured image and additional images via the Gaza Sunbirds
