Editor/Liu Wei
Two months ago, zakia Huo Da Dadadi, a 22-year-old Afghan girl, was aiming to win a medal or even a gold medal in the upcoming Taekwondo competition of the Tokyo Paralympic Games. However, the deteriorating situation is constantly pushing Zazia's goal. Finally, as long as she can stand on that field, it will be a victory for her.
"Please help me"
On August 18, Zaziya told reporters that the Taliban had been in Kabul for a week. When talking about the current situation, Zazia is very cautious. She was afraid that those remarks about the Taliban would be heard by her neighbors.
She is a relatively small Shia in Afghanistan and one of the few female athletes there. Two weeks ago, Zazia's hometown Herat was occupied by the Taliban before Kabul. She witnessed the change of the national flag, and the Taliban began to search from house to house and interview influential people in various communities.
Zazia found that two athletes and poets she knew suddenly lost contact, and she felt that danger was approaching. In order to ensure that he can participate in the Tokyo Paralympic Games, Zazia has lived in Kabul with relatives since early August. When the situation deteriorated further, most taekwondo gymnasiums were closed and Zazia had to stop training. She and her family are afraid to go out shopping, so they can only live on necessities stored in advance.
"I heard that the world is getting better, but it does not include my country." Zazia's mood on social media did not bring a turn for the better. Due to the chaos in Kabul airport, her plan to arrive in Tokyo on August 17 could not be realized.
Zazia recorded another distress video and posted it online. She looked nervous and quickly said, "I want to participate in the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, please help me! I ask all of you ..... don't easily deprive Afghan women of their right to participate in the Paralympic Games. I have made a lot of efforts to qualify for the competition, which is a great achievement in itself. I don't want my efforts to be in vain. "
Ariane Sadic, head of the London delegation for the Afghan Paralympic Games, also realized that his only two athletes might not be able to reach the stadium. He tried to get in touch with Zazia and another athlete, Hussein Rassouli, who participated in the track and field competition, but the communication was always unstable. Ariane once sent an email to the Paralympic Games. "We were forced to make this decision. Under such circumstances, it is impossible for two athletes to go to Tokyo. "
Ariane described this situation as "crossing insurmountable obstacles" in front of athletes' dreams. But when he got in touch with Zazia, he was surprised to find that the girl still didn't give up the idea of going to Tokyo to compete. Zazia also told a reporter that she had been seeking help from the Paralympic Committee and other organizations, but she didn't get a positive answer.
At 8 pm on August 24th, the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympic Games was held as scheduled. The Afghan delegation appeared in the fifth place, and the resounding "Afghanistan!" Announcer, a volunteer enters the stadium with an Afghan flag. There are no members of the delegation behind him.
It was also during that time that the reporter once lost contact with Zazia. Her last message was that she was still trying her best to go to Tokyo. In the next few days, another news related to Afghan athletes was that Mohammad Sulta, the national champion of Taekwondo, was killed in an explosion attack at Kabul airport. His family told the media that Muhammad had managed to reach the outskirts of Kabul airport and originally wanted to evacuate with the US military as a national champion.
Overcome the darkness
Before Zazia was born, the mother was told that the left arm of the fetus was missing after examination, but she still decided to keep the child. Zazia also has three sisters and four brothers. Although the family's economic conditions are not good, their parents support their education, and all their children attend government-funded schools.
Because of his physical disability, Zazia experienced a long period of despair. She comforted herself, "Many people in Afghanistan have lost their hands and feet because of the war. We are the same, trying to overcome the darkness. "
Ten years ago, Zazia found her purpose in life. She watched rohullah nikpai's competition in the Olympic Games. On behalf of Afghanistan, Rohara won two bronze medals in Taekwondo at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 20 12 London Olympic Games, which was the first time Afghanistan won a medal at the Olympic Games. 12-year-old Zazia has a strong interest in Taekwondo. She realized that this was a way to win honor for her country and realize her self-worth, and she began to devote herself to hard training.
In 20 16, 18-year-old Zazia defeated opponents from Nigeria, Egypt and Poland in the Taekwondo Championship for the Disabled held in Egypt and won the silver medal. This is the first time that she won a medal in a foreign competition, but the cold reception she received after returning home made her feel a little lost.
When she arrived at the airport, no members of the Taekwondo Committee or government departments greeted her. Zazia told the media: "This is the first time that an Afghan girl has participated in a taekwondo competition for the disabled and won a medal. It should be supported and welcomed by the people and the government, but none of them. "
Zazia also said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency on 20 16 that the Afghan National Olympic Committee (NOC) paid little attention to athletes with physical disabilities. Due to the negligence of the staff, she has missed several opportunities to participate in international competitions, and "lack of facilities and professional coaches" has stifled her confidence in success.
However, when the Paralympics is coming, Zazia remains steadfast. Once, she changed her social media avatar to a photo of herself and the national flag, and told the media that "there is a 90% chance to qualify for the Paralympic Games", and then she won a medal for Afghanistan.
"minority" athletes
Last year, Zazia came to the Olympic Training Camp in Kabul, where 60 Taekwondo athletes were preparing for the Olympic Games, of whom 10 was a woman, and Zazia was the only disabled athlete.
Kawara Tsutomu, a member of the national men's team, trained with Zazia for two weeks. He told us that Zazia is very talented and never slacks off. It can be seen that this girl regards Taekwondo as her spiritual pillar. Training camp is from 3 pm to 5 pm every day. Let's do physical training and basic movement exercises first, and then team up for antagonistic training. Before leaving every day, Zazia will practice for an hour or two.
In the training camp, Zazia can only practice with healthy athletes, and the lack of her left arm makes her unable to control the distance or attack well. In addition to physical obstacles, Zazia has to overcome some "intangible" things. In Afghanistan, even though Taekwondo has become one of the most popular local sports, it is still a "male-dominated" sport.
Kasudin told a reporter that he knows "countless male Taekwondo athletes", but as far as he knows, there are only about 2,000 female Taekwondo athletes in Afghanistan, and there are even fewer disabled female athletes. "I only know five."
Arian, head of the Afghan Paralympic delegation, also said that it is not easy for women to engage in Taekwondo in Afghanistan, because there are no places and facilities specially for women to train, which is even more difficult for disabled women. "Taekwondo for the disabled is still stigmatized, and people think it is not like a normal sport."
In some people's eyes, it is considered taboo for men and women to have physical contact training together. In an interview with Washington post, the president of the Afghan National Olympic Committee said that he tried to increase the opportunities for women to participate in sports nationwide, but he had to "carefully" consider introducing badminton, table tennis and volleyball into girls' schools to avoid controversy. We are a conservative society.
In May this year, Zazia and other athletes went to Jordan to participate in the trials of the Tokyo Paralympic Games. In the end, only Zazia and Hussein are eligible to participate in the competition. This time, when Zazia arrived at the airport, he was warmly welcomed by government officials. At that time, the governor of Herat Province congratulated Zazia and said that he would bear the rest of her training and competition expenses.
Zazia will be the first woman to represent Afghanistan in the Paralympic Games since 2004. My sister expressed her congratulations on social media, and she knew that it was not easy behind her sister's achievements. During the COVID-19 epidemic, in order to ensure training, Zazia lived far away from home and even missed her brother's wedding. "She has been working hard to make the name of Afghanistan shine in the world."
Vasudin also sent his blessing on social media: "Please pray for our great hero Zazia and let our dear motherland win the gold medal in the 20021Olympic Games." Zazia forwarded the message, "I want to prove to the world that women in Afghanistan are capable and no one can stop their progress."
See you in Paris
At the end of August, when we heard the news about Zazia again, she had just gone through a process of "saving her life".
On the afternoon of August 22, Zazia and Hussein were isolated by Afghan Paralympic Committee officials outside Kabul airport and could not enter the airport. Exhausted, she walked and cried outside the airport fence, almost losing confidence. In a live photo, Zazia was curled up in a crowded crowd with pink luggage on her back, her eyes closed and her face was desperate.
Finally, Zazia sent a "help" in an online group in Australia! This is one of the few English words she can use.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, a group of volunteers who are helping Afghan athletes noticed Zazia's help. They learned the positions of the two athletes through GPS, and guided them to the airport gate guarded by foreign troops, which was discovered by the Australian Defence Force who came to meet them.
After communication between voluntary organizations and the Australian government, a plane carrying more than 90 athletes and their families was evacuated to Dubai. Others continued to Australia on emergency visas, while Zazia and Hussein flew to Paris, where they received a week-long training and psychological counseling.
On the evening of August 28th, Arian, head of the Afghan delegation, finally met two domestic athletes at the Olympic Village in Tokyo. A spokesman for the IPC recalled to the media that it was an emotional moment and everyone present cried. The athletes look tired and confused. "You can imagine how difficult they have been in the past few days."
At 6:5438+00 am on September 2nd, the women's K44-49Kg Taekwondo team competition was held in Zhang Mu Exhibition Center, Chiba Prefecture. Search the whole network, there is no live video of the game, only short text to broadcast the progress.
Zazia's eyes are firm and she appears in red protective gear. Her opponent is an Uzbek player. In the first game, Zazia had a strong momentum, hitting the opponent's body in a row and scoring, leading 6-5. But in the next two games, the opponent took the lead and finally beat her with 17: 12.
After that, Zazia was eligible for resurrection. After two games, she led by 20: 13, which was very close to victory. However, in the third game, the opponent began to fight back strongly and kicked Zazia 17, and she suffered another reversal. The opponent jumped up to celebrate, and Zazia took off her protective gear and walked to the sidelines with a lonely face.
The two games, totaling 12 minutes, ended Zazia's first Olympic trip, leaving several seconds for Zazia in a few minutes of "highlights of events".
After the game, Zhao, president of the World Taekwondo Association, met Zazia and presented her with a black Taekwondo belt engraved with her name. Zazia looked tired, but when Zhao encouraged her to "aim at the Paris Paralympic Games", she finally smiled. "Yes, Madam President, I will do it."
The result of this game is obviously far from Zazia's expectation. Zazia posted a crying expression on social media, and the caption said: "We are sad for all this, but we still have a long way to go." At present, many countries have expressed their willingness to provide asylum for Zazia and Hussein.
On September 5th, at the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, the Afghan delegation was finally no longer empty. Zazia and Hussein came in with flags in their hands.