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| Guor Marial (photo courtesy of facebook) |
NEW HAMPSHIRE –
Guor Marial, a refugee who escaped from Sudan only a decade
ago, will now be competing in the marathon in London. Marial found asylum in
New Hampshire after his escape, joined the track team at Concord High, and has
become a gifted athlete. He qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games in only his
second official marathon.
Guor initially believed that he would be unable to compete
because he is not a full American citizen and his home country of South Sudan
does not have an Olympic team. He refused to compete under the flag of Sudan, a
country where many of his family members had been tortured or killed.
Upon learning of Marial’s situation, U.S. Senator Jeanne
Shaheen (D-NH) sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee urging them
to approve his request to compete as an independent athlete running under the
Olympic flag. His request was granted last week.
Shaheen spoke from the Senate floor recently, praising the
athlete’s efforts.
“The attention of the world will turn to London as we
witness the opening of the 2012 Summer Olympics. The Olympics no doubt will
have countless stories of triumph and disappointment, competition and
camaraderie. I rise today to share a remarkable story about one particular
athlete who will be competing at the Olympics. His story is one of inspiring
triumph of character and spirit, but until just days ago—this Olympian had no
flag to compete under.”
She told the Senate about this “talented young runner… whose
mere survival in southern Sudan defied the odds. Having escaped the
bloodshed and violence in war-torn Sudan, Guor found his way to my home state
of New Hampshire as a teenage refugee,” she said.
“Guor was born in a town that is now part of the fledgling
country of South Sudan. Many of his family and friends, including his
brother, were killed at the hands of Sudanese security forces. Many more
died of starvation or disease brought on by the violence and unspeakable crimes
committed by these Sudanese forces.
“Before escaping Sudan, Guor was a victim of violence on
numerous occasions. As a child, he was kidnapped from his hometown and
enslaved as a laborer before eventually finding a way to escape and return to
his family. Guor was severely beaten by the Sudanese police and had to spend days
in a hospital to recover. Finally, he was able to flee to neighboring
Egypt to the north and eventually to the peace and safety of New Hampshire as a
refugee seeking asylum.
“Guor arrived in my home state of New Hampshire in 2001,
almost exactly eleven years ago. He remembers the day well and still considers
New Hampshire his home. He lived in Concord, our state capital, moving in with
the families of his friends, teammates and his cross country coach for two
years in order to graduate from high school,” Shaheen said.
According to the rules of the International Olympic
Committee, permanent residents of a country are not permitted to compete on
that country’s team. As a result, Guor can’t compete under the American
flag because he is not yet a full citizen. In addition, Guor cannot run
for the newly recognized country of South Sudan because it is such a new
country that it does not yet have an official Olympic Committee.
The IOC suggested that Guor compete as a member of the
Sudanese Olympic Team, and the Sudanese government extended him an
invitation. He rightfully refused, saying that running for Sudan “would
be a disappointment and an embarrassment to me and the people of South Sudan
who died for freedom, including my brother.” Guor was not comfortable running
on behalf of a country that tortured and murdered so many of his family
members. That solution would be cruel and unacceptable.
“After some pressure by Refugees International and other
friends of Guor who wrote to the IOC on his behalf, we received the good news
this week that the IOC Executive Board has decided to make an exception for
Guor. He will run in the marathon as an Independent Olympic Athlete under the
great Olympic flag.”
Shaheen thanked the International Olympic Committee, the
U.S. Olympic Committee, the U.S. Department of State, and other friends of Guor
who worked to make his participation possible.
