Sense of belonging
Just watched “The swimmers” on Netflix.
Yusra Mardini a Syrian swimmer and her sister Sarah fled Syria in August 2015. They smuggled into Greece along with 18 other migrants in a boat. The boat they boarded was meant to be used by no more than 6 or 7 people. After the motor stopped working and the dinghy began to take on water in the Aegean Sea, Yusra, Sarah, and two other people who were able to swim jumped into the water and pushed and pulled the boat through the water for over 3 hours until the group reached the island of Lesbos.
They then traveled on foot through Europe to Germany, where they settled in Berlin. On arrival in Germany, Yusra continued her training with her coach Sven in hopes of qualifying for the Olympics. In June 2016, Yusra was one of ten athletes selected for the newly formed Refugee Olympic Team. She competed in the 100 metres freestyle and the 100 metres butterfly at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
A moment in the movie showed Yusra overhearing other athletes at the Olympics that she doesn’t deserve to be there. She shares her feelings with her sister that maybe she shouldn’t be here.
Its hard to get accepted in a new school or in a new country perhaps in a new social circle. As individuals it’s demoralising that people dont like us and that too without any reason.
Yusra’s hardship was never about reaching the end of the pool or even about winning a medal. Her struggle was to reach the shore when she threw herself in the sea water to save others. Her struggle was for survival.
She found hope for her in her swimming. That kept her going.
With just being there, participating and competition she gave hope to all those people who suffer from war and are far away from their homes.
She swam for hope.
She gave them a sense of belonging.
