By Siva Parameswaran – World News Editor, The African Gazette Poaching is not uncommon to Africa. It’s either killing or simply crossing seas. It’s illegal and legal; either way it’s Africa’s loss.
Rhino horn, Ivory, Lion’s head, Tiger and Leopard skin, diamonds, artefacts, sadly women for prostitution among others are daily news. These are illegal and mostly can’t be traced and are conveniently forgotten.
Poaching is illegal per se but poaching people for national pride isn’t.
Yes, African athletes make their father nations proud while making their mother country weep. Along with their switching allegiances, they lose their moral connection with their land of birth.
In Africa, mothers are hugely venerated; so, it hurts. But if the mother cannot feed the children, then care homes are inevitable.
Eunice Chebichii Chumba is a medal prospect in the Marathon race for women. The Kenyan born athlete switched her allegiance to Bahrain seven years back. Should she stand at the podium in Tokyo, Bahrain’s national flag will be raised and sadly not Kenya’s’ on that occasion.
Poaching of eminent athletes like Eunice Chumba, Salwa Eid Nasser, Birhanu Balew, Abderrahman Samba, Edidiong Odiong just to name a few by oil rich gulf countries like Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait have made these nations proud in Olympic arena with their national flags being raised when ‘their’ athletes stand on the podium.
But fundamentally that glory is a ‘borrowed legacy’ and due to switching of African loyalties to Arab loyalties.
Cases like that of Abderrahman Samba is interesting. He was born and brought up in Saudi Arabia; but preferred to represent Mauritania-his father’s native country. Sensing Qatar is better than Mauritania in terms of facilities and opportunities he switched his loyalty to the nation and will represent Qatar in the 400 metres hurdles.
Africa has all the natural endowments for athletes to train and grow; but economic and political crisis, lack of infrastructure, abject poverty among others have pushed the athletes into the waiting hands of the ‘poaching nations’. It’s considered a ‘win-win’ situation for both.
Top class athletes who switched loyalties and sadly caught in the web of doping violations will not be seen in action in Tokyo.
Nigerian born Salwa Eid Nasser, World champion in 400 meters cannot compete due to a 2 year ban on doping violations, as also Kenya born Ruth Jebet will not be in Tokyo to defend her 3000 meters steeple chase title after failing a dope test. Bahrain could have been richer by two more (gold) medals had these two competed.
On the other hand, African athletes fleeing their country out of fear of persecution and safety of lives have found a place in the Olympic Refugee Team. The team has competitors from Sudan and South Sudan, Eritrea, Congo, DRC and Cameroon.
While this is a welcoming step by the International Olympic Committee, these athletes may return to their home country, compete and make them proud-if situation changes and if it is safe for them to return.
National pride is a huge thing in any international event, in particular the Olympic games. And, switching loyalties is not a new thing in the sporting world. This has happened to even American athletes.
It’s here that the ‘Olympic Spirit’ comes into question.
According to the Olympic Charter, “the Olympics are competitions between athletes in individual or team events and not between countries”
The same Olympic charter says “If they want to compete for a different nation, it has to be three years after they last compete for their country of origin”.
Countries like Qatar and Bahrain invest heavily- in poaching, buying or whatever name you call-in athletes from across the world. A classic case was the buying of a whole Bulgarian weightlifting team two decades ago paying eight of them over a million dollars for switching loyalties. Similar has been the cases with Kenyan long distance runners Stephen Cherono and Albert Chepkuri who were later called Qatari Olympians. This ‘buyout’ happened 18 years ago.
These two even went to the extent of changing their names to Saif Saeed Shaheen and Ahmad Hassan Abdullah to suit their adopted nation’s convenience. Rumour mills were abuzz at that time about ‘huge payments’ which was denied by both parties.
Former president of the IOC Jacques Rogge was personally against this ‘switching nationality business’.
“We cannot oppose it because it’s a sovereignty matter, but let me tell you frankly- I don’t love that” he told the media in 2012.
Kenya has suffered the most in losing their athletes. Statistics show that at least 30 Kenyan born athletes have switched loyalties amidst allegations that ‘money plays might’.
African nations have to wake up if they need to put an end to losing their athletes. Eradication of corruption, access to education, training, economic support, better social conditions, top class infrastructure and above all the assurance that ‘athletes will be taken care of’ is the need of the hour.
In spite of poaching and buying African athletes, it’s for sure that the flags of nations like Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia will fly high and their national anthems will be heard in Tokyo.
Siva Parameswaran –World News Editor of the African Gazette, is a senior international journalist with over three decades of experience in all forms of journalism across diverse subjects. He has travelled widely covering war, elections, sports among others. His writings and Radio/TV programmes have been kept as reference materials world wide including Columbia and Cambridge universities. He teaches journalism and trains civil servants on the use of social media.
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