War Wracks NOCs

(ATR) National Olympic Committees in three war zones tell Around the Ringsthat despite immense hardship they are working their hardest to ensure athletes train and compete in the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Representatives from the Afghanistan, Libyan, and Syrian NOCs shared their experiences with ATRat the ANOC General Assembly in Washington, D.C.about operating day-to-day while war wages.

In Afghanistan, a constant security crisis from terrorism and readily available drugs provide "serious conditions," to where athletes must train and compete. Despite this, NOC President Zahir Aghbar shows pride for the future of Afghani sport, especially with recent performances at the 2012 Olympics, and the 2014 Asian Games.

"If someone visits Afghanistan for the first time, and sees all the players, they will not know these people are in a country where there is war because athletes proudly play sports and they are so happy for the future," Aghbar said to ATR.

"Unfortunately the current security situation is not good, but we are happy the Olympic Committee is moving ahead towards its intended mission.

"We are really happy that during 2012 Games we were one of 85 countries to receive a medal. So we proudly say that the Afghanistan NOC is actively preparing for the Games."

Despite the positive outlook, financial realities will continue to plague the NOC. It is hard to recruit sponsors for a country stuck in a security conflict, and solidarity payments from the IOC only go so far. Like most small NOCs, Afghanistan could always use more funds to help develop sport.

"We would like the IOC to give an exceptional case for where there is war and for a mandate of sports for peace," Aghbar said.

"There should be more activity and more support for them. Despite the international community funding Afghanistan billions for war against terrorism, if they paid and built two gymnasiums we believe that will change life of different people in the country and will help a lot for the peace."

For Syria, unrelenting civil war has put a strain the population. NOC leadership ventured to Washington, D.C. to meet with leadership of the IOC and ANOC to plea for more funding to protect athletes.

NOC President Mowaffak Joumaa, a retired brigadier general in the Syrian army,says the country is "witnessing dire conditions" and that ANOC, the IOC, and the UN must work together to ensure that athletes are protected. He said that Syria will definitely send athletes to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, as one a high-jumper has already qualified, and two athletes, one in equestrian and swimming, are close to securing qualification.

"We make campaigns for all solidarity programs, and our athletes are going to Asian championship games for all sports," Joumaa said to ATR.

"I am looking at a good future for the sport. Athletes in sport stay in Syria training and living in the hotels,"he said.

IOC President Thomas Bach spoke Oct. 27 in front of the UN General Assembly calling for the signing of the Olympic Truce. As the truce was adopted, Bach offered all refugee athletes who qualify for Rio 2016 a chance to participate under the Olympic Flag.

While Syria is one of the countries where migrants are leaving in droves, the Syrian NOC leader implies that no athletes are among them.

"Syrian [athletes] will participate under the Syrian Flag," Joumaa said.

"They are Syrian. No athletes go outside, but everything is prepared in Syria under our flag."

For Libya, the challenge of multiple rival governments in the country, and the recent death of the sports minister, has put the NOC in a tough position Khaled Ezankuli, secretary general of the Libyan NOC tells ATR. Without a sports minister he says the responsibility of administering sport throughout the country falls to the NOC-- and that has stretched the newly formed committee thin.

"We are trying to do our best for our athletes but sometimes you’ll find some of them from the Western part, they don’t go if there is competition in the east, and the opposite as well," Ezankuli says.

On top of the fracture of the country, generating funds to support the NOC remains tricky. Currently the NOC gets by through renting out properties it owns and a reliance on Olympic Solidarity. He says more money is always needed.

Ezankuli says a solution they have tried to explore in Libya is to partner with other NOCs to allow Libyan athletes to go abroad to train. And that's complicated by the visa restrictions faced by Libyan nationals.

"We had a disabled table tennis player couldn’t make it to Morocco because the government didn’t issue a visa for them," Ezankuli said.

"The IOC should do something. We are passing a hard time, it is a really difficult situation in the country but we are doing our best."

Homepage photo: Getty Images

Written by Aaron Bauer

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