The Sierra Leone Issue
I don’t know how much of this issue has been known to readers of Light the Torch. I heard about it a few days ago and a recent update last night. Let me give you a brief background on what the issue is all about.
It was reported that half of the delegates from Sierra Leone has gone missing. None of them even showed up in the event that they were supposed to be competing in. Mind you, this wasn’t the first time they did this sort of thing. It also happened in the last Commonwealth Games - Manchester 2002. I am not aware, however, if the British government were able to locate these athletes who went into hiding.
Anyway, Australian authorities have found 6 of the athletes, who were reported missing from the Village in Melbourne, in Sydney. And another 6 more had turned up. You would think that they’d be automatically deported but according to the news, the Australian government has issued all 12, bridging visas. Huh. I don’t know if I want to pat them on the back for being compassionate or smack them for tolerating such behaviour because some people do put in blood, sweat and tears just to migrate to this country.
Sierra Leone has undergone Civil War for almost a decade, which only ended around 4 years ago, if my sources are right. I believe that’s what’s pushing these individuals to do something as drastic as illegally migrating to a country and using the Games as an excuse. I don’t want to sound callous about their suffering but I don’t want to take away the equality that a system should enforce.
It just seems to me that the recent actions of Sierra Leone nation mocked what the Commonwealth Games stands for and its hosts, too. Can we expect the same thing to happen in Delhi 2010?
You can also read more about it at SMH, The Age, and All Africa. And if you wish to learn more about the Civil War, check BBC
Tags: Commonwealth Games, Commonwealth Teams, Manchester 2002, Melbourne 2006, NewsRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Light the Torch
2 opinions for The Sierra Leone Issue
kieran
Jun 20, 2006 at 10:32 pm
I highly doubt that these athletes trained day after day for years just to migrate. I think the problem is that after failing to win a medal, the athletes feel there is nothing left for them in Sierra Leone (the poorest country on Earth by the way).
Sasha
Jun 21, 2006 at 3:30 am
How can they possibly win a medal when they didn’t even bother to show up? It’s not that I don’t sympathize with their country’s state, it’s just that if they truly want to live in a better place, they should go about it in a different way.
I applaud actions not excuses. :)
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