Once in a great while, unexpectedly, a story illuminates and forces us to remember how fragile and human we are, how the feelings that we have toward others in the world is the one truly universal thing that we share in common with others we will never meet.
Recently, the Olympics ended in London. And, like many, I did cheer for Team Stars and Stripes, but also the stories of the underdogs, the ones who most closely resemble us, the ones who make us think we could have been them.
Samia Yusuf Omar, from Somalia, wasn't at the London Olympics. She was almost there, nearly there...
Back in 2008, at age 16, Samia Yusuf Omar was a proud Olympian for Somalia, who was on the track in Beijing. She came in last in her event, almost 10 seconds behind the finishers. At age 16, and so thin, the other runners remarked about how tiny she they thought she was.
See her here - Samia is at the far right of the screen, in last place, but determined, and finishing strong!
A performance like that inspires because she was THERE. Her being there was US being there, because WE will never be as good as the top finishers. Samia's prescence there, in Beijing, at the Olympics, in a race against some of the world's best athletes let's the rest of us in.
Because she was so young, she was probably not aware of how many of us, simple folk, she carried in that race. She proudly carried the hopes of her nation. But, I wonder if she knew that she carried so many others too. It is an athletes burden that Samia wanted to take on again in London this year.
Samia Yusuf Omar, from Somalia, wasn't at the London Olympics. She was almost there, nearly there...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/...
And, since discovering this today, I remember that in sum, at the foundation, we are so connected to others in ways we never think about...
http://www.aljazeera.com/...
At the end of the article, these words by the writer remind us that people, everyday inspire us, when we realize it, "No one trains in hopes of taking last place. But perhaps her worth as a runner won't need to be determined by the final results. The Olympics are based on a tradition that celebrates the struggle as well as the triumphs. For someone who has overcome so much at such a young age, there seems to be no greater testament to this spirit than Samia Yusuf Omar."
But, then this:
Editor's Note: It is believed that Samia Yusuf Omar died in a boating accident in April 2012 while traveling from Libya to Italy.
This is a loose translation that was left as a comment on the youtube - "Samia RIP .. Another sad story of Africa .. razed and submitted .. all violated Possible ways .. sadly exploited and never recognized. If this is the story of a girl agreed to the privilege of being an Olympic athlete representing his country What will? fate and history of others who have even less likely? how sad .. poor Africa .."
Samia Yusuf Omar, your struggles were large, but so were your hopes. May you have better luck in the sky, than you've had in this world that you live.