Palestinian swimmer hopes to lift Gazans' spirits at Olympics
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STORY: Palestinian swimmer Yazan Al Bawwab has one goal: he wants to make a splash at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. "We, as Palestinian athletes, are here to raise the flag and show people that we are here, and even if we face difficulties, we will be here and represent the Palestinian people." The 2.3 million Palestinians living in Gaza have been enduring extremely dire conditions, since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7. Israel says Hamas killed some 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. Israel responded with air and artillery strikes that have killed more than 37,000 people and reduced much of the Gaza Strip to rubble. 24-year-old Bawwab was born in Saudi Arabia to Palestinian refugees. He is chasing a dream that is not his alone. "My father’s dream was to learn how to swim and become a swimmer, but he couldn't do that, he never got the chance. He was a refugee, he didn't even have food. Thank God his dream came true through his son. He is proud that I was able to reach the stage that he never could." His father, Rashad Al Bawwab, says the upcoming games in Paris are an opportunity to represent the Palestinian cause. "This is a huge opportunity for Yazan, for him at a personal level to be at the Olympics, because it's not easy for a person to reach this level. But what's more important is that he represents oppressed people, whose rights are repressed. So for him to be at the swimming pool, perhaps people will understand that Yazan represents these people, and that these people exists in Palestine."
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