The injury inflicted on many young people in their lower limbs as a result of the repeated Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip over the past years has not prevented them from breaking through the wall of psychological pressure they are subjected to as a result of injury, by seeking different ways of integrating into society and trying to obtain some of their rights that will lead them to their will and realize a few of their dreams.
The injury inflicted on many young people in their lower limbs as a result of the repeated Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip over the past years has not prevented them from breaking through the wall of psychological pressure they are subjected to as a result of injury, by seeking different ways of integrating into society and trying to obtain some of their rights that will lead them to their will and realize a few of their dreams.
Many of those young people, some of whom were injured in the return marches that began at the end of March 2018, and others in the Israeli wars in the Gaza Strip in recent years, succeeded in unifying their vision by searching for a creative space through which they can achieve a local, Arab and international presence, the idea of forming a bicycle team was the most possible idea for self-recreation and participation in various competitions to create a spirit of competition and creativity.
Many of those young people, some of whom were injured in the return marches that began at the end of March 2018, and others in the Israeli wars in the Gaza Strip in recent years, succeeded in unifying their vision by searching for a creative space through which they can achieve a local, Arab and international presence, the idea of forming a bicycle team was the most possible idea for self-recreation and participation in various competitions to create a spirit of competition and creativity.
Ahmed Abu Nar, an injured young man whose left foot was amputated on May 14, 2018, during the return marches after being shot by an Israeli sniper, said that the sport was developed in Gaza, and that the idea of forming a team was aimed at removing all the injured from the atmosphere they experienced after the period of injury from great psychological stress.
Ahmed Abu Nar, an injured young man whose left foot was amputated on May 14, 2018, during the return marches after being shot by an Israeli sniper, said that the sport was developed in Gaza, and that the idea of forming a team was aimed at removing all the injured from the atmosphere they experienced after the period of injury from great psychological stress.
Abu Nar pointed out that the Corona pandemic caused the disruption of all sports, so the idea of bicycles was better to get out of the stress, pointing out that the idea was well received by a good number of injured and from day to day the number of participants increases.
He said: "The occupation tried a lot during the marches and its repeated aggression on the Gaza Strip from injuring young people and joining them in the ranks of people with different disabilities, but it did not succeed in killing our will, and we will continue the challenge until we reach what we want."
Many of these young people participated in the first sports marathon on the Main Salah al-Din road in the Gaza Strip, opposite the central governorates, marking the launch of their first sports body.
Hassan Abu Karim, a young man with amputations, said that the participants in the amputations are seeking to spread the sport in Gaza to convey a message to the community as well as to the world that they have rights, that they are able to integrate into society and achieve the goals they set in their sights according to their potential.
He noted that they are seeking to form their own sports body that will receive local and international recognition, and includes all those who have been amputated, noting that there will be a full program of training courses and qualification of participants to compete in local and international competitions and organize local championships and marathons.
He said the current effort is personal and self-supported, and he hopes to get the support of civil society for the sport as well as other sports competitions.
Naji Naji, a youth activist and disability advocate, said the message from the co-founders of the first amputees´ sports team is that they are part of this community and partners in its construction, and that their rights must be earned like others.
Naji, the initiator of the idea, noted that there are currently 13 individuals suffering from these injuries, who can be called "riders" who practice cycling and seek to integrate with the rest of the injured from different provinces of the sector to be the breathing body for them to relieve the pressures of life for themselves, and they hope to get people around them, and that there will be an official incubator for them to support their rights.
