‘An honour’: 90-year-old Senegalese rifleman to carry Olympic flame

FRANCE 24 English

Visit our website: http://www.france24.com  Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/France24_en

Transcript

00:00 Celebrated by his native village,

00:04 Oumar Dieme has been chosen to carry the Olympic flame

00:08 in France next July. A surprise and a source of pride

00:12 for this 90-year-old.

00:16 "They said, 'You've been chosen. What do you think?'

00:19 It took me a few minutes to realize

00:23 and I said, 'Yes, it's an honor for me.'

00:27 It's an honor for me."

00:31 Oumar Dieme proudly shows his medals.

00:34 He enrolled in the army in 1953,

00:37 the same year he was sent to Vietnam where he fought for France

00:40 and then later Algeria.

00:43 That's where he was when he heard of Senegal's independence in 1960.

00:47 Today, his brother couldn't be prouder.

00:50 "We couldn't dare to dream of such a thing.

00:54 It first surprised us, but actually it's not hard to believe

00:58 given the values he embodies."

01:02 With two months to go before the big day, the lucky man can't avoid thinking

01:06 about his comrades who fell in battle or have since died.

01:10 "My companions from Indochina,

01:15 Algeria and even the National Army. Many have served the National Army.

01:20 They are no longer here. So if God lets me get this far,

01:24 all I can do is thank the good Lord."

01:29 Oumar Dieme will carry the flame in Bondy, a Paris suburb where he lived

01:33 before returning to Senegal last year.

01:36 According to the organizers, this will be an important moment in history,

01:40 a moment that the former rifleman has asked to share with his son.

Category

Transcript

Recommended