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FRANCE 24 English
  • 9/1/2024

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Transcript
00:00Maher still remembers the day that changed his life.
00:05I was injured by an airstrike by Syrian warplanes on my city,
00:09and as a result I lost my left hand.
00:16At age 15, he became disabled.
00:19But soon after, he found a new passion, football.
00:24After my injury, I decided to join the team for people with special needs.
00:29The team has players with stories similar to mine.
00:33Six years later, Maher is the goalkeeper of the Paris sports football team in Idlib.
00:39Many of his teammates also lost their limbs in regime bombings,
00:42but their trainer Omar is encouraging them to move on.
00:47We are people with a determination that no injury can destroy.
00:51Thanks to God, we play football despite the injuries and pain,
00:55and we show the world that Syrians can achieve excellence despite difficult circumstances.
01:07While the Paralympics in Paris are in full sway,
01:10these athletes are lightening an Olympic torch of their own.
01:14For the first time in this rebel enclave,
01:16a local NGO has organized a tournament for more than 300 people with special needs.
01:22They are competing in football, weightlifting, volleyball and swimming.
01:27From all over Syria, including Jarabulus, Afrin, Azaz, Idlib,
01:32athletes will participate for 10 days across 14 different disciplines,
01:36both individual and team events, with a lot of pride at stake.
01:41Conservative clerics and local political figures have criticized the event for being too westernized.
01:47But for athletes like Maher, these Paralympics are simply part of his quest for dignity.
01:55Disability isn't a weakness of the body, but rather a weakness of thought.
01:58Despite everything that happened to us and everything caused by Bashar al-Assad,
02:03we are able to do the impossible and be hopeful.