As the Tokyo Olympics came to an end, 120 boys from 12 different camps excitedly gathered late on Saturday, August 7th, for their version of the games in Syria’s last major rebel bastion of Idlib. Organiser Ibrahim Sarmini said the event’s main aim is to give the children some hope and draw the international community’s attention to their plight.
We wanted “to introduce the kids to different kinds of sports that we, as a society, hadn’t really tried before”, he added. The programme consisted of javelin throw, discus throw, high jump, hurdles, gymnastics, martial arts, volleyball, badminton, football, running and even ‘horse racing.’
Among participants at the Tent Olympics 2020, Walid Mohammed al-Hassan, 12, was overjoyed to represent his camp in the long jump. “We had such fun,” he said, three fellow teammates huddled around him with their arms draped over his shoulders. “I won second place in the long jump,” he added with a grin.
