Swimmer Yusra Mardini, who fled Syria and became a flagbearer of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team, has expressed the hope of returning home.
"I never thought in my life I would ever be able to return home to Damascus, but now I can hope", 26-year-old swimmer Yusra Mardini, the flagbearer of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team has said.
Her comments came as some Syrians who fled Bashar al Assad's regime and have lived abroad are considering the prospect of going back to the country to visit or to live permanently.
Mardini's story became Netflix film
Mardini fled Syria in 2015 with her sister Sarah, who is also a swimmer. Her story is similar to that of many refugees. However, in her case, she reached Lesbos island in Greece, after diving from a migrant boat into the sea with her sister and two men and swimming for three hours.
The story became a Netflix movie and, one year later, Yusra was at the 2016 Rio Olympics - the symbol of a story that went beyond sports. The two sisters then moved to Germany, where they obtained German citizenship.
Now, after Bashar al-Assad's ouster, Mardini hopes her country will recover and society will improve.
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A new chapter of hope for Syria, says Mardini
The young woman discussed her cause at the UN General Assembly and at the Vatican in a meeting with Pope Francis. She posted on social media on December 8 a photo of a bracelet shaped like Syria's borders and expressed her desire for a dream to come true.
"Syria, today a new chapter begins, a chapter of hope, resilience and healing," said Mardini. "For years, we bore the brunt of unimaginable pain, as well as the unshakable spirit that defines us as Syrians. As a person who fled destruction but who never stopped loving her homeland, I always believed in our strength in overcoming each obstacle. This freedom is proof of your courage, of your sacrifices and of your refusal to give up on a better future," she continued.
"Together, we can rebuild olive groves, make jasmines blossom again and create a nation in which peace and dignity prosper for everyone," said Mardini. "Let's honour those we lost by building a Syria worthy of their dreams. Today, we don't just rise as survivors, but also as architects of a brighter tomorrow."
The swimmer also urged the world not to forget the "over seven million children who, In Syria, need humanitarian aid." She concluded: "We hope that the last scenes we have seen mean the end of nearly 14 years of bombings, war and tyranny."
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