Rowing On The Tigris (Updated)
July 24, 2008, Matthew Good In July of 2006, Iraqi Olympic Chairman Ahmad al-Samarra’i, and several others, were abducted. Though the official Iraqi Olympic Committee, they had been removed from the position by the Iraqi government prior to their disappearance because of charges of corruption. So the Iraqi government appointed replacements, which is technically against the IOC Charter, as all appointees must be free from political influence. The IOC accused the Iraqi government of ‘political interference in its sporting affairs’ in early June of this year, with the Iraqi government claiming that the committee was corrupt.
So now eight Iraqi athletes will not be attending the games in Beijing.
You’ve got to admit, the IOC, which is corrupt as the day is long to begin with, sure has a set of balls. Two of the eight Iraqis on its Olympic squad are rowers who have had to train on the river Tigris. Unlike everyone else that will be competing in their field, they’ve had to practice two to four hours at a time with bombs going off in the distance. In some cases, going off a lot closer than in the distance.
What sort of moronic committee looks at the situation in Iraq and says – “well, you should have known better, you had plenty of time to deal with this matter”?
Ya, because besides Iraqi Parliamentarians dodging mortars on their way into business while trying to function as a body that has to deal with the realities of a foreign occupation, sectarian strife, a major national humanitarian crisis, and a laundry list of other shit – it should have been their foremost priority to placate the concerns of the International Olympic Committee.
So today Hussein al-Amidi’s phone rang numerous times and on the other end were Iraqi athletes who have been training in a war torn country to represent their nation that literally broke down and cried.
What were their chances of actually winning? Probably next to none when pitted against those who come from national programs supported by millions of dollars. Their inclusion, no matter the IOC’s position, would have been significant with regards to its impact on Iraqi youth, not to mention millions of others that could have cheered them on and, for once, had something positive, not to mention unified, to get behind.
In a world that’s already run by douchebags, you’d think something as insignificant as this would have been allowed to let slide. But, as is always the case, things are never quite that simple. It doesn’t matter if the Iraqi government fucked up or the IOC are being morons, the reality is that eight athletes who could care less about the politics involved, and that have trained to compete under the worst possible circumstances, have been told to go fuck themselves.
You know, some that comment on this website have, in the past, defended the Olympics, especially during the recent running of the Olympic torch and the protests that plagued it. At the time many argued the Olympics apolitical and wholly representative of bringing nations together in the spirit of friendly competition. In this instance, the IOC has accused the Iraqis of politically influencing their own Olympic Committee, thus denying eight athletes the ability to compete.
Like it or not, the IOC is guilty of the exact same politicization that it professes to disdain. It’s members have taken kick backs in the past from nations bidding for the games, among other transgressions. The Olympics have nothing to do with sport, nor equality, nor the spirit of competition – those are just fanciful bags of bullshit fed a hungry public to convolute the fact that, for those that are lucky enough to find themselves atop those corporate sectors that will cash in through the acquisition of contracts in those locations where the games are held, the Olympics are a license to print money.
The 2010 games are no different. While Vancouverites were allowed to vote on whether or not to bring the games to town, the Province as a whole has to flip the bill. And while those in this city’s Ivory Towers are laughing all the way to the bank, your average British Columbian will be stuck with a debt that will take years to pay off. Of course, most British Columbians outside of the Lower Mainland and Southern Island won’t actually be able to afford to attend them games. They’ll just sit at home and watch their tax dollars evaporate on live television. In truth, a lot of locals won’t be able to afford to attend either.
At the end of the day, we’ll have spent billions that could have been used to tackle some of this Province’s most pressing issues. The fantasy that the economy of this Province will enormously benefit from hosting the games is just that – a fantasy. It will, like most things, make the rich richer while foisting upon the rest of the Province an enormous debt (not to mention all the environmental damage that it’s already caused).
Who knows, by then perhaps the Iraqis will have their shit together, will produce a bobsled team, and Disney can make a movie about it.
Updated for content at 11:57 AM, PST.
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Great piece…
might as well bring back the Colosseum and gladiators.
That is just incrediably sad.. so very sad. The poor people of Iraq have suffered for so very long.
Sigh. Things like this just make me sigh.
Excellent piece, Matt, although this is so sad for the people of Iraq. The IOC are definitely douchebags.
Thank you for bringing attention to this.
Wow. “Political interference in it’s sporting affairs”. Too bad there is not an olympic event for hypocrisy - the IOC would be a solid bet for a gold medal.
A few years ago in Whitehorse we hosted the Canada Winter Games and in preparation, built the Canada Games Centre - 185,000 square feet at at cost of $30 million. 3 ice surfaces, indoor soccer pitch, olympic size pool, etc. Over the past year or so, there’s been a lot of talk about the need for a youth shelter in Whitehorse - particularly after the disappearance and murder of a young First Nations girl named Angel Carllick. Apparently they are having difficulty getting the funding.
Off-Topic:
I just listened to the Obama speech in Berlin just about an hour ago - and I am somewhat disappointed I can’t actually tell how much.
I allowed myself to grow some sort of hope for slow but steady changes in world politics all linked to this man. But the passionless performance he made was so free of anything new and idealistic I just couldn’t believe it although I always kept myself calm and factua regarding and were keen to avoid any feelings of excessive euphoria. I never knew he could disappoint me that much regarding all the “security measures” I had taken. Nevertheless, he did.
All he did in fact was promoting. Promoting the missile shield, the GWOT and also the alleged huge threat that was Iran.
He even had the balls to - at a later point of his speech - picture the country of South Africa a land of milk and honey, where people live in peace and prosperity since “the wall came down” in the wake of the political overthrows in Europe in 1990.
If he’d just taken a closer look on that country more so regarding the fact that he has his own roots on the “Black Continent”. The black majority there is actually drowning in a bloody civil war-like sea of violence where South Africans slaughter Maliyan or Namibian immigrants for racist reasons as the personal situation for many hasn’t really changed in the past 18 years of “Freedom and prosperity”.
There is no change to come for the world if Obama should get elected next US president. Obama misses to adress the actual problems that cause many of symptoms he is adressing instead - such as terrorism, extremism, poverty or the change of climate.
When he talked about “Walls” that ought to be pulled down allover the world and be replaced by bridges, I couldn’t help shouting out a loud “Then please rip off the one in Palestine first, Mr. Obama!!”
All summed up, he didn’t even mention the issue of the israel-palestine conflict. A conflict of global potential. I think he had his good reasons why to remain silent on that big topic.
That’s fucking lame. You almost need to have the social equivalent of a carbon tax for things like the olympics. Want to build a big ice rink here? No problem, but you have to build a shelter beside it as well.
“The Olympics have nothing to do with sport, nor equality, nor the spirit of competition…”
Maybe not, but it all depends on perspective. To the athletes, I imagine that’s exactly what the Olympics are about. There’s certainly corruption and shady politics at play in the upper echelons of the Olympic machine, and that is in no way acceptable, but it saddens me when I hear people denigrate or write off the Olympics as a whole, because it in a sense denigrates the athletes who devote their lives to trying to compete there, who truly do want to represent their countries with pride, who see competing in the Olympics as an ultimate achievement. That touches a bit on the point you were making about the Iraqi athletes, who are stuck with the extremely short end of the stick in this current mess. Does it matter if eight athletes are not able to compete in an event that is corrupt and meaningless and a total cash-grab? Clearly, it matters to them, and probably to a fair number of their countrymen and women.
That’s the way the world works I guess. It’s sort of like how the management of a corporation can be corrupt as anything, but that doesn’t mean the workers in the trenches aren’t giving their damndest every day… but you just know who’ll get screwed once the shit comes down.
bullshit indeed
this is disheartening
both matt’s entry and Tuuli22’s comment.
Hypocrisy at its finest.
Here in BC the the same contractors who were responsible for the $1 billion leaky condo scandal will now get even richer with Olympic venue building.
The residents of Whistler will get a beautiful $600 million double lane highway, while the interior goes to hell.
Thousands of poor people in the Downtown Eastside are finding themselves homeless to make way for new Olympics oriented accomidations even though the province pledged to build 3,200 new low cost housing units but never did.
The Olympics have never been nor will they ever be “pure” sporting events. They have a long history of being used for political purposes as at the 1936 games in Munich that gave Hitler a world stage and were a tool for the competing factions all through the darkest days of the Cold War. In recent years IOC members have used their positions to strongarm local politicians and business groups for cash and expensive goods and the athletes themselves will do and take almost anything to win.
Let the Iraqis compete, they exhibit more of the Olympic ideal than most of the IOC and the professional athletes that are busy competing for the big bucks.
Well at least now we have some proof that the Olymics are just as corrupt as everything else. A sad day for sports….
Nice piece… nice finish.
In the past Olympics post regarding the way in which protesters exploited the torch tour to protest the China-Tibet issue, I have changed my position. There is no perfect place to protest. Some places are more appropriate in the sense of social norms, and some are more effective. Why is it that people who have never protested a thing in their life tend to attack protesters more than people who have? If anyone believes so strongly in their heart that something needs to be changed in this world that they will march with signs and banners, they should be able to do what they can to be heard.
Those poor Iraqi athletes. If the IOC had any sympathy, they would not only allow the athletes to compete in the Olympics, but also give those athletes kingly hospitality because of the conditions they trained in.
Sure, the Iraqis might not have had a chance. But they could have been the inspiration for “Cool Runnings 2.”
So how much does it cost to send 8 Iraqis to Bejing?
thats bullshit man, no other way of putting it. the olympics represent injustice to the fullest. wherever the olympics go, disaster strikes, also in the sense that the habitants of the ‘lucky’ city get pushed aside and become second priority to the money making games. money comes first, athleticism and fairness second. once again, bullshit.
First of all, I am fully aware that what I am about to write has no relation to the article at all, but I am only doing this out of desparate hope that Matthew Good will read it and respond.
I doubt you will ever read this, or get the chance to.
But…I don’t know.
I don’t know you personally..but I feel like I can trust you, somehow.
Maybe it’s the lyrics…every word you say reaches me on a level that I feel is almost specifically addressed to me.
Anyways…I know this would sound like every typical post-break-up teenage boy, but I can’t help it.
I won’t go into the details, but the least I can say is that I’ve just recently lost my girlfriend, she won’t talk to me, doesn’t want to return my calls, etc.
You know the drill I’m sure.
I know it sounds ridiculous and immature…but I was..and still am completely in love with this girl.
But I know that with the way things have been going, there is almost no chance of me ever having her back.
I guess my question to you is…how have you dealt with heartbreak?
The reason I come to you with this problem is pretty simple…anyone analysing the lyrics can see that you have obviously experienced heartbreak.
So I come to you with this, as a last beacon of hope, as someone who can explain to me what I feel….just how to deal with it.
My life barely feels worth living.
Please Matthew Good, if you get this…I desparately hope you respond.
Sincerely, David.
[quote comment="59390"]bullshit indeed
this is disheartening
both matt’s entry and Tuuli22’s comment.[/quote]
Well, thank you helz, for your friendly approach and in the first for going so much into details explaining your expressed “opinion” on my comment.
All I can say at about it at this point is that it broke my heart to come to such a diagnose on the speech being that in the past I had been sort of a Obama-supporter. But that diagnose directly derives from what he said.
“Jeux Sans Frontieres”…not. Why does politics have to get in the way of sport?
And I dread to think of the cost to us for the 2012 Olympics, which are already grossly over budget…
Complete and utter bullshit. Devastating for those athletes…I imagine they put in a tremendous amount of blood, sweat and tears during their training and I’m terribly sad for them.
This week I got my official email to confirm acceptance as a volunteer for the 2010 games. It had a link directing me to a training schedule. It didn’t work.
After much clicking about (and thinking I’d done something wrong), I finally gave up.
The next day I got this follow-up email:
“Dear Debbie,
You may have inadvertently received an e-mail dated July 17, 2008 inviting you to an upcoming training session - Creating Team 2010, which directed you to On Your Mark. I apologize, as this e-mail was sent to you in error while we were processing applications.
The On Your Mark website is currently experiencing a high volume of activity, thank you for your patience while accessing the site. Right now we have just started our face-to-face interview and training process and this will continue for the next 18 months.
I appreciate your enthusiasm and willingness to volunteer. Again, I apologize for any confusion this may have created. Should you have further questions, please contact our Volunteer Information line……”
Huh?
My feeling is that they weren’t supposed to approve any volunteer applications unless they were submitted by Government employees who, as we all know, will be paid for their time. Paid volunteers?! Imagine that though - somebody actually accidentally approved my application, based on my qualifications and the fact that I was readily available to do the job for free. Woopsie. So my application now sits in limbo and I highly doubt that it’ll ever be approved. And, in the meantime, the training sessions are about to get underway.
A fucking joke, any way you look at it.
David…
Although I’m not Matthew, I’m the next best thing. ;)
There is an old saying that “time heals all wounds”.
Believe it, it’s true.
Although it is devastating at the time and you feel helpless, you will be o.k. Over time.
I was with my first love…my soul mate, since we were 14…it was crazy, intense love. I knew it from the first minute I saw him and although people called it “puppy love” - it was real. Love/hate at times. We were inseparable and that went well beyond our teen years. We were the best of friends and did everything together and, eventually, it turned into a marriage years later. He was all I knew…the only person I ever loved. (Still do, but in a much different, “got your back” kind of way).
When he left, I crumbled. I didn’t know who I was without him….it was “we”, not “me”. It was overwhelmingly scary. I couldn’t do it alone, but I was forced to. And I had two small kids to deal with throughout the mess. I really was a mess for awhile.
But eventually, you learn to be “o.k.” again. Not great, but o.k. Managing. Getting by. And then you smile, for real one day. Not a fake smile, a real - I am o.k. smile.
Hang in there…you’ll be a stronger, better person after you get through this. Things happen for a reason (cliche, but true). And, just like that soppy saying goes….”if you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it’s yours. If it doesn’t - it never was”. Something like that.
You’ll be o.k. Just keep yourself busy and allow yourself to grieve - to work through what you’re feeling. Surround yourself with friends and family. Talk. Listen to music and cry.
We’re here for you. It’ll be o.k. bud.
xo
Well in the nation perspective of the Olympics, it cannot be political. For it not to be, you’d have to take out the basis of everything on countries, and make it have nothing to do with them in how things are represented.
I watched the piece CNN had, and they mentioned that there was ging to be an apeal on the proccess, but the athlete they had shown on the clip kind of just made things worse. I don’t think I would have really rooted for them in the first place, as to my knowledge before then, I didn’ know about them and the Olympics. I don’t think they would have done well, but to say that first place is the most important thing they need, then that is ignorant.
in the interview the athlete, a female sprinter said in reaction to a comment that she thought she’d possibly be dead by then. Which could be a very sad reality, as death isn’t uncommon there.
Also, to add, do you think if the same issue were to happen when it comes to the US, the same allegations, or even worse things, would the athletes of the United States share the same fate? No, but come on, this has nothing to do with politics, so the thought is irrelevant, right?
Quoting Deb:
” David…Although I’m not Matthew, I’m the next best thing. ;)”
If I could chime in too and if it helps….
I’ve been there too…I guess that we all have at one time or another. Back in highschool I maybe had one girlfriend and it was a short-lived and somewhat negative experience. When I left home to go to university everything changed - no parental pressure and I was out there on my own. The very first week of school I met this girl and we hit it off right away - we did everything together, shared the same friends, spent long nights just talking about things - real soul-mates. We often talked about getting married after university, having kids, where we’d settle down. Long story short things suddently went for a nose-dive after 3 years - I don’t know why and it does not matter 20 years later. One day I ride my new mountain bike over to her house, pull it up on the porch, knock, and walk into the living room. She comes out and essentially dumps me and so I walk out the door onto the porch. To add insult to injury, I look around and my bike is gone - some fucker stole my new mountain bike while I was inside getting dumped by my girlfriend. Then, the door opens up and one of her roomates hands me my toothbrush, does not say a word, and just slams the door closed.
I know how you feel. It was like somebody blew a hole in my chest about as big around as a hub cap and I walked around for a long time in a daze. I drank - a lot. I did stupid, stupid things as if I was testing the bounds of my own mortatlity - like I was just going up to the edge and peaking over the side. I told my brother once that I feared for my son Zach because I was pretty sure I had used up all 9 of my lives and maybe a few of his too.
Eventually I got over it. A broken heart really is like breaking something else - like an arm. It kind of hangs there at first, you can’t move it, it’s totally useless and hurts like hell. Every day though it gets a little better and luckily people like me eventually stop telling you that it will be OK - cuz at the time it is the last thing you want to hear right?
20 years later - i won’t lie - I still think about her sometimes. But now, when I look at my wife and my kids I think that I am fortunate that my prayers were not answered and that I’m glad that she did not come back - I would not have my current partner who is the most wonderful woman I have ever met and 3 great kids. I recall me and my Grandfather sitting out on the porch at the cottage and he being an old Irishman never talked about feelings and stuff, but he could see my pain and all he said was “Remember that everything happens for a reason”. He was right.
The only regret that I have is that I did not catch the fucker who stole my bike.
Hang in there - it will get a little better everyday. Deb had the best advice - talk, listen to music, and cry. The only thing I’d add is lean on your friends and family - that’s what they are there for and you would do it for them - they’ll do it for you.
That movie was on tv the other night…
oh the greatness of Disney before they got unoriginal and reduced themselves to making umpteen sequals to everything or simply re-releasing the originals!
as completely unaware as i was about the situation regarding the iraqi athletes-i am light years from being surprised…welcome to the new world order…maybe someone should write it a lullaby…let us all keep pushing for peace where possible,love who or what we can,and at the very least try to understand what we cannot love or change…
Peace be upon you all.
David I’m not Matthew either,
but I agree with Deb. Time heals all wounds. Experts say that for every 10 years of marriage it take 3 years for a heart to heal. So I figure it takes about a year for every 3 years. It’s been over a year since my last relationship which was 4 years. I was so sure that it was the type of love that would last forever. Who knows if she was the one that got away? Or if she was my soul mate? All I know is I just really wanted her to be & still do. That what hurts the most. The thing to help me get through it was reminding my self that Love shouldn’t hurt it’s got to be natural. If it was ment to be it would have been. I also had to give up drinking cause it made me more miserable.
Fuel to the fire & all…the wiskey just wasn’t working anymore.
I’m starting to get on with my life & it feels good. It took alot of reading on how to get over past relationships & much support from friends. Theres tons of stuff around on the subject, tricks on how to keep busy, on how to move on & keep your mind off of neg. thoughts. If she wants nothing to do with you, there’s nothing you can do. Just stay away from her & remember the best revenge is living well! So when your ready, start living well cause theres many others out there that need to be loved too…
Nice gestures Deb, Brian and Caeser.
David: Hang in there, buddy…..When one door closes; another opens. Looks like you’ve found friends here.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention Matt. I am now beginning to understand the phrase “ignorance is bliss”. I remember as a kid being so excited about the Olympics, it didn’t matter what season or what sport. Even during my teenage years I would marvel at the incredible feats and cheer on my favorite athletes.
But as time went on I became more aware of the negatives of this ancient event. I think the last straw for me has been Beijing. Despite the obvious human rights issues, I still have difficulties understanding why the IOC would send athletes to such a polluted environment. I’m utterly confounded by their irresponsibility. It sends a clear message that they really have no concern for the athletes whatsoever.
UPDATE:
The damned fools at the IOC have finally decided to allow the Iraqi athletes to compete.
[...] International Olympic Committee has reversed its recent decision to disallow Iraq to participate at the Olympics. Unfortunately, only two members of Iraq’s [...]