The struggle of critical athletes in unfree countries

Last year, former swimmer Aliaksandra Herasimenia (36) offered one of her World Cup medals for sale on Ebay. The proceeds (14,000 euros) went to the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation, an organization that provides aid to athletes who have suffered under the Lukashenko regime. Herasimenia won many medals for Belarus, including three Olympic medals, but became increasingly critical of her government and fled to Lithuania in 2019. In her native country, she faces five years in prison for ‘spreading disinformation’.

“When I broke the silence to discuss the situation in my country, I realized the risks I was taking, not only for myself, but also for my family and my swimming school. In a few months my swimming school was closed, my father was jailed for three months and I lost my house. Just because I have a different opinion than the authorities.

“I understand that athletes are afraid to speak out. They are kicked out of national teams, banned from competitions, their scholarships suspended or they go to jail on a fictitious charge. Sometimes athletes carry secrets, such as a doping history, that are revealed when they open their mouths. But we’re all in the same boat. You can’t talk yourself into being a special case.

“But who can critical athletes turn for help? The answer is disgusting. National sports federations are governed by the government. International sports federations and the International Olympic Committee do not dare to intervene. That is why I founded the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation. More people need to know about the risks critical athletes run. Only with maximum publicity can we protect them.

“Even now that I live in freedom, now that I have openly distanced myself from the cruelty and injustice in my homeland, I don’t feel safe. Especially in the beginning I looked over my shoulder every day, avoided the police. How should athletes fleeing their country train and compete if they are under constant stress? Isn’t that inhumane? It will take years to recover from the brutality and discrimination Belaruss face.”

Pouriya Jalalipour (33)
‘My brother said: Iran is no longer safe’

Pouriya Jalalipour (33) played for the Iranian paralympic archery team for a long time. He was named Iran’s best Paralympic archer three years in a row. He started playing the sport after being paralyzed after a motorcycle accident 11 years ago. In 2019, during the World Cup in Den Bosch, Jalalipour came into conflict with his coach over a religious issue. It made him feel so unsafe that he decided to apply for asylum in the Netherlands. His dream is to come true for the Netherlands at the Paris Paralympic Games in 2024.

“I was a bit nervous during the 2019 World Cup in Den Bosch. I was standing in the wings waiting for my bronze medal match when my coach approached me. My brother’s Iranian girlfriend – they live in Belgium – was in the audience, and my coach noticed that she wasn’t wearing a headscarf. “She has no respect for our faith,” he said. “I don’t want to see her near the team.”

“Maybe it was the nerves, but that day I lashed out at my coach. I said we were in the Netherlands, a free and secular country, where people can wear whatever they want. An innocent reaction, it seems, but that is not taken from an Iranian. It must uphold the Islamic rules and ideology always and everywhere. Even if you are not a practicing Muslim in Iran, you do not say that out loud. You can be killed for it.

“My brother urged me not to return to Iran. “You’re not sure of your life,” he warned. It was a difficult choice: living insecurely in the country I love, with the people I love, like my girlfriend and mother, or applying for asylum. I don’t regret my choice, but I often feel lonely. I am a social person. I find it difficult to eat alone every night.

“I speak a decent word of Dutch, but unfortunately I haven’t found a job yet and I can’t afford a car. I need it to drive to the archery club. When I ride my hand bike in the cold, my paralysis hurts me. And I will have to train a lot, otherwise I will never be selected by the Paralympic team of the Netherlands. I know I have it in me. I even had a ticket for the Tokyo Paralympic Games in my pocket.”

Khalida Popal (34)
‘I use my voice as a weapon’

Khalida Popal (34) is the figurehead of Afghan women’s football. She founded the Afghan women’s national team in 2007. This brought her to a lot of criticism and threats. She fled her native country in 2011 and continued her work from her new homeland of Denmark, now as program director of the Afghan women’s national team. After the Taliban took power last year, Popal, together with American TV personality Kim Kardashian and English football club Leeds United, organized a relief campaign for Afghan football players.

“You shouldn’t underestimate how much it takes a famous athlete like Peng Shuai to speak out. Not only is it difficult to share your personal experiences with sexual abuse with the world, but she is also an active athlete. She is a member of a global sports federation and has a lot to lose. The pressure is huge.

“In 2018, some players of the Afghan women’s national team told me during a training camp that they had been sexually abused by top executives of the Afghan football federation, including chairman Keramuddin Karim. I immediately contacted FIFA, but it took a year for an investigation to be launched. In that year the abuse continued. It wasn’t until I called the media that Karim was banned for life.

“How well protected are athletes against discrimination, corruption, sexism and transgressive behaviour? I wonder that more and more. Many people earn from the dreams and achievements of athletes, but who comes first hen? Sports associations such as FIFA are small kingdoms with their own rules, for which there is hardly any accountability. Governments fear that national sports associations will be dissolved if they tackle abuses, resulting in the wrath of the people. They prefer to look away.

“I use my voice to stand up for athletes who can’t use their voice. Because how do you force change if everyone remains silent? Sure, it involves sacrifices. My family in Afghanistan is bothered by my work and I myself receive threats via social media, mail and telephone. But my voice is my weapon. I could not sleep or be happy if I perceive injustice, but do not name it.”