SYRIA: Seventh Mideast and North Africa (MENA) Special Olympics begins in Damascus

Record ID: 278824

  • Title: SYRIA: Seventh Mideast and North Africa (MENA) Special Olympics begins in Damascus
  • Date: 27th September 2010
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ANWAR ABDUL HAI, DIRECTOR OF THE TOURNAMENT, SAYING: "We do not care about the sporting level as much as we care about the participation. The more the number of the participants, the better the Olympics. Today there is no win or lose. In the Special Olympics there are golden, silver and bronze medals. Then there are medals for all the participants. It
  • Embargoed: 12th October 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAE9UPWJ9XTMUGEYZZNUPIAY6XN
  • Story Text: The seventh Special Olympic games of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) kicked-off on Saturday (September 25) with the participation of 2000 special needs athletes from 23 countries.
    Syrian First Lady Asma al-Assad, who has been involved in efforts to improve the situation of the disabled in Syria, attended the opening.
    Athletes will compete in 15 events throughout the games, scheduled to run until October 3rd.
    Anwar Abdul Hai is director of the tournament and said that the games' focus is really on the athletes.
    "The more the number of the participants, the better the Olympics. Today there is no win or lose. In the Special Olympics there are golden, silver and bronze medals. Then there are medals for all the participants. It means that there is no loser. The sport is not as important as the development of the personalities of the participant, making them have a big role in this country," he said.
    Syrian officials have said that efforts will be made to improve access to buildings for people with disabilities.
    The games were first held in Egypt in 1999, then Morocco in 2000, Lebanon in 2002, Tunisia in 2004, Dubai in 2006, and Abu Dhabi in 2008.
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