There once lived a girl who enjoyed swimming. It soon became a hobby then turned into one of her own dreams. Before hand, she had a pretty rough past.
Introducing, the story of Yusra Mardini......
Yusra lived a pretty normal life at first. She grew up in Damascus Syria and even went to school there. But, Yusra didn't swim. While all the other kids swam, she would always stand close to the edge of the pool. Sometimes she would just stare into the deep swaying water. Yusra could hardly see the bottom. The pool water gave her excitement but Yusra's fear would always take over.
One day Yusra looked at the water in the pool. She wanted to do something very shocking and completely unexpected. She leapt immediately into the water. Covering the whole body in the water of the pool. A few seconds before she lifted her head out of the water to breathe, Yusra knew that she was swimming at last! She grew into a very skilled and talented swimmer.
A few years later, a couple of issues arose. Some from the crowd were not happy with the government. The government fired at brave people, and demonstrations that spoke their minds. This was a big issue that didn't affect Yusra at first. But the violence had become so bad at the age of 13, that it turned into a civil war. Large protest groups gathered around Syria fighting together against the government
At first, Yusra and her family stood safe. While they were staying in a quiet part of Damascus, Syria's capital. But the battle soon closed on them. Bad news was heard every day, and deterioration continued. One day while Yusra and her father walked to practise in the pools. They saw that the pool in front of the bombing was left in ruins and Gun fights. Yusra could no longer train, her dreams, ruined. They had nothing left and nowhere to go. Yusra's house was destroyed too. Innocent people were killed.
They were forced to go into hiding from Yusra's family and they lived in fear every day. No idea whether they will be able to see the next day live. At Yusra's age of 14, she only saw 1 way out. They have had to leave Syria, seeking a better life. Yusra's parents said no to the idea of going aboard, as it would be too hard. Especially with the little sister of Yusra who was no older than a child. After a while, Yusra's mother planned to send Yusra and her older sister on a risky trip to Europe, with her 2 cousins. They had no choice, it was unclear whether the rest of the family would make it, but it was the best way forward for now.
Yusra flu to Berlin, Germany, where many other Syrian refugees had left. They could start a better life there and maybe Yusra would start swimming again. She could train well in Germany with many other great swimmers. Yusra left Syria with a cell phone and some clothes, and a little money. The money was going to be used to pay smugglers, as refugees are not allowed by most countries. Yusra abandoned one of her perilous journey into Europe.
They flew first to Lebanon then to Turkey in Istanbul. They were afraid as they went on their journey that they might get caught by the police. Surely the police would have sent them back to Syria, where the war was still going on. They went south from Istanbul to a coast in Turkey, near a Greek Island called Lesbos. The smugglers were waiting at the coast to get them on board a dinghy for the right time, which would take them to the island. It took 2 attempts until eventually at nightfall they forced the dingy out to sea.
They shrank in the landscape as they quickly drifted into the depths of the Mediterranean sea. They left the coast less than 20 minutes later. The dinghy's engine began to clang louder and they began to slow down, before they eventually came to a halt. The dingy started sinking, it was only supposed to carry just 6 passengers, but instead the smugglers fitted 20 people. Everybody panicked and started tossing desperate things overboard to keep it afloat. None of this helped as they kept sinking in the middle of the Mediterranean sea.
Just 4 of the 20 people on the dingy knew how to swim. They tried to save the dinghy in many other ways but nothing succeeded. Yusra, her older sister and the four swimmers jumped into the water and began to pull the dingy. Yusra used one arm to grip the rope at the front, and the other to help her swim. They started moving slowly but surely. They started to swim, the dinghy was heavy, Yusra was sick of numbness, and her eyes burned from the salt water but, she kept swimming. She knew that if she did not do it, the rest of the refugees would die without a doubt.
Yusra and the other swimmers sighted land after 3 and a half hours. There was no way they were going to give up, now with an eye catching sight of the finishing line. Eventually, the refuges and Yusra made it out of the water and onto land. Two swimmers dragged the dinghy onto land. The refuges and Yusra camouflaged themselves in the cornfield where they decided to wait until the time was right to make their move by. Approximately at nightfall.
They were unfortunately caught by police when they began. They were taken by police to a refugee camp not so far from where they had landed. When Yusra and her sister were being moved they began to laugh. The police commended to know what they found so amusing. Yusra answered in her head, "We were almost about to die at sea and now the police think we should be frightened of them." Yusra left the asylum camp with her sister. Of course, they had made it to the island, but their destination had not been met. They continued their trip, traversing nine more nations. After a month, Yusra and her sister entered Berlin Germany. Conditions weren't the easiest so Yusra had to work very hard.
At the refuge camp, Yusra slept on the floor. Although she really wanted to attend a swimming club. She was out of shape when she first tried it out, and could not do her best. Surprisingly, the Coach saw something rather special in Yusra. Yusra's technique was strong but Yusra could be better with some preparation. She planned to awake at 6:00 am so she would be able to train before her classes. Yusra was eager to achieve her goal.
Yusra has been asked to join the first refugee team at the 2016 Olympics. She competed in the butterfly race of 100 metres, and won. Yusra is currently training for the 2020 Olympics. Nothing will get in the way, nothing will stop Yursra from meeting her goals.
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