http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/24/world/africa/feyisa-lilesa-ethiopian-marathoner-wont-return-home.html?_r=0
Ethiopian Runner Won’t Return Home, but Doesn’t Know Where to Go
By JEFFREY GETTLEMANAUG. 23, 2016
NAIROBI, Kenya — The Ethiopian marathoner who flashed an
antigovernment gesture as he crossed the finish line in second place
at the Rio Olympics will not go home.
The runner, Feyisa Lilesa, will not fly back to Ethiopia on Tuesday
with the rest of his team, his agent said, choosing instead to remain
in Brazil with his immigration status unclear.
“He didn’t plan at all for this,” said Mr. Lilesa’s agent, Federico
Rosa, speaking by telephone from Brescia, Italy. "He doesn’t want to
go to Ethiopia, he wants to go to another country. The U.S. would be
very good but right now we just don’t know where he’s going to go. He
was very happy after winning but also a bit confused.”
By raising his arms and crossing them in an X in front of his face as
he crossed the finish line Sunday, Mr. Lilesa, 26, has crossed the
Ethiopian government, one of the most repressive in Africa.
His gesture, which he repeated during the medal ceremony on Sunday,
was the most visible in a growing wave of protests in recent months
against Ethiopia’s government. This unusual burst of protests has
erupted across Ethiopia, especially in Oromia, the region from which
Mr. Lilesa hails, and where the gesture of raised arms crossed in
front of one’s face has become a sign of defiance.
Tens of thousands of protesters have been jailed and hundreds have
been killed, according to Human Rights Watch. Mr. Lilesa said in
interviews after his race that he believed that if he were to return
home, he, too, would be punished. The Ethiopian government has said he
has nothing to worry about and that he would be treated like a hero
upon his return.
Demonstrators demanding political change in Ethiopia have been met
with violent resistance by the government. Witnesses say that scores
of protesters have been fatally shot during clashes with police.
By Neeti Upadhye on Publish Date August 12, 2016. Photo by Tiksa
Negeri/Reuters. Watch in Times Video »
Mr. Rosa said that Mr. Lilesa was a serious young man who “doesn’t
like to play games.”
Some sports analysts have speculated that Mr. Lilesa, who finished the
Olympic marathon in 2:09:54, and has one of the 50 fastest times in
history, might chose to run for another country, such as Bahrain or
Qatar. The Gulf states have wooed many other African-born athletes
with promises of large pay days if they win international
competitions.
Mr. Rosa said that Mr. Lilesa, who won the Tokyo marathon this year
and has a contract with Nike, did not make his protest in an effort to
cash in.
“He didn’t plan at all to go to another country,” Mr. Rosa said. “I
don’t know even when he decided to do this. He didn’t say anything to
me about it. I was surprised. And you don’t do something like this for
money. He did this to defend his country.”
In an interview with journalists Sunday in Rio after his race, Mr.
Lilesa said he did not discuss his protest beforehand with his agent,
coaches, teammates or his family. His wife and two children remain in
Ethiopia.
"If I go back to Ethiopia, they will kill me," Feyisa Lilesa said
after the Olympic marathon on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Video
by Ethiopian Diaspora
If Mr. Lilesa wants to apply for asylum in the United States, it would
be difficult to do that while in Brazil. He might first have to get
asylum in Brazil and then apply to the American authorities for
so-called humanitarian parole. Under that program, which is used
sparingly, often for people in danger, Mr. Lilesa would be allowed to
travel to the United States and stay temporarily. Once on American
soil, he could apply for political asylum.
Received on Tue Aug 23 2016 - 11:56:51 EDT