Eritrea's Olympic Flag Carrier Flees To Seek Asylum

Weynay Ghebresilasie, Olympic flag carrier for Eritarea, has become the first athlete to publicly claim asylum in the wake of the games.

The 18-year-old middle distance runner left his quarters at the Olympic village during the men’s marathon on Sunday afternoon, threw away the sim card given to him by his team’s minders and began the process of claiming asylum in the UK.

Some reports suggest as many a dozen athlete’s from various countries have gone “missing” since the games, Ghebresilasie, actually one of four to seek asylum from Eritarea, is the first to speak publicly about his actions.

Speaking to Guardian he said: "As recently as last month, when I competed in Spain, I had managed to retain some optimism that the conditions back home would get better, but they seem to be getting worse and worse instead."

Visa’s issued to athletes allow them to stay in the UK until November but Ghebresilasie has said he has already spoken to immigration officials at the UK Border Agency's asylum screening unit in Croydon.

With a population of just over 5 million and struggling with extreme pverty, Eritrea maintains one of the largest armies in Africa, with people forced into national service indefinitely.

These conscripts are subjected to torture and illegal forced labour, according to a 2009 investigation by Human Rights Watch and the United Nations high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR).

"Once you are forced into national service there is no way of getting out of what is a very tough life, other than if you lose a limb or are declared medically unfit," Ghebresilasie told the Guardian.

He has three brothers in the Eritrean army and lost a fourth in the 1998-2000 war with Ethiopia that claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Ghebresilasie is not the first Eritrean athlete to use the opportunity afforded by sport to seek a new life elsewhere. The entire national football team fled during a 2009 competition in Kenya, leaving only a coach and one other official to make the journey home.

(H)