Child of Palestine, friend of Quebec

(Paris) “I hear you come from Quebec… Long live free Quebec!”

Hilarious, Yazan Al Bawwab was proud of his effect. The Palestinian swimmer was laughing less than half an hour earlier at the Paris La Défense Arena swimming pool.

A good twenty journalists had gathered at the beginning of the mixed zone so as not to miss his passage after his series of the 100m backstroke, his only event at the Paris Olympics. Impossible to miss him with the small flag of his state stuck to his chest.

In reality, it was rather he who was waiting for us firmly, so to speak.

“I’m curious if you watched me swim,” the 24-year-old whistled. “I came third? What was my time?”

A colleague had noted her time: 58.26 s, or 43^e out of 46 registered.

“Here you go, one in ten journalists! What does that mean for me? It means that nobody cares about my swimming. It’s an insult to a swimmer.”

Al Bawwab knew that everyone wanted to know his opinion on the presence of eight Palestinian athletes at the Paris Games in the context of the war waged by Israel in Gaza since the deadly attack of October 7. The surprise raid by Hamas left about 1,200 dead and 240 hostages in Israel, mostly civilians. The all-out response of the Jewish state killed nearly 40,000 civilians in Gaza, including 400 athletes, according to the Palestinian Olympic Committee, which is recognized by the IOC.

Al Bawwab said his roommate at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in the fall of 2023 lost his life.

“My roommate,” he insisted. “I’m not talking about a guy I knew a long time ago. I spent 10 or 12 days with him, he was a coach, he became a friend. We exchanged videos, he was proud of me. We also have a runner who now posts photos with his legs all wrapped up in ribbons, while he’s trying to eat rice. What do you expect from me? What do you want me to do? I’m a human being, right?”

The swimmer told the story of weightlifter Mohammed Hamada, 13^e in Tokyo, but who could not qualify for Paris because he lost 20 kg due to lack of food.

Al Bawwab was a little angry, but he wanted to talk. He put down his equipment, took a sip of water and told his story. A volunteer held a microphone under his mouth so everyone could hear.

The son of Palestinian refugees, he was born in Saudi Arabia and raised in Dubai, where he runs an Italian furniture business with several employees with his father. He competed in the 100m freestyle at the Tokyo Games.

“My father made me understand that if you don’t become strong yourself, no one will give you that strength. This is our reality. If we are not strong Palestinians, if you are not an Olympian, if you are not an entrepreneur, if you are not an engineer, if you are not a doctor, the world will crush you.”

Yazan Al Bawwab says he has received “95% positive” feedback since arriving in Paris.

“People either love Palestine or they absolutely hate it. There’s no middle ground. But we have a lot of support. And that makes me proud to be Palestinian.”

“A lot of people don’t want us to be here, they don’t want to see the flag. They don’t want to hear the name of my country. They don’t want me to exist. They want me to leave. But I’m here, very proud to raise my flag at the opening ceremony. [… ] We are not even recognized here in this country. So it is an honor.”

* * *

And what about Quebec? It was Javier Acevedo, a veteran of the Canadian team, who tipped me off: “The Palestinian? I think he lives in Ottawa, he swims for Carleton. I’ve spoken to him a few times.”

Al Bawwab smiled when I asked him: “I studied at Carleton University and I swam for Pierre Lafontaine, who is the coach for China here. He is one of the reasons why I am here and hope to be successful in swimming. I am not that good.”

The student swimmer spent seven years in Ottawa, earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering. “I was young, immature, missing practices,” he said. “I got kicked off the team at one point.”

He had presented himself to Lafontaine during a World Cup in Qatar in 2019. Named head coach at Carleton the following year, the former executive director of Swimming Canada learned that Al Bawwab was suspended. He decided to reinstate him on the condition that he respect a series of 10 conditions and apologize to his teammates.

“People aren’t perfect, but I said, maybe we can help him be better,” said Lafontaine, who led breaststroker Tang Qianting to a silver medal in the 100 breaststroke in Paris. “The team wasn’t very good and I needed his leadership.”

The 67-year-old Montrealer has never regretted it. “I took him under my wing, like Mr. George Gate did for me when I started in Pointe-Claire. I talked to him like his father, not like his coach. Yazan has good ideas. He’s a real motivator and he’s not afraid to talk to people.”

Through a points system, the Palestinian has found a way to fully integrate the results of the Paralympic swimmer who is added to each university team during competitions in Ontario into the team’s results. He is involved in the IOC Young Leaders program and will seek election to the Athletes’ Commission at the end of the Paris Games. He also set up the SwimHope Palestine project aimed at providing access to swimming lessons for Palestinian refugees.

“I’m trying to find pools, teach people how to swim, and train teachers and instructors,” he said. “But there’s a war going on. What can you do when there’s a war? You can’t talk to people. The guy I was in contact with was killed.”

After his time at Carleton, Al Bawwab moved across the street to Swim Ottawa, where Lafontaine was also the coach. He played the role of big brother to the younger guys. When the Quebecer accepted an offer from China in the spring of 2022, the Palestinian joked to him: “That’s it, you’re letting me down!”

The two men stayed in touch. Lafontaine sent him exercises to do while he prepared for the Games in Dubai, where he works full-time with his father. He also booked his time in Paris.

“He’s such a, such a good guy,” Lafontaine praised. “He doesn’t have an ounce of meanness in him. To the point where sometimes I have to tell him to focus on one thing at a time. He tends to get sidetracked.”

* * *

Lafontaine revealed to me the secret of Al Bawwab’s ability to quote General de Gaulle in French: he dated a Quebec woman during his seven-year stay in Ottawa.

“I like learning about different cultures,” said the swimmer, who is pursuing a master’s degree in sports management at the University of London. “But I always wanted to say I’m Canadian. I love Canadians. I love them! Quebecers, in particular, because they’re half European and half American.”

Al Bawwab knew he would have to answer political questions when he got out of the pool. He knew he was on slippery ground in the Olympic context. He assured that he would have been ready to measure himself against an Israeli swimmer in the same heat as him.

If he had a message to send, he did it by swimming those two lengths in the Olympic pool. Before he slipped into the pool for the start, he made a peace sign with his right hand, his head bowed. “I have a moment just for Palestine, a lane just for Palestine. That’s my message of peace. We’re trying to let the world know that we are human beings and we can play our sport like everyone else.”

As Lafontaine always taught him, there is the swimming pool and “everything that happens around it.”

“Pierre made me the man I am today. I use swimming as a tool for my country. I use it for my business. I use it to talk to people, and here we are, I just met a Quebecer and it makes me very happy.”

As he left the mixed zone, Yazan Al Bawwab whispered “let’s go Quebec” into Mary-Sophie Harvey’s ears.