'When you're cycling in Gaza, you're cycling in a prison yard': Gaza Sunbirds trade Paralympic dream to deliver aid to decimated region
Under Israeli bombardment, the cycling team placed their athletic mission on hold to provide aid to their community
A team of Palestinian paracyclists known as the Gaza Sunbirds dreamed of competing in the 2024 Paris Paralympics, but after events of Oct. 7, the team swapped training sessions for establishing an aid delivery network amid Israel's ongoing war in Gaza.
Formed in 2020 on the back of Gaza's first professional paracyclist, Alaa al-Dali, along with co-founder Karim Ali, the duo sought to empower amputees in Gaza with the creation of a paracycling team.
"We came up with the idea for the Sunbirds to give a lot of people with amputations the opportunity to get on bikes and create a paracycling team to represent Palestine on the world stage," said Ali in an interview with Yahoo News Canada.
A dream built on personal tragedy: The forming of Gaza Sunbirds
Alaa al-Dali had a simple dream — he wanted to ride a bike, says Ali. Al-Dali would train for hours each day on Gaza streets potholed by bombs, dreaming of participating in international cycling tournaments.
After qualifying for the 2018 Asian Games, al-Dali's dream shattered when he was shot while protesting at the Israeli border over freedom of movement restrictions in the Gaza Strip — the restrictions that could keep him from participating in international tournaments.
Once at hospital, doctors said there was little they could do to save al-Dali's leg and they would have to amputate.
"That moment, I felt my dream was dead," said al-Dali in a documentary, Cycling Under Siege in Gaza.
Ali stepped into the picture when at 19-years-old, he was commissioned to translate a documentary on al-Dali's story from Arabic to English.
"By the time I finished, I felt very connected to Alaa's story. I decided I want to help this guy," said Ali.
Through the translation process, the two became friends and the idea was born of offering Palestinian amputees a means of freedom through cycling, leading to the formation of the Gaza Sunbirds.
Training amidst turmoil to make 2024 Paralympics a reality
Out of the ashes of al-Dali's previous cycling dream arose a new one.
"My biggest dream is to create a paracycling team out of the ashes and we aim big: the Paralympic Games," al-Dali wrote in a heart-felt Instagram caption.
Ali says training began in late 2020 with a team consisting of 10 athletes, but that number soon dropped to two as obstacles started rising.
"It was a very unstable place to start working," said Ali.
The first obstacle, Ali says, is what it means to be an amputee in Gaza. Lack of access to adequate medical care and facilities often result in ongoing complications, which can lead to progressive amputations.
Safety equipment like helmets and prosthetic fittings are also difficult to get hands on, says Ali.
The first generation of cyclists we had, they were tying their feet onto pedals with strings so that they can pedalKarim Ali, Gaza Sunbirds co-founder
Another challenge the team faced was training in a region whose entire length is half the distance of major paracycling races.
"When you're cycling in Gaza, you're cycling in a prison yard. It's a 42-kilometer strip of land from one side of the fence to the other," said Ali.
He says the team's safety was also at risk due to periodic bombing campaigns from Israel.
'We stopped training': Gaza Sunbirds form aid delivery network
Everything changed after Oct. 7, 2024. In the days following, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war on Hamas and launched rounds of airstrikes over Gaza, killing thousands of civilians and injuring countless more.
Ali recounts in the days following, there was no sense of safety, with many of the team members losing homes and family members.
"Many of the team members have lost loved ones and there was a lot of fear of what was going to happen next," said Ali.
In the face of adversity, the team came together to launch an aid network in an effort to bring food and essentials to community members.
"People would cry for joy after receiving a pack of bread or flour — the situation was very desperate," said Ali.
He says some of the most heartbreaking encounters the team has is with children that were made orphans after losing both parents in bombings.
To date, Ali says the Gaza Sunbirds have distributed over US $280,000 worth of aid across Gaza — most done by bicycle. Team members are also helping build refugee camps to shelter displaced Palestinians.
All while dodging rounds of bombings and delivering aid, Ali says the Sunbird's dream of representing Palestine on the word stage is still very much alive.
Sunbirds in the international spotlight
Ali says by sharing the Sunbird's mission and providing intimate glimpses of cycling under siege in Gaza, the team is getting international attention, which he says empowers the athletes.
In March, countries including Sweden and United States hosted a cycling rally in solidarity with the Gaza Sunbirds with the hopes of increasing awareness of the team and calling for an end to Israel's atrocities in Gaza.
"When the genocide came about all hope was lost. They couldn’t stop us from dreaming though," the Sunbirds shared in an Instagram update.
Ali says both Sunbirds founder al-Dali and team member Mohammed Asfour were evacuated from Gaza, with al-Dali going on to compete in two Cycling World Cups and the Asian Championships.
"If we can can get to the Paralympics, I can die peacefully," said Ali. "We've been working towards this dream for 5 years through a lot of adversity and we never imagined we would make it this far."
He says that sports is one of the few avenues that Palestine is recognized as a state and having the chance to raise the Palestinian flag at the Paralympics would be one of the greatest honours for the founders, the team and the nation.
Paralympic rejection won't stop evacuated Gazan from competing on world stage
While the Sunbirds’ dream was to compete in the 2024 Paris Paralympics, however, the realities of life faced with genocide in Gaza, including displacement and the destruction of their homes, made this increasingly challenging.
Overcoming these obstacles, al-Dali was evacuated earlier this year to compete in races in Europe.
Al-Dali competed fiercely and ranked highly, however, he was unable to surpass the strong competition this year to qualify for the Paralympics. His application for a wild card was denied but his dream once again continued.
In a press release shared by the Gaza Sunbirds, the team shares al-Dali has since been awarded a chance to race at the next largest para cycling event, the UCI World Championships in Switzerland. This year marks the first time that cycling and para cycling races will take place alongside one another at the World Championships, making al-Dali's participation all the more historic.
