London olympians: Missing

While the world is busy comparing London Olympics with the last one held at Beijing and predicting the final medal tally, the case of seven Cameroon athletes missing from London Olympics seems to have gone almost unnoticed. Since these athletes hail from a lesser-known country, the mainstream media perhaps has found the issue less glamorous to cover. Although the cause for their sudden disappearance is yet unknown, there is speculation that they might be looking for a better option in the UK. Interestingly, this is not a new phenomenon at international sporting events. During the 2006 Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Melbourne, 26 athletes sought asylum in that country. In the same line, nine athletes from Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Bangladesh disappeared after the  tournament. Moreover, 15 Ethiopian athletes vanished from the All African Games in Mozambique in 2011 – it was rumoured that they flew to South Africa in search of employment. In general, the fundamental reasons for athletes disappearing remain the same. Poor economic conditions and poor training facilities compel athletes to jump ship in search for alternative means of livelihood in a new place.

Although the Olympics ring carries five colours, which represents all the five continents of the world but the mass disparity between the developed and the underdeveloped world has remained more or less the same. While athletes in the developed world are regarded as heroes and earn huge amounts of money, it is not the same in countries like Cameroon, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania to name a few. Cuba strangely is an exception, where defections occur more because of political persecution than economic conditions. In April 2012 for example, a Cuban national soccer team member filed for political asylum in UK.

Such defections of athletes in general should make a country introspect deeply on the ills that lead to the same. Olympics historian David Wallechinsky points out that North Korea has adopted a way to stop defections by changing the mindset that an athlete does not need to always remain an athlete. While that may not be enough, it at least shows an intent from a nation to encourage its citizens to stay back. But in some cases there is no difference. For example, many African countries ruled by dictators do not care about these issues at all. Clearly, defections of sportsmen
will continue until nations ensure that sports is seen as being monetarily lucrative and a promising way of life than
simply being an enforcement by the powers that be.