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Like thousands of other Moroccans stranded abroad due to the global health crisis, Najwa Awane has been going through tough times while blocked in Turkey. The national, Arab and African wheelchair tennis champion found herself unable to rejoin Morocco after it implemented a travel ban to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus.
On March 8, the champion arrived in Turkey to prepare for the Paralympic Games. «This was an important trip for me to participate in certain tournaments and increase my performance but also to train», the 22-year-old sportswoman told Yabiladi, stressing that she was planning to travel to Switzerland and Colombia next for the same purposes.
After the cancelling of all championships, she finally decided to return to Morocco. However, the option quickly vanished after Morocco halted all international flights.
«I spent a week in Turkey. After canceling the tournaments, I booked a return ticket to Morocco on March 16, but one day before the trip, I was surprised to learn that borders were closed due to the pandemic».
A forced stay
When she arrived in Turkey, Najwa stayed in Izmir, with a friend who was also a tennis champion. She said she contacted the Moroccan consulate in the city, after the travel ban was announced, to notify them and inform them about her living conditions. «I had the promise that I would be part of the first group of people to be repatriated, as soon as a flight could be scheduled, given my condition», she said.
This wait lasted three months, during which the Moroccan athlete had spent her days impatiently waiting for a flight home: «Last Sunday, I read on the news that Moroccans stranded in Turkey were going to be repatriated. Monday, at first, I thought it was just fake news because I did not receive any call, but nationals had already been returned to the country».
Najwa then contacted the Moroccan consulate in Izmir to find out that she was excluded from the list of would-be returnees, contrary to previous promises. «I was told that only critical cases were to be on this first flight», she said. «Are the first 313 returnees really in critical conditions ? What about me ?» she wondered.
Taking into account the difficulty of organizing return flights for the 32,000 nationals stranded abroad, Najwa waited a long time before talking addressing her situation. «I was confident and I was fully aware of the state's responsibility to repatriate so many people», she said.
«I had a hard time adapting to where I stayed, because I did not yet know the family that housed me. I fell several times from my wheelchair or in the bathroom. My hosts were trying to help me, but I suffered a lot».
A shared struggle
Najwa's family, was also part of this rough journey. It denounced the exclusion of the champion from the first three repatriation flights, operated last Tuesday between Istanbul and Tetouan. Faced with this situation, Azouz Awane, the father of the sportswoman, broke his silence.
In a Facebook post, he questioned the selection criteria adopted by the consulate and the Embassy of Morocco in Turkey, for the organization of these repatriation flights. «It is a blatant injustice against a champion with a disability», he said.
Contacted by Yabiladi, the father said he had written to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Head of Government, without having received any answers. «It was later that we received information that it is possible to include her name in the list of people who will be repatriated next Friday, but nothing is official», he said.
The insistence of Najwa's parents was finally fruitful. Najwa finally obtained confirmation from the Moroccan embassy for her repatriation. She confirmed to Yabiladi that on Friday she will be part of a new group of nationals, included for a special flight. A happy ending for a champion who had her patience tested for three months.
