Zakaria Loumani: The 400 champion’s career in pneumatic began

Zakaria he started a long-distance career the day he boarded an inflatable boat in Cabo Bojador with the goal of arriving in Spain to regularize his situation and become an elite athlete; a year later, the papers are still not coming, but he has managed to climb the podium and become the absolute champion of the Canary Islands in athletics in the 400 meters.

Until he rode, Zakaria Loumani ran races in El Aaiún, but, most of all, he studied and worked at his father’s grocery store where he sold and weighed fruit and all that was asked of him to support. a home with four siblings. .

“In Morocco, there are not very many opportunities to practice sports; On the other hand, schools can afford to make careers”, explains this 21-year-old young man to Efe, a year after arriving in Gran Canaria on a pneumatic with 26 sub-Saharan and another North African.

Zakaria briefly delayed the Spanish classes to tell Efe at the Vecindario athletics track, one of the places that has already witnessed his achievements.

The boy said he lived in a conflicting neighborhood of El Aaiún, where his personality didn’t quite fit. From childhood, he realized that “he doesn’t belong in that conflicting environment, he has a different way of being and other goals in life.”

As he studies, runs and weighs fruit, he entertains himself by watching messages of prosperity coming from Europe on satellite TV. Especially the Spaniards, where, he said, “talent and sports such as athletics are supported.”

THE IDEA OF THE EVENT

The idea of ​​moving to Spain had been on his mind for many years, but he was always opposed to his parents.afraid of the hundreds of lives sinking in the Atlantic each year.

However, his determination was stronger than the plea of ​​his parents. He even told them that, if he had no money for the boat, he would swim in Spain, confident that his swimming skills would allow him to reach the Canary Islands by swimming in his arms.

Eventually, they got tired of the refrain and decided to give him the money to pay for the trip. He traveled by airboat.

Zakaria heard that the boats that brought the sub-Saharan to Europe were weaker than those usually carried by Moroccans and many did not finish the journey without sinking. “I was so scared, but it was the money I had“, he admits. The trip was horrible, he thought” he can’t come alive “.

When he was rescued and quarantined, they thought he was a minor and they moved him to a shelter in Bandama, where one of the workers, Enrique, realized his potential.

Guessing that he had a future elite athlete in front of him, Enrique asked another educator, who was also a coach, to introduce him to the world of athletics in Gran Canaria.

It was then that Zakaria was able to put on his sneakers and start his career in Europe. The first obstacle he encountered was the distance from the center to the rails where he trained.. Eventually, he was able to move to a reception center in Telde, right next to a track where he could practice, where he remained until they declared that he was of legal age and needed to leave.

After going through an emergency resource, managed by the White Cross, he secured a humanitarian position at a Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid (CEAR) center, as he had a poor profile requiring admission to another device with more many ways.

FIRST RACE, FIRST SUCCESS

In January of this year he became Gran Canaria 400 meter athletics champion and on February 5 he became 400 meter absolute champion of the Canary Islands with a time of 49 seconds 30 hundredths, representing the Evecan Sport-ULPGC club. “I knew I had the potential to race, but it was something I didn’t expect,” he admits.

That day, he talked to his parents. They were proud of the victory, but Zakaria admitted that he was the one who was proud of them.“because they don’t care that their child is not working in Spain, unlike what happens to most of the African population, who hope that their children will send money home once they arrive. goals.”

Now he is waiting for a career in Tenerifewhere he hopes to achieve the time that will open the doors of the Spanish Championship.

However, the biggest obstacle to the career he made in Cabo Bojador was getting the papers. “The main thing for me is to regularize the situation, although I get support, I feel like there are a lot of things I can’t achieve because I can’t fix my situation in the country,” he laments.

CEAR reception technician Karima Bellahsan el Mimouni explained that the NGO’s lawyer had submitted an application for a residence permit because of his status as a professional athlete, appealing a special case provided for by the Act. in Immigration.

In addition, he details, “a report from the club where he trains is attached in which the special interest that Spain has in Zakaria as an athlete is specified.”

Bellahasa acknowledges that, until he gets the papers, a difficult path awaits Zakaria, full of “tedious procedures, but it’s not impossible.” “We know that the resolution will take from a year to 18 months; meanwhile, it is in a period of process and that is, in a certain way, protected,” he said.

FIRST, TOGETHER

Next to him, his coach, Abián Milan, looked at him with pride: “The first thing I was looking for was its integration“, he assured.” We are working on the language and, later, the results will come, because it has very good natural conditions, as well as the capacity for sacrifice and perseverance, “he emphasizes.

At this time, the young man wanted to reach the 47-second barrier mark. His coach encouraged him, but, most of all, he wanted to ”have fun and keep practicing, because the results will come on their own“.

Zakaria hopes the sport will open the doors of Europe to him, although, since his arrival, he claims he has felt a special bond with Gran Canaria. “I really like the island,” he confesses.

When his paperwork is in order, he hopes he can travel to competitions without fear in his stomach of not being able to board the plane, but he makes sure he always returns to Gran Canaria: “I plan to move on with life. Here.”