Dreamers from death zones

War-torn countries like Iraq and Afghanistan may not be able to afford their Olympic athletes good conditions, but their attendance in the Games itself has justified their dreams of transcending themselves to a better future, says an article in Beijing News. The following is an excerpt:

If you did not witness Iraqi athletes' performance in the Games, you may never understand how tough a nation can be in striving against calamities.

For Iraqi competitors, there was no uniform but only old T-shirts, second-hand track shoes, and rented rowing boats. And so did Afghan sprinter Massoud Azizi, who had been preparing for the Games on a concrete track every day, regardless of great potential harms the track might have caused to his body.