Posted on 08/06/2008 12:26:35 PM PDT by Pyro7480
BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States chose former Sudanese refugee Lopez Lomong to carry their flag at Friday’s Olympic opening ceremony in a move that could embarrass Sudan and its ally China.
Lomong, who spent 10 years in a refugee camp after fleeing his native Sudan as a child, was given the honor after a vote by the team captains of the entire U.S. Olympic squad.
“This is the most exciting day ever in my life,” Lomong said in a statement by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) on Wednesday.
“It is a great honor for me that my team mates chose to vote for me. The opening ceremony is the best day and the best moment of Olympic life,” added the 23-year-old, who will race in the 1,500 meters....
While Lomong will no doubt be concentrating on trying to win his race, his selection is likely to provoke extensive debate about China’s relations with Sudan.
China is a major investor in the Sudanese oil industry and sells arms to Khartoum. Critics say self-interest has led China to shield the Sudanese government from pressure over the conflict in the western region of Darfur.
Some 200,000 people have died and an estimated 2.5 million been made homeless in five years of conflict in Darfur, according to international experts....
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.yahoo.com ...
I got to see Lopez Lomong run in a high school track meet a few years ago, and only heard later about his life story. Folks in central New York are justly proud of this adopted son of the U.S. of A.
Let’s hope we “insult” them even more by winning more medals than them, especially gold medals!
Is he the one from Syracuse?
I believe so. His Wikipedia page says he went to high school in upstate New York.
Being a legal, naturalized citizen is not the issue nor does it detract from his carrying the flag. My wife is a naturalized citizen and so was my paternal grandmother.
The MSM will use this to gain sympathy for ILLEGAL ALIENS and blur the lines between legal and illegal immigrants. McCain has done this by using the 30,000 legal permanent residents in the US military as an example of people who demonstrate that immigrants are patriotic and serve this nation. Obama likes to say we are a nation of immigrants to justify an amnesty. You can bet that both will use Lomong as the reason why we should allow "God's children" aka illegal aliens, to stay and work here, i.e., an amnesty.
This won't be the first time the MSM and the political elites use a human interest story to their best advantage.
He lives in Syracuse now, right? I think I read about him last week and the family he lives with who has ‘adopted’ several lost boys. Wonderful story.
I imagine she has a bright future after the Olympics as a sportscaster, model or celebrity spokesperson. If she advertised hemorrhoid cream, I’d buy a case.
No, chalk this up to political acumen and experience as a grassroots activist who is deeply involved with the issue and lobbies on the Hill. I bet that we will see this mentioned by both McCain and Obama in the context of immigration and amnesty. The politicians, MSM, and groups like La Raza continually try to blur the lines between legal and illegal. Lomong is about to become their poster boy.
I have absolutely nothing against Lomong. I know a lot about his story, which has been told in some detail already prior to the Olympic trials. It was very touching when he went back home and his mother found out that he was still alive. And the white American family that acted as his parents says volumes about the kind of country that we are. That said, I know exactly how this story is going to be used by the pro-amnesty people.
That’s truly lovely. What an inspiration this man, my fellow citizen, is — I’m glad he’s getting the recognition he deserves.
He lives in Tully, which is about 20 miles south of Syracuse. The family that adopted him has taken in a half dozen of the “lost boys” from Sudan. It has been fun to follow Lopez’s progress through the years, and even if he doesn’t win a medal, this is quite a capper to his story.
“God bless America!”
Amen.
I wish we allowed more Sudanese refugees who are truly in need , unlike those we see marching in our streets, who have broken our laws and make more demands by the day.
Ping to a great non-panda Olympic story! :-)
Yep! That guy’s Sudanese!
I read about this family. Thank God for them. This is quite an honor for them as well. They’ve given him and the other boys a great chance at life.
Thanks, Pyro. Another poster said he was from Tully, near Syracuse. The Post Standard had a nice article about them in Sunday’s paper, I think. What an honor.
Career record 195 wins, 14 losses; ERA 0.4; Strikeout percentage 48%.
bkmark :)
“Yep! That guy’s Sudanese!”
I thought he was American.
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