Bert Misplon and Bashir Abdi meet at the age of 15. As animators, they forge a deep bond almost immediately. Misplon is even the reason Abdi started walking.
“Bashir was having trouble playing football and asked if he could join my athletics club,” says Misplon. Abdi’s first big dream was to become a footballer for Manchester United.
“Ultimately, walking has become a good choice, I think. He can also kick a ball, but walking is a lot better for him.”
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What gives Bashir Abdi’s bronze medal extra shine is his unique life story. Abdi fled his country and ended up in Belgium after a difficult period. Bert Misplon tells the story.
“Bashir was still young. He has two older brothers and a younger sister. In Somalia in the 1990s the situation was turbulent due to the civil war,” says Misplon.
“His mother was a successful cloth merchant. She got it in India. The moment she was gone, unrest broke out and his father decided that they really had to leave. One night they left for a refugee camp, without his mama knew where they were.”
“She went to Europe to find where her husband and children were. She found her family through the Red Cross, but it took a long time before they were reunited in Belgium.”
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Best friends Bashir Abdi and Bert Misplon have their hearts in the right place. The big goal is to show more Somali children the way to school in the long term, in the meantime the duo is working on projects in Ghent. Misplon explains what “Sportaround” stands for.
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