About sport and human rights: Column by Markus N. Beeko, Secretary General of the German Amnesty Section.
“No Sports” is how the former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is often quoted, even if he probably never said it. Today it is known that he rode, fought, swam and boxed. “No Sports” used to be my answer when I asked about my hobbies. Although I was not a “gym bag forget”, I had to fight my way through physical education rather bravely in my school days. Horizontal bar, parallel bars and high jump were real challenges.
Judo (for a few years), volleyball (occasionally), a little tennis and even ice hockey during my studies (deliberately amateurish) brought movement into my life. And the Summer Olympics: I watched the running competitions with fascination, fevered with high jumpers and talked shop about whether Bob Beamon’s long jump record would fall.
I was also enthusiastic about the international aura of the games, the starting field from countries around the globe, the cheering for the African runners – when could you ever see more blacks on television – but also stars like Carl Lewis or Michael Groß.
And the opening and closing ceremonies! They had what federal youth games were going on: the peoples of the world in happy goings-on, music, drama, pathos. For a moment there was a peaceful, colorful, solidarity community of nice people who showed politics how it should be. A world that began with the opening ceremony, swung latently in the background of the competitions, and then went into hibernation with the happy ending of the closing ceremony. Until this world was kissed awake again at the next games.
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