Sara Mardini est n\u00e9e en 1995 dans un village pr\u00e8s de Damas, l'a\u00een\u00e9e de trois s\u0153urs, Yusra, de deux ans sa cadette, et la petite Shahed. Leur p\u00e8re, Ezzat, \u00e9tait un nageur de comp\u00e9tition et a form\u00e9 ses filles d\u00e8s leur plus jeune \u00e2ge, leur transmettant ainsi sa passion pour ce sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elles vivaient heureuses et m\u00e8naient une vie normale jusqu'au d\u00e9but de la guerre civile syrienne en 2011, lorsque tout a chang\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elles ont \u00e9t\u00e9 contraintes de quitter leur maison et, soudainement, chaque petite t\u00e2che quotidienne \u00e0 laquelle elles \u00e9taient habitu\u00e9es est devenue un terrible danger. Lors d'une interview en 2023, Sara exprime le sentiment g\u00e9n\u00e9ral de cette p\u00e9riode comme un ressenti permanent de ne plus avoir de lieu \u00e0 consid\u00e9rer comme un foyer et une sensation constante de danger partout o\u00f9 elles allaient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Avec ce sentiment, en ao\u00fbt 2015, apr\u00e8s quatre ann\u00e9es de guerre civile, Sara et sa s\u0153ur Yusra ont pris la difficile d\u00e9cision de tenter de rejoindre l'Allemagne, sachant qu'il n'y avait plus d'avenir pour elles en Syrie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elles sont parties en qu\u00eate d'un avenir meilleur, comme plus de 800 000 autres cette ann\u00e9e-l\u00e0. Elles ont entrepris un long voyage qui les a men\u00e9es de la Syrie \u00e0 la Turquie, puis \u00e0 travers la mer jusqu'aux c\u00f4tes europ\u00e9ennes de la Gr\u00e8ce et enfin \u00e0 l'Allemagne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This journey, which cost many lives, could have been fatal for the Mardini sisters. During the crossing from Turkey to Greece, the sisters\u2019 boat, with 18 other companions on board, suddenly broke down. Realising that the weight of the passengers was endangering the boat, the sisters, driven by the need to survive, decided to jump into the water, grabbed the ropes with two other passengers and used their lifelong swimming skills to pull everyone to safety. They swam for three and a half hours in the dark and cold waters of the Mediterranean. Sara was 20 at the time and her sister Yusra was just 18. Thanks to the heroic efforts of the sisters, the boat made it to shore and their journey continued through Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary and Austria, finally arriving in Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There they lived in a refugee camp for eight months before successfully applying for asylum. The process, which was certainly arduous, could have been more rigorous had it not been for former Chancellor Angela Merkel\u2019s decision to open the border in 2015, facilitating the entry of one million Syrian refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Up to this point, Sara Mardini\u2019s story was already noteworthy, as the stories of many others who bravely undertook this terrible journey during those years, and who continue to do so today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, it was not yet time for her to settle down and live behind the struggle of the refugee reality. After a period in Berlin, Sara was contacted by the Emergency Response Center International (ERCI). ERCI is an NGO that regularly works with the Greek authorities, including the Greek Coast Guard, on rescue operations. The volunteer who had been in contact with her explained how her and her sister\u2019s story had become an inspiration to the refugee on Lesbos. He went on to say that the volunteers would be telling their story to children on the island to give them courage. So, Sara, deeply moved by the story, decided to go back, this time to help those arriving through the struggle she certainly knew well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her initial intention was to stay for just a few weeks, helping with boat landings and giving swimming lessons to the children. But as the weeks went by, she realised she wasn\u2019t ready to leave. Motivated by a desire to continue helping, she decided to extend her stay and contribute as much as she could. Nevertheless, over the next two years of volunteering, the situation became increasingly difficult. She found herself reliving the traumatic experiences of the arriving refugees and the emotional strain, combined with the harsh conditions, began to take a serious toll on her health. Eventually, she made the difficult decision to take a break and return to Germany to recuperate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cependant, le 21 ao\u00fbter<\/sup>, 2018, the day of her return flight, she was stopped at Lesbos airport by five plainclothes police officers and taken to Lesbos prison. She was arrested on charges of \u201cespionage\u201d, \u201csmuggling migrants\u201d and \u201cmoney laundering\u201d, when her actual occupation in Lesbos was given blankets and water to the refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00c0 la suite de ces accusations, elle a pass\u00e9 deux semaines \u00e0 Lesbos avant d'\u00eatre transf\u00e9r\u00e9e \u00e0 la prison de haute s\u00e9curit\u00e9 de Korydall\u00f3s, pr\u00e8s d'Ath\u00e8nes, o\u00f9 elle a pass\u00e9 107 jours suppl\u00e9mentaires en d\u00e9tention provisoire avant d'\u00eatre lib\u00e9r\u00e9e sous caution de 5 000 euros.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cette arrestation, parmi 24 autres visant des militants humanitaires \u00e0 cette p\u00e9riode, a \u00e9t\u00e9 reconnue par Amnesty International comme faisant partie d'une tendance plus large des gouvernements europ\u00e9ens \u00e0 adopter une ligne plus dure sur l'immigration, en utilisant les lois anti-passeurs pour d\u00e9l\u00e9gitimer l'aide humanitaire aux r\u00e9fugi\u00e9s et aux migrants. De plus, l'organisation a accus\u00e9 le gouvernement grec non seulement de fonder ses charges sur une interpr\u00e9tation abusive de la l\u00e9gislation anti-passeurs, mais aussi de ne disposer d'aucune preuve pour \u00e9tayer ses all\u00e9gations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Le 10 janvier 2023, le proc\u00e8s a commenc\u00e9 etth<\/sup> de janvier 2023 et, le 13th<\/sup>, la Cour d'appel grecque de Mytil\u00e8ne a officiellement abandonn\u00e9 les charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although the experience has affected her deeply, she expresses her desire to return to the field, recognising that it is where she belongs. As she told Global Citizen in an interview in February 2023, she didn\u2019t often think about her own future, but she was sure she would continue to fight for a world without borders \u2013 a world where a person\u2019s background, colour or religion would no longer matter. She believed in the fundamental equality of all people and emphasised the importance of embracing this idea. She added that she would always work for a world where everyone is treated equally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sara est une personne qui n\u2019a pas laiss\u00e9 l\u2019adversit\u00e9 d\u00e9finir son r\u00f4le dans ce monde, mais qui a pris sa place, avec force et courage. Elle a choisi de ne pas rester aveugle face \u00e0 la souffrance des autres et a \u00e9t\u00e9 injustement punie pour cela. \u00c0 une \u00e9poque o\u00f9 de nombreux pays r\u00e9pondent \u00e0 la mis\u00e8re humaine en fermant leurs fronti\u00e8res et en rendant l\u2019aide humanitaire plus difficile \u00e0 fournir, reconna\u00eetre notre humanit\u00e9 commune reste la meilleure d\u00e9fense contre l\u2019indiff\u00e9rence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comme l\u2019a dit Edward Said, \u00e9crivain am\u00e9ricano-palestinien:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00ab L\u2019humanisme est la seule \u2013 j\u2019irais m\u00eame jusqu\u2019\u00e0 dire la derni\u00e8re \u2013 r\u00e9sistance dont nous disposons contre les pratiques inhumaines et les injustices qui d\u00e9figurent l\u2019histoire de l\u2019humanit\u00e9.\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.oneyoungworld.com\/speaker\/sara-mardini<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.lemonde.fr\/en\/m-le-mag\/article\/2023\/01\/12\/sarah-mardini-syrian-swimmer-turned-netflix-heroine-goes-on-trial-in-greece_6011398_117.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/time.com\/6236203\/the-swimmers-true-story-netflix<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.harpersbazaar.com\/uk\/culture\/culture-news\/a41983020\/the-swimmers-netflix-real-story-yusra-mardini<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.globalcitizen.org\/en\/content\/how-sarah-mardini-saved-lives-of-fellow-refugees<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.frontlinedefenders.org\/en\/profile\/sara-mardini<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.letstalkdurham.com\/lets-talk-magazine\/sarah-mardini<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n