Riad Hassan has waited a long time to visit the UAE. More than 20 years in fact.
The former wrestler, who is a Canadian citizen, has finally made it here – on a mission to promote the sport that has given him a life that he could only dream of when he was growing up as a Palestinian in Lebanon.
It is an unlikely journey that started in 1948 when his grandfather, a Palestinian refugee, moved with his displaced family to Saidon in south Lebanon and has since taken Hassan to Egypt, Australia and Canada.
“He was illiterate, had moved to Lebanon when he was only eight,” said Hassan of his grandfather.
“His brother became a wrestler, and he always insisted that sports was the way to a healthy society. ‘Healthy mind, healthy body’, he would always say.”
Eventually the grandfather ran a successful bakery business and made it a habit to financially support struggling local athletes.
“He felt that if he helped others achieve goals, it was like he achieved them himself,” Hassan said. “I always wanted to make him proud. I’d say ‘why don’t you support me too’ and he’d answer ‘when you are a champion, I will’.”
Hassan’s mother may have insisted education was the only way to be “treated like a human”, but he saw wrestling as the way to achieve his dreams.
In 1998 he represented Palestine at the Arab junior championships in Beirut and at the Olympic trials in March 2000 in Alexandria where he qualified – and was recommended by Adel Mustafa of FILA, wrestling’s international governing body – to compete in Sydney.
Unfortunately, because of visa issues and the start of the second intifada, the Palestinians arrived late in Sydney and could not compete.
His devastated teammates returned home, but Hassan remained in Australia to start a new life. Success on the wrestling mat came quickly. But not off it.
In 2001, he won the Sydney wrestling championship, the New South Wales state wrestling championship and the Australian championship. But, as a non-citizen, he did not collect any of the titles.
Riad admitted he developed a complex about being a refugee. He then married an Australian of Lebanese origin, a former swimmer who had competed at the Sydney Olympics.
“I never applied for a citizenship through marriage because I wanted to succeed through my own hard work,” he said. In any case, the marriage did not last.
In 2004 he was set to be Australia’s big hope at the Athens Olympics, but he still could not compete.
“Without the proper paperwork, you are nothing,” he said.
Downcast by his lack of progress, Hassan decided to try Canada. In Montreal, his luck changed.
“I met my future wife, but still didn’t apply for citizenship after we got married and it took me eight years to get it,” Hassan said. “But in Canada I felt accepted straight away, having talent was appreciated.”
He wrestled briefly, but felt that his body could not take the punishment any more in his mid-20s.
“I became a provincial wrestling referee in 2006 and, four years later, I became a national [one],” he said proudly. “One of the top referees in the country.”
He got involved with Canada World Youth and joined training programmes for children. He also became an mixed martial arts referee at amateur level.
“Though I was not a citizen yet, I lived my life as a citizen and wanted to give back to society as much as possible. Being involved in sport made me feel I belong,” he said.
When he finally received his citizenship last year his story made the news and was deemed inspirational enough to be included in a documentary highlighting the success of immigrants in Canada.
“That was a big honour for me,” Hassan said. “That as an Arab I would represent Canadian society at home and abroad.”
Free to travel for the first time in years, he headed to the Emirates.
“UAE is special for me,” said Hassan. “As kids we used to hear how much Sheikh Zayed donated to Palestinian refugees and schools, like the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, one I was in. I dreamt that if I ever made something of myself, I’d return the favour to this country. To say thank you.”
The timing could not be better. The UAE Wrestling, Judo & Jiu-Jitsu Federation had approached the Canada Wrestling Association (CWA) and FILA delegates Clint Kingsburg and Gary Bird to help set up training programmes that would promote wrestling in the country.
Hassan requested that he, as an Arab-Canadian, be given the job.
“Don Ryan (CWA president) has given me full support to achieve that,” he said.
Negotiations are still at very early stages, but Hassan said he is optimistic.
“It’s a country associated with excellence in so many field, why not sports too?,” he said.
“I’m prepared to give all my experience to set up long-term programmes, five to 10 years so we can eventually reach Olympic standards. We need to start training programmes, even before kids get to high school, and then we need to support the talented ones.
“It’s wrong that such a country with all its resources and finances is not winning medals.”
akhaled@thenational.ae
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