In a previous Rush Passport™ blog article, the passport story of Amaechi Morton, an Olympic hurdler competing for Nigeria, was told. The focus of today’s passport blog is on Guor Marial, a marathon runner born in what is now the Republic of South Sudan.
Marial is scheduled to run in the 2012 Olympics in London, however he will not be wearing any country’s flag – instead he will be running under the Olympic flag.
Marial lives and works in the United States and is an Iowa University chemistry graduate. However, he cannot represent the US in the Olympics because he is not a full US citizen and does not have a US passport.
Gurial, who works with people with mental disabilities, fled to the US in the midst of Sudan’s 20 year civil war. The war led to a peace arrangement that allowed the southern part of the country to secede. While South Sudan is currently a member of the United Nations, the country has yet to form a National Olympic Committee. This means that South Sudan cannot send athletes to the 2012 Olympic Games.
The Sudanese team invited Marial to join their team, but he refused due to the fact that he lost many members of his family and over two million countrymen in the war.
Marial gained refugee status to stay in the Unites States because of the danger presented to him by the country of Sudan. To compete for Sudan in the Olympics would not be acceptable.
Marial is set to be 1 of 4 independent competitors at the 2012 London Games. The other three athletes are from the Netherlands Antilles.
I guess he will be using his Sudanese passport to make the trip to London. It may be a matter of time before Marial gets his US passport.
If you are interested in getting a passport or visa, give us a call at (212) 643-9305. Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.