© Jonathan Rashad for Foreign Policy, three with prosthetic legs, wear bike helmets and t-shirts as they stand in a parking lot, gathered around a bicycle held up by the man second from the right. The sky above is a dim, dark blue; it seems to be either dawn or dusk.
From left: Gaza Sunbirds team members Mohamed Asfour and Waheed Rabah pose for a portrait with co-founders Karim Ali and Alaa al-Daly outside their training house in Cairo on April 26
I first met members of the Gaza Sunbirds in April, just days after they managed to escape the war in the Gaza Strip. For co-founder Alaa al-Daly, 26, it was his first time leaving the besieged territory. The Sunbirds, a Gaza-based para-cycling organization started by Daly and Karim Ali, trains and supports athletes with disabilities amid conflict.
After fleeing a devastating war, the Sunbirds did not rest. Instead, they set their sights on qualifying for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, which began on Aug. 28, in the hopes of raising awareness about the Palestinian cause. Although the team recently learned that its quest was unsuccessful, it still aims to inspire future Palestinian athletes.
"I left my family behind under bombs in a genocide just to compete. Now, I have to wait four years," Daly said, vowing to push forward and prepare for the next Paralympics, which will be held in Los Angeles in 2028.
Comment: Getting dizzy counting the zeros? They mean nothing without the '2'.