From Gaza to Paris: Paralympian Fadi Deeb vows to show ‘Palestine is not dying’

Palestinian shot putter Fadi Deeb celebrates winning a bronze medal in shot put at the Tunis International Athletics Meetings for the Disabled in 2009 in Tunis, Tunisia. © provided by Fadi Deeb

Shot putter Fadi Deeb, the only member of the Palestinian Olympic delegation from Gaza and the only Paralympian athlete from Palestine, will take part in the Paris Paralympics on August 30. He speaks to FRANCE 24 about training with rocks and scrap metal in war-torn Gaza – and carrying his people’s hopes and dreams at the Paris Games.

While Fadi Deeb, 39, has been diligently training in Paris in preparation for the Paralympic Games, the Gaza war is never far from his thoughts. “I am raising my flag here in Paris to show people that Palestine is not dying,” Deeb told FRANCE 24 in an interview. “We are still here, we are still fighting and we are still alive.”