“You never imagine waking up to bombs, sirens and seeing people die” | Sports

León

A year ago the war mobilized thousands of Ukrainians in search of a new destination, a new life away from bombs and fear, away from their loved ones. It is the case of Antón Shuhalieev, a 20-year-old athlete who found refuge in Valencia where, initially, he was accompanied by his mother and sister, who later emigrated to the United Kingdom. His brother lives in the Czech Republic, while his father remains in kyiv, where the family moved years ago due to the Crimean war. Shuhalieiev received the dove of peace on the closing day of the 1st Congress of Sports and Municipalism that has been held at the Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones de León. The event has joined, like hundreds of Local Entities and organizations from all over Spain, the silence called by the FEMP to show the support of Local Entities for Ukraine on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion.

“We never imagine waking up watching bombs fall, hearing sirens that we only hear in movies, seeing people die, feeling afraid”, explained Shuhalieev, who recently became runner-up in Spain in judo in his category by being able to compete with dual nationality as a refugee. Since then, “València is also my city” and its City Council is the one with whom “you can talk, where you can register or ask for specific help”. “We can only thank Spain for feeling Spanish, my City Council for making me feel like one more Valencian, my Federation and the Spanish Federation that has made it easier for us to train. Thank you very much (…) because without your help we would not continue to have a free country”, assured the athlete. In addition, from the León Exhibition Center, he has asked for the “support” of all democratic countries so that Ukraine can be “just another country in Europe”, because the young people of Ukraine “(…) are Europeans and we have European values ”.

Shuhalieev ended his message with the hope that his country will regain its freedom and with a personal wish: “to be able to contribute to Spain something of the much that I have received”. After his words, the Secretary General of the FEMP thanked this “ambassador of the Ukrainians and their sport” for his participation in this act of “commitment and solidarity with Ukraine” in which “we demand peace in Ukraine as soon as possible ”. Antón is an example of the reception system articulated by the FEMP, the Higher Sports Council, the High Commissioner against Child Poverty and the Spanish Sports Federations that has allowed dozens of young high-level Ukrainian athletes to continue practicing their sport in their new cities.

Closure and good practices

The Sports and Municipalism conferences have been closed after addressing issues such as inclusion, equality or sustainability in sport and thanks to sport. The president of the Leonese Provincial Council, Eduardo Morán, has closed, together with the General Secretaries of FEMP and ADESP, these two days with the hope that “it will be the seed for the celebration of other congresses”,