During the period of the Golden Jubilee Games, over 1 200 volunteers have worked tirelessly to ensure that this event was a success. TheIsmaili.org, the official website of the Ismaili Muslim community, has endeavoured to provide detailed coverage of the Games on the site. A media team comprising over 50 volunteers from across the world helped to achieve this, and to ensure that the Games were recorded for posterity. Altaf Jiwa, the Member for Communications and Publications on the Ismaili Council for Kenya, served as the Media Director. Following months of planning and an intense week of implementation, Altaf shares his reflections on what the Games meant to him.
Akber Dewji (Hakim Sons)It's the morning after the end of the Golden Jubilee Games. The Media Centre has an eerie silence about it. What was once a bustling hub of activity, echoing with a multitude of conversations between writers eager to share stories of hope, of overcoming life's challenges and realising dreams, and of ordinary people doing extraordinary things, now remains disturbingly calm. The Games are over.
The team of writers, editors, producers, photographers and video crews of over 50 international volunteers that breathed life into this room, enabling the lives of so many unique heroes to be shared with Jamats around the world, has gone their separate ways. Despite this, what remains is a wholeness of spirit that has connected disparate individuals, across vast geographies, through this transformative event, into a global family united by this powerful cause.
Once unknown, now-familiar participant faces board airport-bound buses outside; buses that just one week ago streamed into the Golden Jubilee Village with euphoric participants from all continents, eager to embrace a life-changing experience. Within these four walls, we have witnessed thousands of photographs, reviewed hundreds of hours of video footage. We have engaged people of different backgrounds and differing cultural and social outlooks, with one common goal; to be a part of history and in some way be altered by these seven short days, which have shaped the thoughts and lives of those privileged to be a part of it.
Akbar Hakim (Hakim Sons)In the months prior to the Games, it was our task to articulate our aspirations for what we felt the event may be able to accomplish, and to highlight the fact that this was not just about “Celebration Through Sport” but more; about celebrating diversity, embracing brotherhood and pluralism, and interacting with those whom we knew little about, and who in turn knew little about us. We quickly realised, however, as the Games unfolded, that even we were not prepared for what would emerge, and that these would be no ordinary Games.
I think back to the first day, when we would hear comments like, “The Syrians have arrived.” We would head out with our crew to cover their arrival. There was a certain degree of novelty at first; they looked different, unfamiliar. Their traditions and language were unknown to us. A week later, they, like the many other Ismailis whose generosity of heart we embraced, are our brothers and sisters, people who have captivated our hearts with their innocence, gratitude and spirit. Fakhria from Afghanistan notes, “we have all developed such a deep bond that even though we were competing neck and neck, after the Games we were able to sit together and enjoy a meal. These Games have had such an impact on all of us. They have not only made each one of us a better person or a better friend, but a global Ismaili. We have made friendships that will be remembered for a lifetime.”
One particular Syrian I spoke to on several occasions was a young man by the name of Marcel. When he played the oud (a traditional Arabic stringed instrument) it was as though he escaped to a magical world, overwhelming all those around him with the intensity of his emotion and his devotion to his music. When asked how long he could play before he got tired, Marcel passionately responded, “for hours – the instrument is a part of me, if I stopped playing, it would be like not breathing.” Marcel took part on the Syrian basketball team. He remarked that while their team had lost, the experience of interacting with other Ismailis from around the world, and exchanging thoughts and ideas with them was far more of a victory than just the sporting result.
Akbar Hakim (Hakim Sons)We heard many such stories of other inspiring athletes; athletes who had travelled by foot through mountains, overcome adversities, or come from isolated areas having never travelled out of their villages until now. These athletes, to me, embody the very essence of the Games; young Ismailis coming into contact with the global Jamat for the very first time, embracing every unique experience and holding onto it tightly. I cannot imagine how people like Marcel will return to their lives unchanged. Their aspirations have been raised, their ambitions unleashed. These participants, I believe, will be the ambassadors for our Jamat in the years ahead, spreading the message of acceptance, hope and the pursuit for excellence.
Beyond a point, we stopped trying to capture every story or moving encounter. We realised that these were not isolated episodes, but rather a multitude of intense experiences being felt by each and every participant at the Games. Both on the court and off it, a resounding comment heard throughout the Games was, “we are proud to be Ismaili.” It would undoubtedly please our Imam to see this harmony in diversity, this sense of pride in our unique identity as Shia Ismaili Muslims, and this unleashing of the spirit that resides in every unstoppable person.
Akbar Hakim (Hakim Sons)Over the years, I have interacted with many journalists coming to Kenya to visit Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) projects. None has left without being astonished at the depth and breadth of our Imam's work in this region, and most have had a fundamental change of attitude and a new perspective with which to view the world. The Golden Jubilee Games have begun a process, I believe, of helping participants from around the world better understand Mawlana Hazar Imam's work and that of the AKDN. On many occasions, I saw how Jamati members “got it” from experiences as simple as seeing the name “Aga Khan” adorned across schools, hospitals and projects around the country. They began to appreciate the impact and to begin visualising roles for themselves in their professional lives through which they could contribute towards the actualisation of Mawlana Hazar Imam's vision. By putting a face on the global Ismaili community, these Games will perhaps also see volunteers emerge from around the world, affected by the experiences of these historic Games, ready to give of their time and their knowledge to areas within the Network and the global Jamat that need their assistance and expertise.
The next time I turn on the television and see images of Afghanistan or Syria, I will spare a thought for Fakhria or Marcel, and hope that they, and their Jamats, are well. As members of the global Ismaili Jamat, these Golden Jubilee Games have served to truly unite and to create an unparalleled opportunity for interaction, understanding and acceptance, reinforcing the spirit that as brothers and sisters, we stand as one.
