The atrocious death of Mahjabin Sylla: “It could have been me so the world has failed”

VILLORBA

Dying young is not fair. It never is. Nor if life is taken with an aberrant motivation and in terrible ways. The minute of silence preceding the match between Conegliano and Novara is much more than a formal act: the memory of the 18-year-old Afghan volleyball player Mahjabin Hakimi, killed by the Taliban as an athlete, is honored. She was part of the tour of the national teams of her country and hoped for a better life: she was unable, unlike some companions and friends, to find an escape route beyond the border of horror and oppression. The referee Cerra makes them observe all those 60 ”of reflection and emotion: the emotion is palpable and who knows how many thoughts will have passed in the head of those who have walked a volleyball field since childhood. “The whole world must feel guilty and mourning for the death of Mahjabin Hakimi.” Miriam Sylla says it in a video message. «I was asked what I think as an athlete, as a woman, as a blue captain, but it is a story that concerns all of us, not just me. It is not permissible, in 2021, for a girl who pursues a dream to find her death. Sport must make people free, not victims: this is why the world has failed. Mahjabin could have been my sister, it could have been me. ‘ –