Rabat – Moroccan Taekwondo champion, Anouar Boukharsa, decided to cross the Mediterranean to reach Spain without papers. The champion documented his trip on a small boat in a short video that went viral.
In the video, Boukharsa throws his medals in the water, saying that they have no value.
“Oh brothers, I am lost! We are all lost!” he adds.
Boukharsa, born and raised in the city of Safi, about 160km to the west of Marrakech, started practicing Taekwondo at a young age. He participated in and won a number of regional, national and international competitions.
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Boukharsa’s most impressive achievement was winning the Arab Taekwondo Championship in 2009, in Egypt.
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This isn’t the first time a Moroccan athlete has decided to leave Morocco. In recent days, a photo showing former football player for AS Salé and the Atlas Lions’ youth squad, Hicham Kellouch, in a boat trying to cross the Mediterranean went viral.
Before that, Atlas Lioness Meriem Bouhid, OC Safi football club player Ali Hababa, petanque champion Hicham Boulassal, among other athletes all embarked on undocumented journeys to Europe.
One of the main problems Moroccan athletes face is the lack of social security. When athletes end their professional careers, they usually find themselves in a precarious situation, unless they have a second job or made enough savings during their career.
