Today is day 88 for stranded Boxing Ambassadors in Cuba

Jun 16, 2020 Sports

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GOG should charter a flight if no flights are available

By Sean Devers

On January 4, 2020, the Government of Guyana, the Guyana Olympic Association and the Guyana Boxing Association collaborated to send Olympic Boxing hopefuls Colin Lewis, Desmond Amsterdam, Dennis Thomas and Keevin Allicock for a three-month training stint in Cuba.

The trip was aimed at giving the pugilists every opportunity to properly prepare for the now suspended Olympic qualifiers in Argentina which was set for last April.
The 2020 Olympics were scheduled for Tokyo Japan from July 24 to August 9 but will now be contested next year due to COVID-19 virus.
The quartet was scheduled to return home on March 22 despite consorted efforts by President of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) Steve Ninvalle to facilitate their return home after borders would have been closed due to the Pandemic.
However, as today marks the 88th day of being stranded in unfamiliar cultures in a non-English speaking Island away from their families, the situation and mental condition of the boxers has become increasing worse as the unexpected delay turned from days into weeks and into months.
Some stranded Guyanese from the USA have arrived home and Ninvalle informed that the GBA understands that over a week ago Caribbean Airlines had written to the COVID-19 Task Force seeking clearance for a flight to bring home the stranded Guyanese in the Caribbean.
According to Ninvalle a response is still being awaited.
“The GBA continues to do all within its power to have the quartet returned home in the earliest possible time.
In recent times the GBA has even sought the assistance of local aviation savant Captain Jerry Gouveia who willing offered advice,” said a broken hearted Ninvalle yesterday.
“The GBA will continue to do all in its power to have the earliest and safe return

of the Boxers,” Ninvalle continued.
The Boxers are now pleading with the local authorities to bring them home as frustration set in.
Ninvalle had written to the Chairman of the Covid19 Task Force, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, asking the body to favourably consider a request to have the fighters returned to Guyana before June 3, the probable date for the reopening of Guyana’s borders. However, the re-opening date has been pushed back.
In that letter, Ninvalle explained that the four boxers are now, frustrated, depressed and facing psychological challenges after being stranded in Cuba for close to two months. Ninvalle reasoned that with no definitive date set for their return the situation in Cuba can only take a turn for the worse.
Lewis had contacted Ninvalle and his sentiments were heart rending. In the message he said, “Good morning sir we can’t sleep at this point sir, we all are up and we very, very sad and restless we want to go home sir, the food we eat today come up back for us tonight we send it down back cause is the same thing happen again yesterday sir.”
“Honestly personally we can’t take this no more sir, we have been keeping quiet for too long and it’s not well here sir, we represented Guyana with a good heart and spirit, but its time they need to let us go home sir,” Lewis pleaded.
“It’s painful having to be informed of the deterioration. We would have hoped that by this time we would have received a response from the Task Force, whether it’s no, yes or maybe. There is not a lot more that we can tell our boxers, we have asked them to hold on to be patient, but frustration has clearly stepped into the camp and we can’t say where it will go from here.

“We have copied our letter to the Director of Sport and I will be checking in with him again to find out if there is any movement forward.”
This situation of neglect has been a frustrating experience for Lewis, Allicock, Thomas and Amsterdam who are trying to put Guyana on the map by joining Mike Parris as the only Boxer from the English speaking Caribbean to win an Olympic Medal.
Director of Sports Christopher Jones told Kaieteur Sport recently that while their return from Cuba has been approved, there were no flights coming out of Cuba.
“Being out of the Country, away from their families coupled with being in a lockdown in a strange Country is taking its toll on them, this I was told by team leader (Colin Lewis). But with the support of Ambassador and the Embassy staffers in Cuba they are trying their best to keep them in high spirits,” informed Jones two weeks ago.
Repeated efforts to contact Jones yesterday to enquire about the possibility of the Government chartering a plane to bring the Boxers and the Guyanese Medical Students in Cuba home, proved futile.
When contacted via whatsapp and was asked the same question, Director of Public Information government, Guyana, Imran Khan, declined to respond although he saw the message.
But with declaration of a President yet to be done after Guyanese went to the polls on March 2 and a Parliament is not in place, it seems that going all out to bring home Guyana’s Sporting Ambassadors is far from a priority of Politicians from both major Parties who, in the best of times, show very little interest in sports.

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