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Manute Bol Is Stranded in Egypt
AP via YAHOO ^ | 10 24 2001 | By Dave Collins

Posted on 10/25/2001 2:31:56 PM PDT by JJ59




Manute Bol Is Stranded in Egypt

By Dave Collins
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2001; 7:44 a.m. EDT

 

HARTFORD, Conn. –– Manute Bol and his family are stranded in Egypt because U.S. visas and refugee documents have been hard to come by since Sept. 11.

"I've been detained like a terrorist," the 7-foot-7 Bol said Tuesday from his Cairo apartment in an interview with The Associated Press. "I don't want to stay. It's not safe for me to be here in Egypt. I don't go out. I just sit here."

Bol, who played for four NBA teams and the University of Bridgeport, has been in Cairo since July, when he and his family slipped out of his native Sudan after waiting eight months to get out of that wartorn country.

He wants to come to New Jersey to see his three daughters and son from a previous marriage. Then he wants to settle in the Hartford area to be near several friends he made during college.

In a few years, the 39-year-old Dinka tribe member will be eligible for his NBA pension.

During his rookie year with the Washington Bullets in 1985, he set an NBA record with 397 blocks. Bol bounced from Washington to Golden State, Philadelphia and Miami before retiring from the league in 1995. He averaged just 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 points during his career.

Before Sept. 11, Bol said he had an appointment for Oct. 15 to see U.S. State Department immigration lawyers, who visit Cairo from Italy and Greece once every few months. The officials help people fill out paperwork and get approved for visas and refugee status.

But the lawyers canceled the appointment, and Bol believes it was because of the terrorist attacks in America and the resulting slowdown in the issuing of visas and approving of refugee status.

A major stumbling block for Bol has been the status of his 10-year-old half-sister, Acheed. Bol is caring for her, but doesn't have documents to show that he is her legal guardian. Because of that, Bol said, he cannot get visas in Cairo for himself, his wife Ajok and his 2-year-old son.

Bol said embassy officials have told him that because of Acheed's status, he would have to apply for refugee status for himself and his family and meet with the State Department lawyers. He said they told him he could fly to Italy or Greece to meet with the lawyers.

"Everything is becoming a mess," said Bol, who lost his green card two or three years ago in Sudan.

Bol fears he cannot afford the trip to southern Europe, where he would have to spend a week while waiting to see American officials.

He made millions of dollars in his 10 years in the NBA, but diverted much of it to his extended family in Sudan and to rebels fighting the Sudanese government. Since then, he has fallen on hard times, having been forced to sell his two homes in Africa while a bank foreclosed on his home in the United States.

Bol said he misses America. He watches the news every day to see what is happening in the aftermath of the attacks.

"It was a very sad thing," Bol said. "For somebody that lived there for 15 years, it is real hard. It's very scary."

Bol said he and his friends tried to warn American officials after the World Trade Center bombing in 1993 that terrorism was a very real threat and it could happen again in America.

Ed Bona, Bol's cousin and a former European pro basketball player who lives in West Hartford, said he and other friends of Bol have been trying to get immigration lawyers to see Bol in Cairo.

"We're trying to help him," said Bona, who works for the state Department of Economic and Community Development. "It got screwed up because of the events of Sept. 11."

Before the terrorist attacks, Bona said the end of Bol and his family's saga was in sight. But now it has faded away.

"We thought we'd have a happy ending by now," Bona said. "But we have to wait. We're waiting. We're still waiting."

 

 



TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 10/25/2001 2:31:56 PM PDT by JJ59
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To: JJ59
He made millions of dollars in his 10 years in the NBA, but diverted much of it to his extended family in Sudan

Just like the entourage of a washed up heavy weight.

2 posted on 10/25/2001 2:33:56 PM PDT by JJ59
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To: JJ59
For shame. Bol should be praised for looking out for his family. In many traditional societies, the one who does well is expected to help care for the less successful members of the clan. This is normal and honorable, and you should be more respectful of what seems to be an act of generosity and decency.
3 posted on 10/25/2001 2:39:29 PM PDT by ArcLight
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To: JJ59
For shame. Bol should be praised for looking out for his family. In many traditional societies, the one who does well is expected to help care for the less successful members of the clan. This is normal and honorable, and you should be more respectful of what seems to be an act of generosity and decency.
4 posted on 10/25/2001 2:39:29 PM PDT by ArcLight
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To: JJ59
At least the weather in Egypt is nice this time of year.
5 posted on 10/25/2001 2:40:23 PM PDT by Dog Gone
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To: JJ59
Bol is on our side if he's helping the Sudanese rebels and his life is probably in danger in Egypt.
6 posted on 10/25/2001 2:47:16 PM PDT by Tribune7
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To: JJ59
One of the stories I heard about Manute Bol when he first came out of the Sudan: He came from such a primitive area that when he left to play basketball in the states many of his tribesman just assumed he had been eaten by lions.
7 posted on 10/25/2001 2:48:16 PM PDT by Former Proud Canadian
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To: ArcLight
You're right. I made an unfair dig at him. But he can only blame himself if he has no dough left. Looks like he was supporting way too many people.
8 posted on 10/25/2001 2:50:29 PM PDT by JJ59
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To: Tribune7
Which Sudanese rebels? We don't know. There are so many clans fighting each other that I might suspect that the information was deliberately left out of the report.
9 posted on 10/25/2001 2:52:24 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: Former Proud Canadian
One of the stories I heard about Manute Bol when he first came out of the Sudan: He came from such a primitive area that when he left to play basketball in the states many of his tribesman just assumed he had been eaten by lions.

LMAO!

Every time I think things around here get too serious, I manage to get good laugh from a poster.

10 posted on 10/25/2001 2:54:02 PM PDT by AAABEST
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To: JJ59
I recall reading that he had built a hospital or two over there. And spending oneself into poverty helping ones family is a good thing, IMO.

He is one of the good guys. I hope he makes it in.

11 posted on 10/25/2001 3:02:32 PM PDT by don-o
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To: Former Proud Canadian
I had the chance to see Manute when he played St Michael's college in Colchester, VT. He had no front teeth at the time because after seeing a teammate dunk he tried it himsef and hit his teeth on the rim!
12 posted on 10/25/2001 3:04:15 PM PDT by Straight Vermonter
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To: JJ59
Yeah, well...maybe he COULD have hired a better financial advisor. Still, I'm glad you agree that the guy's heart's in the right place.
13 posted on 10/25/2001 10:28:28 PM PDT by ArcLight
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To: Straight Vermonter
Read a sports article in a newspaper about how a team practicing to go against Manute, had a tall guy stand by the basket with a broom knocking down shots.
14 posted on 10/25/2001 10:35:49 PM PDT by Freedom of Speech Wins
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Comment #15 Removed by Moderator

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