dounia farhat

Most of you have seen the movie trending on Netflix, The Swimmers, and I already read few articles and posts about how the movie did not only shed the light on the personal journey of the Mardini sisters but also on the suffering of the migrants and the ugliness of war. While I agree on the importance of these points, I would love to highlight other aspects of the movie, which I am not sure if they were meant to be lessons to be learned or just part of the facts of the movie since it is based on a true story. Everyone saw that Yusra will end up winning the olympics, but did you see Sarah ending up in jail? Well, the pathway of Sarah was obvious from the very first minutes of the movie because it is nothing but a result of her father’s actions! The father did not treat his daughters equally.. he definitely loved both of them infinitely, but while he truly believed in Yusra and supported her, making her the “perfect child”, he made Sarah feel less loved, so she had to take the role of more or less the “rebel child”. And although the cause she was arrested for was noble, it was illegal! If there is anything to learn from this, it is how serious the effect of parents can be on their children. Parents literally shape their children’s future, making them successful, failures, heroes, criminals, geniuses, victims… and everything else! The second super important lesson to be learned from this movie is the power of belief!!! Talent, training and discipline were for sure behind Yusra winning the olympics, but didn’t her coach Sven have all this? His answer to Yusra’s question when she asked him why he didn’t win the olympics was clear and direct: he did not believe in himself! Yusra, on the other hand, was always ready for this moment, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally! She had a goal, vision, persistence, and above all she believed she can make it! What a great combination right? Well, here is the magic ingredient: trust the process! The journey may not always be smooth and bright, just hold onto your belief and trust the process!! Dounia Farhat @3D Transformational Therapy