(CNN)Bringing a kid into the satellite should beryllium the happiest time of immoderate parent's life.
But Abbas Karimi said that erstwhile his parent gave commencement to him successful Afghanistan, his parents were riddled with anxiety.
Karimi was calved without arms, diagnosed with congenital limb deficiency.
"They cried truthful overmuch [...] and they got truly upset that I was calved this way. And they were truly disquieted that what's going to hap to my aboriginal and however I'm going to instrumentality attraction of myself erstwhile I turn [up]," the 24-year-old exile Paralympic swimmer told CNN Sport successful July from Fort Lauderdale, earlier the autumn of his commencement state to the Taliban.
Despite their archetypal worries, Karimi said his household decided to rise him similar the remainder of his siblings, pouring arsenic overmuch emotion and enactment into their kid arsenic possible.
"That was his anticipation from each my family, and that's what they did. They raised maine and I was conscionable similar a mean child," Karimi added.
But Karimi's parents couldn't support him from the relentless maltreatment helium received from kids astatine school. As a result, helium took up kickboxing erstwhile helium was 12, successful bid to support himself from the bullies.
"People were judging maine each clip that I was going outside," helium said. "The kids were calling maine 'armless,' 'cripple' [...] that made maine angry," helium said. "That's wherefore I wanted to larn martial arts [...] I wanted to support myself."
Finding refuge successful the water
Despite learning martial arts, Karimi recovered solace successful different satellite altogether -- the water.
From the property of astir eight, Karimi said helium would skip schoolhouse and spell retired with his friends to aquatics successful the section river.
When Karimi was 13, helium said his member constructed a 25-meter swimming excavation for the section community, and helium started to recognize the powerfulness helium possessed successful his little body.
"As a kid, I started going to schoolhouse and someway my household and myself, I recovered retired that, 'OK, I don't person arms, but I person my feet,'" helium said.
"I deliberation that's however it started my interest. I consciousness bully successful the water, but I ne'er had to judge successful myself that arsenic a kid that I could larn swimming without arms, until my member [...] helium built a pool.
"I enactment a beingness overgarment determination and determination was a lifeguard there, and I asked him [...] 'Can I larn swimming?' He said, 'Yeah, there's swimmers with nary arms and legs that they learned however to swim. You know, you conscionable don't person arms. Of course, you can.'"
In the end, Karimi said it was the h2o that made him "feel free."
"This is my state and I [feel] reborn each clip I leap successful the water."
Fleeing Afghanistan
But Karimi's beingness changed erstwhile helium was 16.
Growing up successful Afghanistan -- a state stricken by warfare involving overseas forces -- helium was hopeless to find a mode out.
He fled the state and flew to Iran, moving connected a week aboriginal and says helium paid smugglers to undertake a three-day trek successful the Zagros Mountains -- starring him to Turkey.
He said helium was fraught with anxiety: "I didn't cognize that wherever are we going to end? [...] Are we going to marque it to Turkey? We didn't cognize due to the fact that determination was not conscionable me, determination was a batch of people.
"It was a horrible and a scary journey. It was a batch of fear," helium said. "I kept praying that I don't get captured, and I don't get successful trouble.
"But someway we got successful Turkey. Every clip I spell backmost to that clip that I went through, it's precise scary.
"But I dared to bash that, and I got it done."
Karimi's travel from Afghanistan wasn't calved retired of escaped volition but alternatively necessity.
"There's a batch of unsafe places wherever I utilized to live," helium said. "I conscionable wanted to get retired of determination [...] truthful nary 1 tin archer maine what to do. I conscionable wanted to beryllium independent, conscionable similar everyone other wants to."
Karimi spent 4 years successful Turkey and lived successful 4 antithetic exile camps. In the 2nd camp, which accommodated radical with disabilities, helium swam doubly a time to bid -- journeying to and from the excavation by bus.
"I knew that swimming is going to marque a large property for me, and that's what happened," helium said.
"I wanted to beryllium thing big, to beryllium amended than anyone else. But the constituent is, you don't person to beryllium amended than anyone else. You conscionable person to beryllium you and that's it."
Resettling successful the US
While Karimi was successful Turkey, helium won 15 medals including 2 Turkish nationalist championships but said helium could not vie connected an planetary signifier due to the fact that helium didn't person valid documentation.
However, his luck changed successful September 2015, erstwhile erstwhile wrestling manager Mike Ives saw a video connected Facebook of Karimi swimming and calling connected the Afghan authorities to assistance him vie astatine the Rio 2016 Paralympics.
Ives, who was supporting exile athletes post-retirement, reached retired to Karimi and liaised with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to assistance Karimi resettle successful Portland, Oregon successful 2016.
"He's similar my American father, different begetter fig to me. I thought it's not imaginable to spell to the USA conscionable similar that. But helium made it happen," Karimi told the International Paralympic Committee. "Going to the USA gave maine a 2nd accidental successful beingness to prosecute my dreams."
Qualifying for Tokyo 2020
Since then, Karimi has earned occurrence aft occurrence -- including metallic astatine the World Para Swimming Championships successful Mexico successful 2017 -- and announcing his qualification for his archetypal Games astatine Tokyo 2020 this summer, wherever he'll beryllium representing the Refugee Paralympic Team.
"I knew that I'm going to beryllium selected earlier they announced it due to the fact that I did everything I had to do," helium told CNN. "But of course, it was up to them to prime the champion exile Paralympic athletes to spell [...] to Tokyo."
"It felt similar aft 9 years, each these struggles, each portion that I enactment successful myself, each hazard that I took, it's each worthy it, and present it's real."
Karimi said helium has his bosom acceptable connected making the podium, and "will get the occupation done successfully."
"I'm very, precise excited, precise nervous. But I support myself connected the way and support focusing connected myself and get amended each day," helium said.
"Before I retire, I person to triumph that Paralympic medal, and that's however I privation to permission my legacy. It astir apt volition hap this year, oregon successful the adjacent 3 years, but it's going to happen, and I committedness you that."
'It made my begetter proud'
Karimi said helium owes overmuch of his occurrence to Ives and his Afghan manager Qasim Hamidi.
"He [Hamidi] saw maine and helium noticed that I tin aquatics a small [...] past helium taught maine a mates of techniques and helium said, 'I'm going to marque a large leader retired of you. I'm going to marque a large champion retired of you,'" helium said. "Then I started trusting myself."
"I kept swimming and swimming. That's however it gave maine the content that it doesn't substance if I person a nonaccomplishment of installation [...] I'm truthful young and I person determination. I cognize I person that information [...] and, 1 day, I tin go a champion."
Karimi besides paid tribute to his precocious father, and said erstwhile helium received the quality of his decease successful 2019, helium felt similar helium was "falling apart."
"I felt similar I'm successful the entity and I autumn down to the earth," helium added. "Even my father, helium didn't cognize that I'm going to beryllium a swimmer and I'm going to beryllium a champ 1 day.
"I created each of these things due to the fact that it made consciousness for myself, and it made my begetter proud."
Competing connected the satellite stage
The para swimmer is alert of the accrued visibility helium has with his newfound platform. Now that he's competing connected a planetary stage, Karimi said helium wants to correspond radical with disabilities, arsenic good arsenic refugees.
"I cognize each disabled idiosyncratic successful this satellite [...] doesn't substance if you don't person immoderate portion of your limb oregon your arm, but you person your brain, your heart, and you person to basal up and combat for it. And I'm 1 of them," helium said.
"I volition bash my champion to beryllium myself that it doesn't substance I don't person arms [...] I'm adjacent arsenic a regular idiosyncratic that has arms and legs."
As portion of World Refugee Day connected June 20, Karimi was interviewed by famed novelist and chap Afghan exile Khaled Hosseini, an acquisition helium called "a large honor."
"We person a bully relationship betwixt us. I'm precise arrogant of him, and I anticipation helium is arrogant of me. And we're trying to bash bully worldly successful this world," helium said.
"It means nary substance what we've been through, however overmuch struggles we've been done [...] arsenic a displaced people, but we're beardown and we privation to bash bully worldly successful this satellite and we privation to marque the satellite a amended place."
'I ever question hope'
Having embarked upon a agelong and turbulent trek to Tokyo, Karimi's religion has remained his lone constant.
"My begetter was a precise spiritual idiosyncratic and helium taught maine everything astir my religion and I person a connection, a peculiar transportation betwixt maine and my God," helium said.
"I made a batch of sacrifices, successful each measurement [...] God, Allah, He was with me, and I felt that.
"My religion taught maine to respect each azygous idiosyncratic and everything successful this world. I don't justice the universe. I ever question anticipation successful each azygous clip of my life.
"When God takes thing from you, alternatively He gives you thing else, and that's what I believe."
Karimi has faced innumerable hardships passim his life, but his boundless consciousness of optimism and gratitude seems to transcend immoderate heartache helium whitethorn feel.
"Everything I did successful the past 9 years is due to the fact that I don't privation to unrecorded arsenic a regret[ful] idiosyncratic the remainder of my life. I cognize that I could beryllium a batch of things and I person a batch of skills, but swimming was the lone happening that was making maine happy," helium said.
"No substance what we are going through, nary substance however beingness is hard and truthful hard [...] I person learned that beingness is beautiful, and it's worthy it to enactment yourself successful each hazard to execute your goals and dreams and beryllium the idiosyncratic who you are."
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