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Maya Khaskhely

Language & Literature 8B

Mr. Garner

16 October 2017

Yusra Mardini-A modern hero by using her passion

Yusra Mardini is a Syrian refugee that competed under the Olympic flag in the 2016 Rio

De Janeiro Summer Olympic Games with a team of ten other refugees. Yusra, her sister, and two

other swimmers kept a boat full of Syrian refugees afloat after their boat (which was meant for

six people carrying twenty people) started failing. Their engine had stopped working so being the

only four people knowing how to swim, they jumped into the freezing cold water and kept the

boat afloat and moving for three hours in the Aegean Sea. They had saved all of those refugees

and now they live in Berlin, Germany. She competed in the women’s 100 meter and freestyle in

the Rio Olympics. By doing these actions she could be seen as a cultural hero, but definitely not

a mythic hero. By risking her life she is most definitely considered a modern hero to society.

Yusra Mardini could be viewed as a cultural hero.She represents refugees around the

world who have tried to escape from war. She also embodies the idea that refugees can have a

new and plentiful life after the danger of fleeing their country. Like a cultural hero Yusra has

worked in politics. She has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

(UNHCR). She was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the UNHCR and has become a

powerful voice for refugees around the world. She has said that she is determined to rebuild lives

and contribute to host countries for refugees.When Yusra and her sister noticed that their dinghy
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was starting to sink, they both (along with two other swimmers) jumped into the frigid waters of

the Aegean Sea. She had stepped up during a time where people thought they were going to die.

Yusra Mardini was born on March 5th, 1998. She was seventeen-years old when her dinghy

started taking on water. Most cultural heroes are perceived as myths, while Yusra, and her

actions, are very real. Many news stations, news papers, and online articles covered her and her

story of the sinking dinghy. While she does represent how life can be after escaping a country,

she does not represent the virtues of refugees. She has not set a high moral standard for all

refugees to follow. Yusra does not represent all of the refugees that come from many different

places. Yusra fits some of the requirement of a cultural hero.

Even though Yusra could be viewed as a cultural hero, she is definitely not a mythical

hero. Some mythical heros are legends and their actions have not been recorded or verified.

Yusra’s actions, however, have been recorded by newspapers, television, online news etcetera.

Even though her actions were extraordinary on the dinghy, she herself was not extraordinary

before saving the dinghy. She was a refugee just like the rest of the people on the boat. Yusra’s

decisions caused her to be extraordinary. She did not have the ideal to transform herself by this

journey. Therefore, she also did not go through a “transformation of self”. Mythical heroes

usually have divine ancestry and are favored by the gods. In Yusra’s situation she had neither of

these things. Yusra Mardini may be brave and courageous like a mythical hero, but does not fit

any of the other criteria to become a mythical hero.

Yusra Mardini is the perfect candidate for a modern hero. She had saved the lives of

twenty other people on the boat. Some of the people that were on the boat include six-year olds.

She swam in the freezing cold water for three hours straight with three other people to keep their

dinghy afloat. She had sacrificed her life to keep that boat afloat. She states, “It’s quite hard to-
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just to think that you are a swimmer and you’re going to end up dying in the water which you

know the best” (Source 1). Like a modern hero, Yusra was at the right place at the right time.

She was an ordinary swimmer that trained in Syria. But after this opportunity she had gotten

international attention. Yusra Mardini helped people in a time where they thought they were not

going to make it out alive.

Yusra is definitely not a mythical hero by doing this courageous act. By being a role

model for refugees, she could be seen as a cultural hero. Most importantly, her risk and sacrifice

of her life and her willingness to help others has truly made her a modern hero. Yusra Mardini

had saved the lives of twenty other people that day. Regardless of what type of hero she is, she is

truly a hero to those people for saving their lives. Yusra sacrificed her life, all for the sake of

helping people get to the new and safer world full of better opportunities.

Works Cited
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Saul, Heather. “Yusra Mardini: Olympic Syrian Refugee Who Swam for Three Hours in Sea to

Push Sinking Boat Carrying 20 to Safety.” The Independent, Independent Digital News

and Media, 5 Aug. 2016, www.independent.co.uk/news/people/yusra-mardini-rio-2016-

olympics-womens-swimming-the-syrian-refugee-competing-in-the-olympics-who-

a7173546.html. (Source 1)

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. “Yusra Mardini Appointed UNHCR Goodwill

Ambassador.” UNHCR, www.unhcr.org/en-us/news/press/2017/4/5901978a4/yusra-

mardini-appointed-unhcr-goodwill-ambassador.html?query=Yusra%2BMardini. (Source

2)

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. “Yusra Mardini.” UNHCR, www.unhcr.org/en-

us/yusra-mardini.html. (Source 3)