Ghanim, the shining light of life that lit up WC opening ceremony

Very few moments in life can be called magical. The moment when Hollywood legend Morgan Freeman spread his left hand to Ghanim al Muftah during the opening ceremony of the World Cup, was definitely one of them. That moment revoked the thought of Michael Angelo’s ‘The creation of Adam.’ Like the invaluable piece of art hanging over the Sistine Chapel, the whole earth could feel the passion of Adam getting life from ‘god.’

The life, the greatest gift of god that transcends the spirit of every celestial being, and the folly of the human being that made it the greatest creation, is the spirit of the earth. And on the stage of the greatest show on earth, an amazing life story, the saga of young Qatari, Ghanim al Miftah set the whole world alight.

Like the creation story, where all the celestial beings forbade god to create a new animal with many follies, Miftah’s mother did not go for the rational decision, vehemently rejected the proposition of an abortion and decided to birth a child that came to the earth with a rare ‘Caudal Regression Syndrome.’

And on 5 May, 2002, twins Ghanim and Ahmed were born. Ahmed remained healthy but Ghanim was born without the lower portion of the body. Only one in every 60,000 is born with this disease which hinders the growth of the lower portion of the body. After Ghanim's birth, doctors announced that the child may live at most 15 years. But, like the angels of heaven, doctors could not calculate the animal with many limitations, otherwise known as human being, has a huge strength: determination. Like the survival of human, who neither had big teeth or the power of legs like cheetah, Ghanim lived against all the odds and became the beacon of life.

Ghanim, 20, the youngest entrepreneur of Qatar, a philanthropist, Youtube star, TikToker, student of political science, motivational speaker, gives inspiration to myriad of people around the world. Ghanim is the living embodiment of Michael Angelo’s wonderful art, he is the lighthouse that guides all the hapless souls tend to drown in the darkness of tempestuous avenue of life.

Ghanim’s mother struggled to admit him in a school as most of them denied him the opportunity to grow up with others. In the end, one of the schools gave him admission but initially they prohibited him from playing with other so called healthy children. However, it is impossible to stop the indomitable spirit of Ghanim that saw him fulfilling his biggest passion- playing football.

Unlike others, he had to wear boots on his hands. But the journey does not end here. For him, sky is the limit and he is studying political science because he dreams to become Qatari prime minister one day.

“I have learnt how to see the life positively from my mother. She taught me, life is beautiful and impossible is nothing,” said the baby-face angel like Ghanim during a video published at the Olympic website on 15 November, 2017.

And, his quest of spreading the spirit of life is not confined in words. He tried scuba diving, skateboarding and hiking. Ghanim, who wants to become a Para Olympian, even reached the peak of Jebel Shams, the 9,872 feet high, highest mountain of gulf area.

Like the evolution story of human being, which teaches us that harmony and mutual aid are the most important qualities for survival and progress, Ghanim also depends on his parents along with his indomitable mind rather than using a wheel chair.

“My parents used to think, we will be his right and left foot,” Ghanim was quoted when telling his life story.

Ghanim has to visit Europe twice every year for his treatment yet he has established an ice cream factory with six branches and 60 workers. It is almost needless to say another dream of Ghanim. He wants to reach the top of the Everest. Perhaps even the Everest awaits such honour.

Talking about glory, Qatar, a country desperate to earn global glory, is marred with many controversies ever since they were awarded the hosting rights of the World Cup. And when Freeman asked Ghanim if Qatar follows just one ideology, how can so many countries and cultures coexist here for the World Cup, the young Qatari aptly answered, “We grew up with the belief that we are a single nation that have spread across the whole world. So, we may learn from each other.’

No one knows who will clinch the World Cup after the final on 18 November, but Ghanim was the winner for his country in the inaugural show.

Guess what! The meaning of Ghanim in Arabic is – Victorious.