Ethiopian athlete Mulget Amaru is in the Peruvian capital expecting to continue a long trip that will take him throughout the Americas as he conveys his message of peace.
Besides being a cinematographer and film editor, Amaru is an athlete, although not a professional one.
"I work with professional athletes, and I always run for causes. For example, Red Cross, AIDS, cancer, or heart problems, I never run for competition or trophies. This is my cause, to run for peace," he told
Andina news agency.
According to the runner, the news programs show war and conflicts. So, he decided to contribute to peace and run long distances to spread the message. Additionally, he runs to honor all mothers and to stop massive exodus.
"I lost some friends from my village because of the exodus. They wanted to go to Europe, but they died in the Mediterranean Sea."
He is taking a forced break now as he waits for the Ecuadorian Embassy's decision on the tourist visa he applied for. He cannot resume his journey to the north until he gets such document, which is taking much longer than he expected, compared to the visa application processes he went through to enter Chile and Peru.
Right now, he is staying in the house of Manina Carmona and her husband, a very kind couple who have given him a place to stay, food, and company during this interminable wait.
After Peru, he will head to Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Central America, Mexico, the United States, Canada, until he reaches the U.S. territory of Alaska. He is planning to follow the Pan-American Highway route to do that.
Amaru claimed it will take only 15 days to reach to Ecuador. That's not surprising, because he assures that he can run 45 km a day, sometimes 75 km or even 80 km.
He admits that the journey has not been easy. Unfortunately, he has faced racist discrimination, which made him want to give up for a moment.
The weather poses another challenge for him. "Deserts are ok for me. Nights are so cold. I don't sleep well sometimes because my tent is not strong (…) Nights are cold, but daytime, strong sunlight, wind or rain is fine, because I am on the move."
Besides the weather, the noise of the trucks also makes it difficult to sleep as he does it next to the highway.
The African man said he had the chance to visit very beautiful places along the way, such as
Machu Picchu and Ushuaia —the Argentine town where he started this journey.
"Machu Picchu is so magic. For me, that's the number one place," he commented.
Finally, he explained the reason why he chose the Americas for this mission.
"I was planning to do it in Africa. But some borders are in conflict and soldiers are not OK with travelers. In South America, people understand backpackers, cyclists, and bikers. In addition, I wanted to run the longest highway: the Pan-American Highway, which runs from Ushuaia to Alaska."
He also noted that —for most of the trip— he will be exposed to only one language (Spanish), at least until Mexico.
Amaru expects his trip to last three years. Afterwards, he will return home to continue helping people and serving the society.
(END) RMB/MVB
Published: 9/26/2019