Ethiopian wants to stay where she can run

CLEVELAND (AP) -- A young athlete who fled rather than return to her home in Ethiopia explained she did not want to return home because she has more freedom to run here.
"I want to stay," the 15-year-old Aden Alemu told The Plain Dealer, speaking Thursday in her native language.
"If there was any way she could stay here, she would jump at the chance," said Carl Robson, Aden's host and sponsor of an Ethiopian delegation to the International Children's Games. "But I think she has resigned herself to the fact that she's probably going to have to go home."
The girl returned to Cleveland on Wednesday night after disappearing Aug. 6. A Washington, D.C., family with relatives in Ethiopia had sheltered the girl in her bid to stay in the United States.
Upon her return, Aden was interviewed by police and representatives of Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services, Robson said.
Opportunity
Robson, whose wife is Ethiopian, said Aden is an orphan from the Ethiopian city of Bahir Dar. "She's a country girl," said Robson. "She's certainly not sophisticated in her understanding of immigration law. It was just that a lot of people in her community said, 'This is your big chance.'"
She said she lives in Ethiopia in a small wooden house with her guardians and seven other children and helps with chores.
The girl had competed in the 800-meter race in the games, which ended Aug. 2 after a three-day competition that was held in the United States for the first time since its founding in 1968.
The games, endorsed by the International Olympic Committee, offer competition for children 11 to 15 in track and field, swimming, soccer, basketball and gymnastics.