Press Conference Tirunesh Dibaba and Kim Smith - 2009 Reebok Grand Prix

Oh, I understand that very well. My feeling is that that paradigm needs to change. Just because 'we' pay her wages, doesn't make her beholden to the whims of the western world. I suspect that she would have quite a nice life by Ethiopian standards without the funding, the organization, the agents, the managers, etc. because she is an articulate, intelligent, and ambitious person.

I disagree with the premise that she is unable to communicate well. She communicates extremely well, but happens not to speak English. If you do an honest assessment of the four speakers in that video, Tiru is the best of the four! The guy asking the questions is an extremely uncomfortable speaker, and Kim Smith is painfully reserved and quiet. The translator speaks clearly, though a bit monotone and flat, and makes eye contact with his audience. I don't know what others are looking at, but that is how I judge the quality of a speaker.
It's worth noting that the western world will want nothing to do with her when someone better comes along. The machine is in the process of chewing her up right now. We should be careful what we wish for when we ask for our culture to consume another for the sake of our entertainment. Whatever you call that, it isn't success.