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From the international boycott of the 1956 Melbourne games, to the 1972 Munich Olympics, to the Cold War boycotts of the 1980s, the Olympics have long converged sports and politics.

This year’s games in China were no exception, with pro-Tibet activists protesting all the way up to the opening ceremony in Beijing. Despite the world scrutiny and subsequent bad press stemming from the Communist Party’s human-rights abuses and heavy-handed rule in Tibet, China has managed to show the world it’s a powerful yet hospitable economic superpower, playing host to the world’s athletes, politicians and fans.

Countries with weak global footing should take note: The Olympics can turn athletes into ambassadors of good will.

Consider Mercedes Farhat, an 18-year-old Libyan-American woman from Marco Island who became one of the first women to compete for the North African country.

Farhat’s father was born in Libya, which gives her dual citizenship and an appreciation for a culture often isolated and all too often misunderstood.

When Farhat, who registered with the name Asmahan, competed in the 100-meter breaststroke she didn’t break any records or win any medals, but she swam strong, beating her own personal record and beating the other two swimmers in her heat.

More important, she brought a little attention to woman’s suffrage, showing the world that Libyan woman can and should participate in global events.

The Olympics can guarantee fairness in a way politics cannot. By sending seven athletes to Beijing, with at least one being a woman, Libya is showing the world that it wants to be a part of the global community and it is willing to play by the rules. The more the international community can see Libyans — both men and women, be they veiled or in swimsuits, be they blonde and blue-eyed Berbers or Moorish-looking Saharans — the easier it will be to argue that case.

The international community should accept Farhat’s gesture as the Libyans have, and see it as a contribution to world relations, rather than an affront to the United States.

There are a handful of athletes competing for the U.S. who were likewise born and trained elsewhere; none of them should be criticized for their talent.

For the record, Farhat’s times would not have qualified her for the U.S. team, and as she herself admits her satisfaction stems from the possibility of her own martyrdom, by paving the way for future women athletes in Libya.

If enlisting in the Libyan national team is any indication, Farhat’s connection to Libya runs deep, regardless of whether or not she grew up there. Moreover, her partaking shows Libyans that young Americans are also connected to Libya, and want to represent it positively.

By the same token, the image of a woman athlete accompanying the flag of a Muslim country, displayed on the video screen in Beijing’s National Aquatics Center, can only help the image of a country known more for the antics of Moammar Gadhafi than its athletics.

More symbolically, Farhat represents Libya: a nation slowly realizing it needs to grow up and reinvent itself, fully aware she has the potential to do so.

America, the so-called nation of immigrants, should view Farhat’s Olympic partaking and reverence for her father’s home country as a gift to her lineage, and a nod of encouragement to the Libyan men and women who don’t have the opportunity to train competitively.

Libya and the U.S. have settled all outstanding lawsuits stemming from the 1998 plane explosion over Lockerbie, Scotland. Should this lead to full acceptance and normalization of U.S.-Libya relations, more Americans like Farhat will be needed to tie the loose ends, fill in the gaps and unapologetically retain pride for Libya on American soil.

As my teenage sister puts it, “She’s Libyan. That’s tight. I wanna be like her.”

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Yusra Tekbali, 23, was born to Libyan parents in Woodland, Calif. In May she graduated from the University of Arizona with degrees in journalism and Near Eastern studies. She visits Libya often and her writing has appeared in The Tripoli Post, Arizona Daily Star and Arab American News. She works as a staff assistant to U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona.