Among several different highlights, there’s one thing in particular that this Olympic Games will be remembered for: the first-ever refugee team.
In 2016, the amount of refugees worldwide has reached 60 million people, more than all the people living in European countries such as Italy or France. Due to this undeniable particular situation, the IOC has chosen 10 athletes from Syria, Congo, Ethiopia and other countries to represent over 60 million refugees worldwide.
During the opening ceremony, these athletes made their entrance in the stadium by fiercely waving the Olympics flag as they were introduced to the public who applauded them for quite a long while.
Before this occasion, the IOC had already allowed athletes coming from countries going through “hard times” to participate in the Games and represent their countries even if they were not officially recognised yet (like Kosovo). However, this is the very first time that refugees were reunited in a unique team, and under the same flag.
These people come from different countries all over the world, yet they have something in common: a special story to tell.
Yusra Mardini
That’s the case, for instance for 18 year-old Syrian swimmer, Yusra Mardini. In August 2015, joined by her sister and a friend, she decided to flee Syria. The group of girls first reached Beirut, Lebanon, and eventually Istanbul.
Once there, they headed for Greece on board a typically (ie horribly) maintained boat. Not surprisingly, problems occurred while the boat was in the middle of Aegean Sea. To save their lives and those of other passengers, Yusra Mardini, her sister and two more people decided to jump into the water and pull the boat. They succeeded in towing it to safety; not surprisingly, Yusra says she now “hates the sea.”
After Greece, the girls reached Germany, where Mardini restarted her training. Thanks to the IOC’s decision, Yusra has been able to compete in the 100m butterfly and 100m freestyle. While she won the heats for the butterfly, she didn’t qualify for the semis and didn’t get any medals, but Yusra has said that “it has been wonderful” and that she’s always dreamed of participating in the Olympics.
Popole Misenga
Then there’s the story of Congolese judo-ka, Popole Misenga. When he was only 9 years old, he was forced to leave his family to escape war. He was found hidden in the forest 8 days later. Popole was then moved into an orphanage in Kinshasa, where he discovered judo.
However, things didn’t get any better – every time he lost in a competition, his trainer would put him into a cage, feeding him with only coffee and bread. Because of the war and his terrible living condition, Popole was granted a refugee status. While Popole won his first match at the Rio Olympics, he lost his second by ippon to South Korea.
James Nyang Chiengjiek
This 28 year-old middle-distance runner comes from Bentiu, South Sudan. His father was a soldier who died in 1999 while fighting the war between Sudan government and the Sudanese popular army. James left his native city after his father’s death to avoid being kidnapped by soldiers and becoming a child soldier.
In 2002, he arrived in Kenya where he started to run in the refugee camp in Kakuma, built by the United Nations. At the beginning, he didn’t even have a pair of shoes so he used to run barefoot; on occasion, he was able to borrow a pair from someone in the village. He ran the 400m heats last week, and finished eighth.
