Refugee Olympic Team makes history at Rio Games

1st ever Refugee Team makes 2016 Rio Olympics debut (C) UNHCR, Benjamin Loyseau

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – To tumultuous applause, ten refugee athletes made history on Friday evening marching into the famed Maracanã Stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the Rio2016 Olympics. Rose Nathike Lokonyen, a 23-year-old South Sudanese runner, led the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team into the stadium behind the banner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to cries of support from an ecstatic crowd. The young athletes, originally from South Sudan, Syria, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia, have won friends and admirers in Brazil with amazing tales of triumph over adversity.

Rose was eight years old when she fled war and found safety in the remote Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya and has lived there ever since.

Rose Lokonyen trains in Kenya before heading to Rio (C) UNHCR Benjamin Loyseau “I feel very excited. This is the first chance for the refugees to participate in the Olympics and to give us hope, for us to encourage the young generations of fellow refugees who are remaining in the camps maybe to continue their talent,” she told UNHCR in an interview before the ceremony.

“Being a refugee doesn’t mean you are not a human being.”

President Obama sent the refugee athletes a message of support shortly before they took to the stadium floor ahead of the host nation Brazil. "Tonight, the first-ever #TeamRefugees will also stand before the world and prove that you can succeed no matter where you're from," he declared.

For Rose and her teammates, the prospect of an appearance at the Olympic Games – the pinnacle of sporting achievement – was a very distant and unlikely dream only a few months ago.

“For us it started just few months ago, so we cannot compare our times with those who are high level but we shall try our level best… Being a refugee doesn’t mean you are not a human being like others even though they undermined us. We can do what others can do,” she told UNHCR in a recent interview after a gruelling training session.

The Opening Ceremony kicked off with a spectacular celebration of Brazilian art and culture. With an estimated billion people watching worldwide, Brazil showcased its famous music and dance.

2016 Rio Olympics Opening Ceremony, (C) Morry Gash, GettyThe show featured some of Brazil’s top musicians, including the composer Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, the pop singer Anitta, the funk musician Ludmilla and MC Soffia, a 12-year-old rapper.

It began with a spectacular sound and light show tracing the origins of the life in the Brazilian jungle, with Portuguese explorers arriving on sailing ships among the indigenous tribes, followed by a section that depicted the arrival of millions of African slaves over 400 years.

It went on to show the rise of the cities in the 20th century, featuring a tightly choreographed scene in which athletes performed acrobatics on blocks piled up to resemble skyscrapers. It ended with a warning about the dangers of global warming. The young athletes, originally from South Sudan, Syria, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia, have won friends and admirers in Brazil with amazing tales of triumph over adversity.

When Rose’s family in Kakuma refugee camp heard the news, they expressed delight.

“Am so happy she will be the one holding the flag,” said Rose’s younger brother Tom Namilo. “I will be happy to see my sister carrying the refugee flag.”

A year ago, her teammate Yusra Mardini was swimming for her life when the inflatable dinghy she boarded to cross from Turkey to Greece started sinking in the Aegean Sea. Now, in a scarcely believable change of fortune, the 18-year-old from Syria is competing against the best in the world.

Yusra training at the Oympic Pool, (C) UNHCR, Benjamin Loyseau“We do not speak the same language (and) we are from different countries, but the Olympic flag unites all of us together and now we are representing some 60 million people around the world. We are really happy together, as a team. We want to do our best to show everyone that we can do everything we can for being good athletes and good people,” she told UNHCR in a recent interview.

“I’m not going to think about who is next to me or what nationality they are. The only thing I’m going to think about is how I’m going to swim… It is in my head that I’m a swimmer.”

Earlier this week, IOC President Thomas Bach presented the entire 10-member team one by one to all members of the IOC and paid tribute to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, for having stood by the athletes and helped create the teams in a 20-year-long association with the Olympic body.

“These athletes set the example of peaceful coexistence in the whole world. They show that it is possible to engage in competition and live in peace together at the same time. This is the true spirit of Olympic unity and diversity,” he declared.   He thanked UNHCR for helping make the team a reality.

“Without its (UNHCR’s) assistance it would not have been possible to select, train and make them (the refugees) travel to be here today. Their participation in the Olympic Games is a sign of hope to all refugees worldwide. They did not have a country or a flag to compete with. But now they have,” he said.

The 10 members of the Refugee Team at a Rio press conference, (C) UNHCR, Benjamin Loyseau “People think we do nothing in a refugee camp.”

Rose’s compatriot, Yiech Pur Biel, 21, also a runner, has been a refugee for half of his life. He said he considered the IOC and UNHCR to be like the parents he barely knew.

“People think we do nothing in a refugee camp, but we do. We can never forget what IOC and UNHCR made for us, being like a mother and a father. We feel we belong to the community, as equal human beings. This (the Olympics) is the beginning of life and will change our life forever. Thank you all and God bless you.”

Amid tears and smiles of joy, the athletes have been feted since arriving in Rio for the Games. On Thursday, they received a visit from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He wished them well and said they were making history for refugees all over the world.

The Pope joined millions of other people around the world wishing the Refugee Olympic Team the best of luck.

“I extend my greetings and wish you success at the Olympic Games in Rio – that your courage and strength find expression through the Olympic Games and serve as a cry for peace and solidarity. Through you may humanity understand that peace is possible,” he wrote in a message of support.

Honorary IOC President Jacques Rogge, one of the main architects of the team, has spoken passionately about the importance of sports in the lives of young refugees and displaced people.

“These are young people, for the most part. They have a lot of assets to gain in life, and they have the right be considered as normal citizens,” he said.  

By: Jonathan Clayton (READ MORE AT: UNHCR)

IOC Nudges Palestinians and Israelis Closer - in Lausanne (Report)

(HN, January 21, 2011) -- Snow-covered Lausanne was the setting Thursday for top officials from the Palestinian and Israeli Olympic committees to try to bridge differences and seek common ground for cooperation.

Nader Al Masri - the only athlete from the Gaza Strip in Beijing, one of the four-strong Palestinian team.

According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the two sides conducted cordial and productive discussions - to the point of the Israelis offering Palestinian athletes training facilities for the 2012 London Olympics.

"The representatives of the Olympic Committee of Israel said that they were ready to offer training opportunities to Palestinian athletes." the IOC said in a statement sent to HUMNEWS.

The IOC also confirmed that it would provide experts to work on a long-term sports development strategy in Palestine in order to continue to assist not only the athletes but also coaches and sports administrators, and to identify ways to better promote sport and its values at grassroots level, the statement said.

The two sides agreed to meet in Lausanne following IOC President Jacques Rogge’s visit to the Middle East last October. During that visit he must have seen the dilapidated state of sports and training facilities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A second meeting will be scheduled in two months’ time to review the progress made, the IOC said.

There was also an indication that the Israelis agreed to ease access for Palestinian athletes, coaches, officials and sports material, as well as foreign visiting athletes.

Athletes from the Palestinian Territory were first represented at the Olympic Games at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

- HUMNEWS staff, IOC

(EXCLUSIVE) Hugely Outnumbered, North Koreans Bring Own "Fans" to World Cup

(HN, June 16, 2010) -- During the surprisingly durable performance by the North Koreans against Brazil yesterday evening, official broadcasters zoomed in on a group of male fans clad in red outfits, waving the flags of the Hermit Kingdom and banging small bricks together.North Korean fans take cues from a leader at the match in Johannesburg. Credit: Sienna Reynaga

Jarring in a sea of yellow in the packed Ellis Park Stadium were a group of 40 men, appearing to be between the ages of 40-60. Identically dressed with red hats, scarves, brick clappers, flags and sweaters they were there to cheer on the team that has mystified World Cup watchers for the months approaching the games.

In the Tuesday night game, North Korea did not disappoint and ended the 90 minutes only down 2-1 against the World Cup favorite Brazil. It was the first time the team was seen in public as all of their practices have taken place behind closed doors.

Apparently meticulously screened by officials in Pyongyang, the North Korean fans appeared to hardly interact. The red jackets were led by two crowd leaders who prompted them to cheer, chant and clap the bricks together at the appropriate times. The performance was reminiscent of the crowds of trained Chinese fans that were bussed into the Bird’s Nest Stadium during the 2009 Beijing Summer Olympics.

A Korean translator was on hand to handle the throngs of reporters who flocked to the group.  As reporters from Russia to Brazil attempted to ask members of the group questions, it was quickly apparent they did not speak English (or at least were instructed to pretend not to). The translator asked two members of the group select questions about their trip, but refused to ask anything political.

The fan group looked unphazed by the almost zoo-like treatment they received from those attempting to take pictures with them, trying to talk to them, taping them and just plain staring.

When asked if they had plans to follow the North Korean team around the country (they play next on Monday in Cape Town against Portugal) a positive nod was the response.

- Reporting and photos by HUMNEWS in Johannesburg

Richmond students partner with HUM to cover smaller Olympic teams

by Michael Bociurkiw

VANCOUVER (HN, Feb 18) - Agreeing that the smaller countries at the 2010 Winter Olympics receive little attention, Grade 11 students at RC Palmer Secondary School in Richmond have partnered with HUM to draw more attention to teams sidelined at the Games.

In an assignment which has clearly generated significant excitement, the students were tasked to research about a dozen HUM countries and then build Facebook fan pages for each team. Already colourful, informative pages for San Marino, Tajikistan, Algeria and Armenia are now online and gaining fans.

Said one student: "I feel like this is a great project. We all hear about Canada, America and China but none of us hear about Ghana, Armenia, Ethiopia and other countries that no one hears about. But they are still here...they are still on the world stage. To hear about these smaller countries is very cool."

For the students, Google and YouTube have proven to be powerful tools to find information about the small countries and their athletes. The RC Palmer School administration has also given the students access to a state-of-the-art computer lab to help facilitate the project.

HUM - Human Unlimited Media is the world's first, truly mobile humanitarian news agency, covering 116 mostly impoverished countries that are not part of mainstream media coverage. A sub-unit of HUM - HUMmingbirdz - promotes and develops projects specifically for children and adolescents, to promote global understanding and networking.

Watch coverage of this story on Friday, Feb. 19th on CBC News Vancouver http://www.cbc.ca/tvnewsvancouver/