“The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity,” And the same thing is proved by the first ever refugee team in the history of Olympic games.

Normally, an athlete represents their home country at the Olympics, but there’s a notable exception this year at the Rio Summer Games. Ten refugee athletes will compete under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banner as part of the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team. These athletes originally come from the world’s most troubled hotspots: Syria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

We all know the famous story of the IOC flag bearer Yusra Mardini and how she came up from Syria to becoming the IOC member. But here let’s meet the other 9 members of the team.

RAMI ANIS –SWIMMING 

As war took hold of his home town Aleppo, Anis fled to Turkey then, by dinghy with make shift tree branches for oars to Greece and on to Belgium.As bombings and kidnappings in Aleppo became more frequent in 2011, Anis had to leave the city. His family sent him to stay with his older brother in Istanbul, Turkey. In Istanbul he trained at Galatasaray Sports Club. In search of a chance to prove himself, Anis left Turkey aboard an inflatable dinghy and made his way across to the Greek island of Samos. Eventually he reached Belgium where he was granted asylum in December 2015. Today he trains at the Royal Ghent Swimming Club and is coached by Carine Verbauwen.

PEPOLE MISENGA-JUDO

He is from the Bukavu area of the Democratic Republic of Congo, an area severely affected by the Second Congo War. After his mother was murdered when he was six years old, he fled to a nearby rainforest and wandered for a week, before being rescued and taken to a home in Kinshasa. He sought political asylum in Brazil after travelling there to compete in the 2013 World Judo Championships along with fellow judoka Yolande Mabika.The pair claimed that their coaches confined them in their hotel room while leaving with their money, passports and meal tickets. After two days barely eating, Mabika escaped, and Misenga waited more days only for the staff to arrive on the day of the competition, smelling of alcohol. The following day, Mabika returned to the hotel and convinced Misenga to desert, and both were taken by an Angolan to the African immigrant-heavy neighborhood of Brás de Pina.[5] They also stated that back in Africa, their judo coaches deprived them of food and locked them in cages when they did not perform well. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) officially granted him refugee status in September 2014

 YONAS KINDE- ATHLETICS

Kinde, originally from Ethiopia, left his country due to political problems. He has been living in Luxembourg since 2012, who has been under international protection in Luxembourg since 2013.Kinde takes French lessons and drives a taxi to get by. He is coached by Yves Göldi. Yonas Kinde ran his fastest marathon with a time of 2 hours 17 minutes.

YOLANDE BUKASA MABIKA-JUDO

Mabika was born on 8 September 1987. She is from the Bukavu area of the Democratic Republic of Congo, an area severely affected by the Second Congo War.During the conflict she was separated from her parents and was taken to a children’s home in the capital Kinshasa.There she took up judo, a sport the Congolese government advocated for orphans to take as an ideal way to seek some structure.She sought political asylum in Brazil after travelling there to compete in the 2013 World Judo Championships along with fellow judoka Popole Misenga amd than end- South Sudan ed as IOC member .

Also Read :Syrian Refugee Yusra Mardini To Swim For Joy Under Olympic Flag

PAULO AMOTUN LOKORO- ATHLETICS

Paulo Amotun Lokoro is a South Sudanese track and field athlete now living in Kenya. He specializes in the 1500 metres event. Lokoro was selected as one of the 10 member of the Refugee team for the 2016 Summer Olympics.He fled his home to Kenya in 2006 to escape a war.

JAMES CHIENGJIEK ATHLETICS

Chiengjiek is originally from Bentiu, South Sudan. In 1999 his father, who was a soldier, was killed during the Second Sudanese Civil War. At the age of 13 Chiengjiek left South Sudan and escaped to Kenya as a refugee to avoid being recruited by rebels as a child soldier. In 2002 he ended up at the Kakuma refugee camp.The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) officially granted him refugee status in December 2014. on 3 June 2016 the IOC announced that Chiengjiek would be part of a team of ten athletes selected to compete as a Refugee Olympic Athlete team at the 2016 Summer Olympics

ANJELINA NADAI LOHALITH-ATHLETICS

Anjelina Nadai Lohalith is a track and field athlete originally from South Sudan,.In 2001 when Lohalith was six years old she had to leave her home when her country was gripped by civil war and violence closed in on her village. She arrived in northern Kenya in 2002, settling in the Kakuma refugee camp. Lohalith was selected to train under Olympic champion marathon runner Tegla Loroupe at her sports foundation in Nairobi.

YIECH PUR BIEL – ATHLETICS

Yiech Pur Biel is a track and field athlete originally from Nasir, South Sudan. In 2005 he fled from his home town of Nasir in Sudan to escape a civil war. After living in the Kakuma Refugee Campfor 10 years, he started running competitively in 2015. In 2015 he was selected to join the Tegla Loroupe Foundation, that hold athletic trials in Kakuma. Nowadays he trains under Tegla Loroupe herself in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, along with four other middle-distance runners from South Sudan selected for the Olympic refugee team within a joint initiative by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

ROSE NATHIKE LOKONYEN- ATHLETICS

Rose Nathike Lokonyen (born 1992/1993) is a track and field athlete originally from South Sudan, but now living and training in Kenya. She was selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete for the Refugee Olympic Team in the women’s 1500m at the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She will be the team’s flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony. She trains with Tegla Loroupe, a Kenyan world record holding long-distance runner.

 

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