Olympic Refugee Team carries hopes of intergration of displaced peoples

The Refugee Olympic Team was the star of the evening at the Refugee House in Paris, Sunday (Jul. 28).

The first squad of athletes to compete under the Refugee banner at an Olympiad was formed in 2016.

8 years later, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees calls for greater integration.

"The Olympic Games are an important opportunity to push for some good values to become more accepted worldwide and this is also the spirit of the Refugee Olympic Team. Like I said, it is a symbol of inclusion, of equality, of achievement for a large community around the world of refugees, of displaced people that is often subjected to the contrary: to discrimination, to pushback and to exclusion."

The UNHRC “Global Trends” report for 2023 found that the cumulative number of people who have been subjected to forced displacement rose to 120 million people— six million more than in the year before (2022).

The team has spurred on hope by many to recover dreams, lost when they were forced to flee their country.

South Sudanese Perina Lokure Nakang found refuge in Kenya where she started running.

"The first time I ran, I ran 14km, my body accepted it and then I told myself if I continue running this it is going to change my life. And that is when I started to train, and I now am enjoying athletics."

From just 10 athletes at the Rio Olympics, the Refugee Olympic team now includes 37 sportspeople.

The team is the fruit of a collaboration between the International Olympic Committee and the UNHRC.