REFUGEE OLYMPIC TEAM SYMBOL OF HOPE HISTORY WAS MADE AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES RIO 2016 WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF THE FIRST-EVER REFUGEE OLYMPIC TEAM, RAISING AWARENESS OF THE MAGNITUDE OF THE GLOBAL REFUGEE CRISIS. IOC PHOTOGRAPHER DAVID BURNETT JOINED THE 10 ATHLETES ON THEIR REMARKABLE JOURNEY IN RIO surpasses what one might expect. And so, this summer, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) offering support for the Refugee Olympic Team, we saw 10 individuals, each from a backdrop of strife and diffi culty, who had been given the chance to train, live, and compete as Olympic athletes. That none of them won a medal was but a minor footnote to what was a committed he United Nations and spirited group. Watching the T High Commissioner for long-distance runners take to the Refugees (UNHCR) defi nes track, or the swimmers to the pool, a refugee as “someone who has one couldn’t help but be struck been forced to fl ee his or her by the adherence to the hard country because of persecution, work necessary for any athlete war, or violence”. In today’s to succeed. world, upheaval on nearly every The fi rst day at the training continent has forced millions to pool, I spent a couple of hours leave their homes. In the 1970s with Yusra Mardini and Rami and ’80s, as part of my work as a Anis, both swimmers from Syria. photojournalist, I visited a number Would they win medals or set new of refugee encampments across records? Perhaps not, but nothing Asia and Africa, hoping that, in I saw in Rio, in any venue, could some small way, my photographs compete with the sheer dedication might tell their stories. to work – hours going full-bore in Leaving one’s home is probably the pool – which they displayed. the single most diffi cult decision The runners too came with a one can make. Very few refugee single-mindedness which was camps provide anything more typical of what one would expect than basic lodging and subsistence. of an Olympian. Sometimes it’s It is a true test for the refugees on the game itself, and devotion to many levels. Education for children the game, be it running, judo, or is almost always a casualty of the swimming, which is the test. Days, situation of too few resources for months, even years of preparation too many people. are the rule, not the exception. The Yet, I have found there is almost concept of Olympism embraces always a resilience among refugees the fusion of mind, will, and body, that belies their circumstances, and these refugee athletes excelled and often those in the toughest in every way, above all, in an age of situations reveal a fortitude that far adversity, with their own humanity. 01 44 OLYMPIC REVIEW JULY -AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2016 NUMBER 100 01 POPOLE MISENGA Popole Misenga celebrates after beating India’s Avtar Singh in the fi rst round of the men’s -90kg judo event. The 24-year-old is originally from the Bukavu area of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which was severely affected by the Second Congo War, and sought asylum in Brazil during the Judo World Championships in 2013. “I’m just really happy to be here because everybody understands and knows about the refugee team, knows the refugee story,” he said. “People around the world, they’re all watching this competition right now.” 01 02 REFUGEE OLYMPIC TEAM 01 CHRIST THE REDEEMER Members of the Refugee Olympic Team including Paulo Amotun (centre) and Yiech Biel (right) enjoy a visit to Rio’s famous statue of Christ the Redeemer. Amotun and Biel were both forced to fl ee their homes in southern Sudan due to the civil war that tore the country apart, before fi nding their way to the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, home to more than 179,000 displaced people. 02 YUSRA MARDINI Yusra Mardini surges to victory in her heat of the women’s 100m butterfl y, drawing huge cheers from the crowd at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium. Less than a year earlier, the 18-year-old had fl ed her home in Damascus to escape the Syrian confl ict. On her journey to Europe, she helped save the lives of 20 other migrants when the 03 04 boat they were travelling in began sinking in the Aegean Sea. Few of the others could swim, so Yusra and her sister jumped into the water and 05 swam for three hours, dragging the boat towards the shore. “I want to tell everyone that ‘refugee’ is not a bad word,” she said. “We’re still humans; we can do a lot of good things to show everyone that we are. My message is just, ‘Never give up’.” 03 YOLANDE BUKASA MABIKA Yolande Bukasa Mabika grapples with Israel’s Linda Bolder in the fi rst round of the women’s -70kg judo event. Mabika, who is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, has lived in Rio since claiming asylum in 2013. During the Second Congo War she was separated from her parents and taken to a children’s home in the capital Kinshasa, where she took up judo. “I’m representing many nations and my victory is a victory for all refugees in the world,” the 28-year-old said. “I lost, but I’m here. The fi ght did not end today. The fi ght is not only judo, t h e fi g h t i s l i f e . ” 04 ROSE LOKONYEN Rose Lokonyen competes in the heats of the women’s 800m. The 21-year-old used to run barefoot through the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, which has been her home for 13 years since she fl ed from southern Sudan. She only began running in shoes after she fi nished second in a 10km event that was held in the camp by the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation in 2015. 05 OLYMPIC VILL AGE Lokonyen (right) enjoys a game of dominoes with fellow team members as they relax in the Olympic Village. JULY -AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2016 NUMBER 100 OLYMPIC REVIEW 47 01 01 RAMI ANIS “It’s a wonderful feeling to compete in the Olympic Games. I don’t want to wake up from this dream,” said Syrian refugee Rami Anis after competing in two swimming events in Rio. Anis fl ed his home in 2011 after bombings in his hometown of Aleppo. 02 PAULO AMOTUN Paulo Amotun jostles for position during his heat of the men’s 1,500m. Amotun used to herd cattle for his family in southern Sudan until civil war forced them from their home. 03 THE TEAM “We do not speak the same language, we are from different countries but the Olympic fl ag unites all of us together and now we are representing 60 million [people] around the world,” said swimmer Yusra Mardini. “We want to do our best to show everyone that we can do everything we can for being good athletes and good people.” 02 03 48 OLYMPIC REVIEW JULY -AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2016 NUMBER 100 OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY MAKING GOLDEN MEMORIES OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY SCHOLARSHIP HOLDERS ENJOYED RECORD-BREAKING RESULTS AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES RIO 2016 WITH MORE THAN 100 ATHLETES WINNING MEDALS, INCLUDING 33 GOLDS, BEARING WITNESS TO THE SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAMME f all the 306 gold medals in 22 sports. Of these, a record 815 Dmitriy Balandin from Kazakhstan, who Pictured O won at the Olympic Games individual athletes from 171 NOCs stunned a star-studded field in the 200m Majlinda Kelmendi Rio 2016, few could have and 20 teams participated at Rio 2016. breaststroke to claim his country’s first was one of 101 carried more historical significance “When you go to the Olympic Games, gold in the pool. Olympic Solidarity than Majlinda Kelmendi’s triumph you need a lot of support, so it helped There was another notable first, athletes to win an on the judo mat. me a lot,” revealed Kelmendi, who first meanwhile, at the Lagoa Rodrigo de individual medal When the 25-year-old judoka started competing at judo when she Freitas. Valent Sinković and his brother at Rio 2016 overpowered Italy’s Odette Giuffrida was eight years old. “Kosovo is a Martin stormed to victory in the men’s in the final of the women’s -52kg event, country with a lot of problems and it double sculls, making history as the she became the first-ever athlete is hard to get financial help, so it was first Croatian rowers to claim Olympic representing Kosovo to win gold, or a really good support for me. gold. For Valent, it was even more indeed an Olympic medal of any colour. “I am not the only athlete in the special to achieve such a feat alongside The victory sparked mass celebrations world who has these kinds of problems, his brother. in her home country, which was making so programmes like Olympic Solidarity “It was overwhelming – it truly was! its first appearance at the Games are very welcome for all of us. It is really I felt privileged by the mere fact that almost two years after being granted special to be part of this big group I had been given an opportunity to full recognition as a National Olympic because we showed to the world that represent my country at such a glorious Committee (NOC) in December 2014. even though we have many problems event like the Olympic Games,” he “It was a very special moment for in our country we can still win and said.