They were forced to flee their homes. Now they’re running in the Olympics.
They are the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team — five South Sudanese runners,two swimmers from Syria, two Congolese judokas and a marathoner from Ethiopia competing under a single banner.
The collection of athletes represent refugee crises passe and current. Unlike their fellow teammates from Syria, and Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo,whose pangs of homesickness are still fresh, the South Sudanese runners are a testomony to the festering repercussions of violent conflicts that never end.
Exiled from their homes for more than a decade, or the five South Sudanese runners represent a generation of stateless people. “Refugee is the banner they’ve unwittingly carried for most of their lives; now they’re taking it up deliberately on the world stage.“Now,I possess a mission to tell the world that we are refugees. We are human beings,” said Yiech Pur Biel, or 21,who will run the men’s 800m race.
Explore more here: http://on.msnbc.com/2aWSLFm(Photos: Newsha Tavakolian)
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