#ForThe100Million Video by Olympics
Every two years, athletes from around the world come together to represent their countries and display the highest form of athleticism and sportsmanship. Each team proudly represents their country and gives the competition their all, hoping to make those watching at home proud.
The Refugee Olympic Team is no different. While they may represent more than one flag, the athletes on this team compete with the countries they love, yet were forced to flee, as vibrating forces in their hearts. The Olympic Creed holds a unique meaning for these athletes who have experienced violence or persecution for many years, if not their whole lives yet have fought hard to where they are now and remained resilient.
Official Olympic Creed:
“The important thing in life is not the triumph, but the fight; the essential thing is not to have won, but to have fought well.”
Since the team’s inception in 2015, these individuals have indeed “fought well” and not just in the Olympics but in their communities where just by being their best selves, they show the world the true strength of refugees and what they can accomplish when they are encouraged and welcomed.
This year, the Summer Olympic Refugee Team is made up of 37 members representing 11 different countries. Let’s get to know just three of these incredible individuals:
Perina Lokure Nakang was born in war-torn South Sudan and fled to the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya at age seven with her aunt. At the camp, she found solace and strength in sports, specifically running, and was eventually noticed for her outstanding abilities and invited to participate in the Kenyan School for Runners called All4Running. Perina recently competed in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest and now has her eyes set on the Paris Olympics.
Another inspiring athlete, Fernando Dayan Jorge Enriquez, will be competing in the canoe sprint. Jorge won the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 for Cuba, but due to increasing problems in his home country, he was forced to flee in 2022. He now lives in Florida where residents of Cape Coral know him as the Olympian who trains every day on the canal.
Lastly, but definitely not least exciting, is Manizha Talash, who is being called “Afghanistan’s First Female Breakdancer.” Like many teenagers, Manizha discovered her passion through music and dance on YouTube. Unlike many teenagers, though, Manizha was living in Afghanistan where music and dance are forbidden, especially if you’re a woman. Manizha now lives in Spain where she has continued her passion for breakdancing and will be one of the first athletes to ever compete in breaking, which is making its debut this year as an Olympic sport.
At CWS we will be watching these athletes with excitement and anticipation. CWS Senior Program Communications Specialist, Abdi Iftin, shares his own reflection as someone who is part of the refugee community:
This year, I’m more excited to watch the Olympics because of the participating refugee team. This team represents the over 120 million current and former refugees worldwide, including myself. Personally, this is an opportunity to highlight the positive stories of refugees who often face significant challenges in host countries and barriers to returning home.
In early 2011, I made the painful decision to leave Somalia as wars ravaged the streets where I grew up. I moved to Kenya, separating from my mother, friends and siblings and desperately seeking safety and a better life. No one willingly leaves their home, family and friends for the uncertainty of life as a refugee unless persistent challenges force them to flee. Refugees take immense risks to find a life that demands only basic safety and stability.
When I fled my beloved country, I was one of nearly 60 million people worldwide in desperate need of safety. Five years of living under refugee status in Kenya’s then-largest refugee camp in the world, Dadaab, the number of refugees had climbed to 80 million as more people fled conflicts. During my time in the refugee camps, I connected with people from diverse backgrounds, skills and experiences, including some of the best athletes. I played soccer on the dusty roads of Dadaab Refugee Camp, where the spectators and players were all refugees, and there were no cameras to capture our skills and the excitement. We laughed, played and celebrated.
The Olympics will showcase some of the best athletes, allowing the world to see the talent and resilience of refugees that I often wished the world to see. This representation excites and inspires me and millions of other current and former refugees. It is a great opportunity to shed light on the human stories of refugees. They are some of the best people out there, and they are ready to show their best.
You can learn more about CWS’ work supporting refugees around the world by clicking here.
Abdi Iftin and Mariana Gama are CWS’ Senior Program Communications Specialists