They were forced to flee their homes. Now they’re running in the Olympics.They are the first-ever Re
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 old and new. Unlike their fellow teammates from Syria, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose pangs of homesickness are still fresh, the South Sudanese runners are a testament to the festering repercussions of violent conflicts that never end.Exiled from their homes for more than a decade, 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 have a mission to tell the world that we are refugees. We are human beings,” said Yiech Pur Biel, 21, who will run the men’s 800m race.Explore more here: http://on.msnbc.com/2aWSLFm(Photos: Newsha Tavakolian) -- source link
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