Committee unveils list of refugees to take part in Olympic Games

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) released today (Jun. 3) a list with the ten athletes to form the refugees' delegation in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. The team comes as a novelty in the Games and should boast judokas Yolande Bukasa Mabika and Popole Misenga, who have been practicing since last year in Rio de Janeiro.

The delegation will play a prominent role in the opening ceremony of the Games and is expected to parade before the Brazilian team, which would traditionally come first as the host nation. The refugees will also carry the Olympic flag.

In a note, IOC chairman Thomas Bach said the participation of the refugees should arouse hope and promote inclusion. “It can send a signal to the international community that refugees are our fellow human beings,” he said.

Most among the selected will be competing in athletics, like Yiech Pur Biel (South Sudan), James Nyang Chiengjiek (South Sudan), Yonas Kinde (Ethiopia), Anjelina Nada Lohalith (South Sudan), Rose Nathike Lokonyen (South Sudan), and Paulo Amotun Lokoro (South Sudan).

The five athletes from South Sudan have been preparing in Kenia, whereas Yonas Kinde, from Ethipia, has geared up in Luxembourg. Sitia Rami Ains and Yusra Mardini, from Syria, are to compete in swimming. Rami has been practicing in Belgium, and Yusra in Germany.

Yolande Bukasa

In Brazil since 2013, Congolese judo fighter Yolande Bukasa Mabika said he was deeply touched by the invitation.

Today, after the announcement, she granted a number of interviews at the Instituto Reação, where she holds her practice sessions, and was not able to find time to speak to Misenga, who has also found refuge in Brazil. Both of them came to the country to participate in the World Cup of their sport in 2013, but they say they were abandoned at the hotel by their country's technical commission.

“It's a dream I'll make come true. I landed in Brazil to fight in the World Cup and I didn't. I'm really emotional and there's a lot coming back to my mind right now. I barely know how I'll be able to speak. I'm bringing my family back to memory.”

Bukasa was forced to split from her family when her village was bombed in the Democratic Republic of Congo when she was 10. After that, she was taken to the capital along with other children, and never heard from her family again. She expects the visibility provided by the Games to serve as an opportunity to make their reunion possible.

“I'll change my life and look for my family. One day we'll all be together,” said the athlete, who lives in a house in Cordovil, northern Rio, with the allowance she receives from the IOC. “Now, I'll work hard to win the medal, with focus and a lot of courage.”

The Congolese athletes are coached by Brazilian judo veteran Geraldo Bernardes, who is also tasked with the training of Rafaela Silva and Victor Penalber, both members of the Brazilian Olympic team. “It's a really good feeling, emotions are running high, just to know that they'll be part of it, and that they're about to have their lives transformed,” he says cheerfully.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira