Refugees Compete in Paris Olympics: Shining a Spotlight on Global Displacement Crises

The participation of a refugee team in the Paris Olympics aims to highlight global displacement crises and the challenges refugees face. UNHCR Chief Filippo Grandi hopes the team of 37 athletes will raise awareness about the struggles and resilience of refugees worldwide, particularly amid conflicts like those in Sudan.

The participation of a refugee team at the Paris Olympics offers a crucial opportunity to spotlight major displacement crises, such as the conflict in Sudan, and the challenges refugees encounter in host countries, stated the United Nations refugee chief on Sunday.

In an interview with Reuters during the Paris Olympics, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi expressed his hope that the Refugee Olympic Team, comprising 37 athletes, would draw attention to the stigmatisation, marginalisation, and violence experienced by refugees. 'Should they spend their youth in this limbo? No,' Grandi commented on the athlete refugees competing in Paris.

'Let's give them a chance as well. Of course, this is only 37 people, and there are 120 million refugees globally. But it's powerful as a symbol.' The Paris Games mark the third Olympics where a refugee team is participating, competing in 12 sports including athletics, badminton, and boxing.

'When you're a refugee, you have the same story,' said Olympic cyclist Amir Ansari, a member of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team, to Reuters. 'Any sport is difficult if you are a refugee, and if you are not a refugee, too. But being a refugee teaches you that you have to be tough to survive, and that makes you train harder.'

The Olympics, running until Aug. 11, come amid global displacement crises, including in Ukraine, the Gaza Strip, and Sudan. Grandi voiced significant concern about the Sudan conflict, which has caused hunger, displaced millions, and destabilized its already fragile neighboring countries.

The UNHCR recently expanded its Sudan aid plan to Libya and Uganda following a surge in arrivals of people fleeing Sudan's civil war. The influx into Libya raises concerns that refugees may risk the perilous Mediterranean crossing to Europe, a scenario that Grandi warns should alarm European nations.

'I've been telling all states that if this vast displaced population inside Sudan and neighboring countries does not receive sufficient support, these people will move on,' he said. 'People will start relocating to safer areas from which they hope to go even further. So I hear European states, especially, express concern—rightly so.'