By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS | 14 August 2024 (IDN) — When the 16-day Paris Olympics came to a glittering end last Sunday, the spotlight was mostly on the two biggest medal winners: the United States with a tally of 126 medals, including 40 gold medals, followed by China with a total of 91, including 40 gold, in a tie with the US for the highly-prized honour.
But developing nations were left far, far behind: the top five being Brazil ranking 13 with 20 medals, Iran ranking 17 with 12 medals, Kenya ranking 20th with 11 medals, Cuba ranking 25 with 9 medals and Jamaica ranking 38 with 6 medals.
Still, 37 refugees, under the guidance of the UNHCR, made its way to Paris with the first-ever medal for a Refugee Olympic Team athlete.
As the Games came to a close, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, paid tribute to the Refugee Olympic Team for the historic achievements of the past two weeks. “This year’s Olympic Games marked a significant triumph for refugees worldwide”.
With 37 athletes competing in 12 different sports, the UNHCR said, this was the largest refugee team since the International Olympic Committee (IOC) created the first refugee team at the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
These athletes, representing 120 million displaced people globally, showcased their talents, strength and determination on the world stage, bringing attention to the plight and potential of refugees.
The 120 million refugees, if they were representing a nation, would be closest to the population of Japan (about 127 million) and Mexico (about 128 million).
The highlight of the Games was Cindy Ngamba’s historic bronze medal win in boxing at Roland Garros towards the end of the competition. Ngamba’s victory, marked by her proud display of the EOR logo on her vest and a roaring crowd chanting her name, was a monumental achievement for the Refugee Olympic Team, according to UNHCR.
“Incredibly close to securing a podium finish at the Stade de France in the men’s 5,000m, Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu’s powerful performance is another example of what is possible when refugees are embedded into host country sport systems and given opportunities”.
Earlier last week, in the same stadium on the same night, Perina Lokure Nakang and Jamal Abdelmaji achieved personal bests in the women’s 800m and in the men’s 10,000m respectively, with a crowd of nearly 80,000 people cheering as they ran.
“These performances for the record-breaking Refugee Olympic Team are more than just numbers and positions,” said Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, Kelly T. Clements, who watched the team compete in Paris.
“Ngamba is a history maker, and this medal is a testament to her courage and strength inside and outside of the ring. It symbolizes the enduring spirit of refugees and the power of sports to unite and inspire. As the Games draw to a close, let us all remember this team as a symbol of hope and unity.”
The warm welcome given to the refugee athletes by the sport-loving public, whether in the sport venues, the fan zones around Paris or the loud cheering as the team made its way along the river Seine during the Opening Ceremony, showed the widespread support they received, regardless of individual results.
“Sport is a powerful tool that protects and helps heal. These refugee athletes have overcome immense challenges, but their success is a reminder to the world of what can be achieved when refugees are given a helping hand to pursue their dreams,” said Clements. “As the Olympic flame is extinguished here in Paris, the legacy of the Refugee Olympic Team will continue to inspire us all.”
UNHCR congratulates all the athletes of the Refugee Olympic Team for their remarkable performances and thanks the IOC and all supporters and partners for cheering for the team.
Attention will now turn to the Refugee Paralympic Team, comprising eight athletes and one guide runner, which will hope for more medals when the Paralympic Games begin on 28 August.
According to UNHCR, at least 120 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes. Among them are nearly 43.4 million refugees, around 40 per cent of whom are under the age of 18.
There are also millions of stateless people, who have been denied a nationality and lack access to basic rights such as education, health care, employment and freedom of movement.
“At a time when more than 1 in every 69 people on Earth has been forced to flee, our work at UNHCR is more important than ever before”.
“Our workforce is the backbone of UNHCR. As of 31 December 2023, we employ 20,305 people, of whom around 91 per cent are based in the field.
We work in 136 countries and territories, with personnel based in a mixture of regional and branch offices and sub and field offices. Our teams work hard to help the displaced, specializing in a wide range of disciplines, including legal protection, administration, community services, public affairs and health”.
The UNHCR is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions, with 80 per cent from governments and the European Union. Four per cent comes from other inter-governmental organizations and pooled funding mechanisms, while a further 15 per cent is from the private sector, including foundations, corporations and the public.
Additionally, it receives a limited subsidy (one per cent) from the UN budget for administrative costs, and accept in-kind contributions, including items such as tents, medicines and trucks.
UNHCR says it was launched on a shoestring annual budget of US$300,000 in 1950. But as its work and size have grown, so too have the costs.
The annual budget rose to more than US$1 billion in the early 1990s and reached US$10.929 billion in 2023. Global Focus website.
“Our yearly budget supports continuing operations and supplementary programmes to cover emergencies, such as the conflict in Ukraine, the Sudan crisis and the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan as well as large-scale repatriation operations”. [IDN-InDepthNews]
Photo: IOC Refugee Olympic Team flagbearers Kasra Mehdipournejad (far right) and Farida Abaroge (third from right) participate in the Paris 2024 Closing Ceremony at the Stade de France. © Jamie Squire/Getty Images Sport. Source: UNHCR.