Perina Lokure Nakang’s journey began with a 9-mile run along a road near her refugee camp in northwestern Kenya.
Now 21, the South Sudanese runner is competing in the Paris Olympics, representing one of 37 athletes on the Olympic refugee team who are advocating for increased opportunities for refugees to compete on the global stage.
"I told myself if I continue running, it is going to change my life," she said. "In the Olympics, everyone is looking to me to represent them."
The team is receiving support from former refugee Olympians and U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi, who told The Associated Press (AP) in an interview Sunday that the team is "a symbol of inclusion, of equality, of achievement for a large community around the world of refugees and displaced people."
The Olympic refugee team was first introduced at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, a collaboration between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the UNHCR, with just 10 athletes from four different countries.
It has since expanded to include dozens of athletes from 11 countries, ranging from Cuba to Afghanistan and South Sudan, like Nakang, who fled war when she was 7.
The refugee team has inspired hope among many seeking to recover dreams lost when they left their lives behind to start anew in a different country. These athletes have taken center stage at the Paris Olympics, a competition highlighting themes of diversity and inclusion amid historic global migration.
During Friday’s opening ceremonies, Grandi was honored with the Olympic laurel for his support of the refugee team and "his dedication to supporting refugees by recognizing the power of sport."
"It is a moment in which people who have often lost everything can regain dignity and identity and contribute to the communities hosting them," Grandi told the AP. "And they’re not just objects of charity but active participants in their communities."
The Olympics are set against a tense backdrop in France: The far-right party has gained political ground with its anti-immigration stance, while local authorities in Paris have faced criticism for dismantling homeless camps largely composed of migrants from former French colonies such as Burkina Faso, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Senegal.
Migrants have been transported out of the city in an effort by authorities to clean up the streets during the Olympics.
"We understand the city needs to manage itself," Grandi said. "But especially with asylum-seekers, finding solutions that are humane is very important. And this message extends far beyond the Olympics and the French government."
Many current and former refugee athletes, like Yiech Pur Biel, view the Olympics as a crucial platform for humanizing refugees amid tightening asylum policies worldwide.
Biel, a 29-year-old South Sudanese runner and one of the original 10 athletes on the refugee team in 2016, now lives in Nebraska and works with the UNHCR. He hopes the team will "bring back the dream of refugees" and "show what refugees can do."
With increased representation of refugees in the Olympics, Biel hopes to eventually eliminate the need for a separate refugee team.
"The team will grow. We don’t want to see refugee populations growing, but no one can control what is happening in the world," Biel said. "Our end goal is to have people and end the need for a refugee team."
