Refugee team at Games raises awareness about displacement, UN refugee chief says

29/7/2024 11:39

                The participation of a refugee team at the Paris Olympics is an opportunity to draw attention to major displacement crises, including from the conflict in Sudan, and the challenges refugees face in host countries, the United Nations refugee chief on Sunday.
        
        In an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of the Olympics in Paris, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, said he hoped the Refugee Olympic Team, made up of 37 athletes, would raise awareness about the stigmatisation, marginalisation and violence experienced by refugees.
        
        "Should they spend their youth in this limbo? No," Grandi said of 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 in the world. But it's powerful as a symbol."
        
        The Paris Games are the third Olympics where a team of refugees is taking part, competing in 12 different sports including athletics, badminton and boxing.