2024 Paralympics: Refugee athletes compete in Games

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00:00Tell us more about the refugee team. I'm joined by the mission chief of that team,

00:04wheelchair tennis player Nyasha Murakurwa. Thank you so much for being here.

00:09Thank you for having me.

00:10Now, Zakia's victory, I know, was historic for the team. Can you

00:14talk about what it represented for Paralympic refugees?

00:19Zakia's victory is a huge milestone. As you mentioned, it's the first ever

00:24medal for the team since 2016 when the International Paralympic Committee first

00:30fielded a refugee Paralympic team at the Games. So this is really big for us and it puts us on

00:36the limelight and be able to showcase that these athletes are deserving to be here.

00:42It is just the circumstances that they find themselves in

00:46that would make it impossible if it wasn't for this opportunity. So this is really something good.

00:51And you yourself are a Paralympian. I believe you competed in London for Zimbabwe in 2012.

00:56You play wheelchair tennis. Can you talk about your story and how you got into the sport?

01:01Yeah, well, it's a long story, but in short, I played the sport since about 2001 in Zimbabwe

01:09and ultimately I competed in London at the Games. But unfortunately, I had to retire a few months

01:15later due to injury. So I've had the opportunity to be working for the International Paralympic

01:21Committee the last few years and which resulted in me having this honor of being named the chef

01:26de mission for this amazing team and with a group of athletes. And it's really a privilege that I'm

01:31able to be with them, especially celebrating somebody like Zakia with their success.

01:37And can you tell us about some of the other athletes on the team in addition to Zakia?

01:40Kind of what are the profiles? What other countries do people come from?

01:44Yeah, so we have eight athletes in total and we have two guide runners

01:48and we have six sports and that's table tennis, wheelchair fencing, para-taekwondo,

01:54para-powerlifting, para-athletics and para-triathlon. They are all residing in Europe

02:01and they come from Asia and Africa mostly. And ultimately, they are in this situation because

02:07they are fleeing their home countries due to either some difficulties with some of their

02:12positions that they hold or war situations. But in this case, they are very happy to come here and

02:19showcase what they can do, which is sport. And even though the important story is their situation,

02:25where they come from, they ultimately want to be viewed as elite sports people. And this is

02:30something that Zakia has shown that they actually can compete and win a medal at the Games.

02:36And I know Zakia competed as part of the refugee team, but really wants to compete

02:42as part of the French team, which is where she lives now. Is that sort of the goal for many of

02:47these athletes, that they sort of maybe start on the refugee team and then eventually move on to

02:51an adopted country? Yeah, so for the International Paralympic Committee, this is more of a transitional

02:57opportunity, if we can put it that way. Because ultimately, the hope is that the countries where

03:02they reside, they would at some point be able to become citizens and be able to at least be

03:08considered for competing on behalf of those countries. And what's the energy like on the team?

03:14Because people do come from all different countries. So is there kind of a common language,

03:18a common culture? What's that like? It's interesting because we have multiple languages

03:24in the team, and we almost have to have interpretation every time we have a group

03:29conversation. But I can tell you that with technology, but also just the athletes and the

03:34coaches and the rest of the support staff, that has not been a barrier at all. So everybody has

03:39found a way to merge and gel as a team, and the atmosphere is really incredible. You would not

03:45think that these are individuals that are coming from different countries. So up to now, really,

03:50we don't think of it anymore because the team has really come together, and we are really happy how

03:54that has come about. And I know despite being ruled by the Taliban, Afghanistan actually had

03:59its own delegation, has its own delegation at the Paralympics. Is it sort of strange for some of the

04:04athletes being on the refugee team, but then maybe having their home country present as well?

04:09I think this is something that they are aware of because ultimately all the countries where

04:14these athletes come from are represented, not just Afghanistan. But this is something that

04:19they are aware of, that these teams would come. And by and large, we have not had any issues with

04:25any of them or concerns about being anywhere close to delegations from countries where they

04:31come from, because in the teams that are here, it's not mostly any issues to do with the individuals

04:36that are here. And so far, we have not had any issues on that. And as we saw at the opening

04:41ceremony, the Paralympics as a whole are really a strong message about ability, about inclusion,

04:46about sort of overcoming physical limits. Is that a message that resonates even more when it's

04:51athletes who are refugees? Absolutely. And I mean, if you look at the International Paralympic

04:56Committee's vision of making it for an inclusive world through para-sport, this group of athletes

05:02ordinarily would not have this opportunity to be competing at the Games. So actually, this is a

05:06good example of how the IPC is trying to make sure that this opportunity is available. And hopefully

05:13what the world can see, particularly when the athletes succeed, is that first of all, they

05:18deserve to be here. But perhaps at a local level, we can all ask ourselves, what can we do to make

05:24sure that they have the same opportunities that every other person has, not just in sport, but

05:29broadly speaking, as active members of the communities where they are living in. And I know

05:35many of the athletes, like Zakia, were born with whatever disability they have. Are there others

05:40who perhaps were injured in war or other difficult situations? Yes. I think we have a few examples of

05:48athletes that at some point acquired their disability. I know for sure one of our athletes,

05:54Ibrahim, it happened when he was trying to rescue a friend in his home country. So that is one

06:01clear case. But by and large, like I said, these are athletes at this stage, which

06:07their circumstances, while important, they have embraced who they are, including living with the

06:14disabilities that they have. And they are really doing well in making sure that they look forward

06:20and be able to showcase their best at the Games. And the refugee team is quite young. I mean, it's

06:27only existed since 2016. You only have eight players represented or eight athletes represented

06:32this year. Just briefly, what are your hopes and goals for the future of the refugee Paralympic

06:37team? Well, I think over the three editions since the first one was competing in Rio,

06:43the numbers have grown. So ordinarily, the expectation would be that with the over 120

06:49million displaced people around the world, such an opportunity would become a little bit more

06:54athletes in it. But again, this is something that, like I said, from the two that we started in Rio

07:00to the six that were in Tokyo now with eight and two guide runners. The goal would be that we

07:05provide this opportunity again, and hopefully we can have a few more athletes in the team.

07:10Well, we are definitely rooting for you and for all of your athletes on the refugee

07:14Paralympic team. Thank you again so much for coming in. That's wheelchair tennis player

07:18Nyasha Murakurwa, the mission chief of the refugee Paralympic team competing here in Paris.

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