Refugee athletes playing in the Olympics

Such a team was formed for the first time during the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. They play under the banner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

had one purpose, to highlight the refugee problem around the world. The team is set to play in Paris at a time when record-breaking immigration is underway. That too in the number of tens of millions. Some of them have lost their homes. Today's players are like that, who have once again started their lives from nothing with the enthusiasm to do something good.

Because of the record migration, voices have started to be raised against it in different countries. Some countries have said that they will play an active role in solving this problem. The current team is set to play the Olympics in a country where anti-refugee political forces are feared to be emerging. However, he was defeated in the voting. In Paris, these refugee players will participate in 12 games. Reaching the Olympics has proved to be a victory for them. The story of some of these players is as follows:

Fernando Dien Jorge (Canoeing)

Fernando Dien Jorge spent his childhood fishing in Cinefugos, Cuba. His house was also by the sea. When he was 11 years old, he started helping his father in his work. He is now 25 years old. He also represented Cuba in the Olympics twice. That was in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. Now he has migrated. have become refugees. They live as workers.

currently lives in Florida, USA. However, the love for canoeing is not broken. His performance is not lacking, everyone praises him. He wants to do better in his third Olympic appearance. He says, "I never dreamed of playing in the Paris Olympics." However, it has been completed. This is a great opportunity for me. I have seen many Cubans who leave their country and come to America and their dreams are shattered.'

He also won gold in the 1000 meter canoeing sprint in Tokyo. He was at the peak of his playing career at that time. He left his country in 2021. Flee to America while practicing in Mexico. What he believes is that if you have different political thoughts in Cuba, you cannot even live there.

So he left his home hoping for a new life. That is an uncertain future. Since coming to America, he has received refugee status.

Manijha Talash (breaking)

Manizha Talash is not afraid of the Taliban at all. Having come to Spain and become a refugee there, he says, 'I have come here. Because I want to fulfill my dream.'' She now lives on the outskirts of Madrid. The 21-year-old will be making her challenge in breaking included for the first time. This game is popularly called break dancing. She molds herself beautifully to hip-hop music.

Until a month ago, she used to work in a hair salon. After the return of the Taliban to Afghan power in 2021, Manijha is not the only one. Thousands of other soldiers arrived in Spain by plane. She was just 17 years old when she was first introduced to the breaking game. She saw the game for the first time on social media. On that day, he fell in love with this game. At first, he was skeptical that he could dance like this. Break dance has been included in this Olympics for the first time.

But, he also wanted to do this. There was also such a club in Kabul, where such dances were taught. She will get there. She was the only girl to learn such a dance. Manizha says, "The Taliban don't like any girl dancing." But it's not just a dance, it's a game. One day there was a bomb blast in front of that club. The local police came and closed it down.

Mohammed Amin Alsalami (Athletics)

When Mohammed Amin Alsalami landed in Berlin in October 2015, it was a very cold day. He was feeling alone. He was missing his family very much.

He left his city of Aleppo, which was embroiled in civil war. Fleeing from Syria in small stones, he first reached Turkey, then Greece and finally Germany. After a decade, he received formal recognition as a refugee in Germany.

Now he is 29 years old. He can speak German fluently. He made as many new friends as he could. Now he has a bright dream of becoming a world-class athletics player. Only one month ago, he received the news of the opportunity to play in the Paris Olympics. Naturally the happiness knew no bounds. He used to say, "The dream of participating in the Olympics was fulfilled, I couldn't stop myself, I started crying." His love for athletics started at the age of 15, when he was in school. Physical education should have been read while reading

. Some coaches saw his potential in athletics. Especially in the high jump. While in Syria, he played in some tournaments and won medals. However, there was a civil war in the country, and the game stopped. He was in refugee status inside Syria. So he was forced to leave his country.

Iman Mahadavi (wrestling)

Iman Mahadavi enjoys cooking Iranian-flavored food at her home in Milan. They are more emotional than happy. He says, "Mother would not have believed me if she had seen me cooking." But he

It's been a long time since he saw his mother. Since October 2020. In the same year, these Iranian wrestlers left their country after fearing for their lives. He first went to Turkey and then to Italy based on the clothes he was wearing.

that too bare feet. He remembers those days and says, 'I didn't even know where I was going. But luck did not deceive me, I reached Italy.' Now he is 29 years old. The first thing he did after receiving refugee status was to start wrestling again. His father was also a wrestler once. While in Iran, he became champion at the junior level seven times, winning more than 50 medals.

A few years ago, his father died of a heart attack. The reason for this was that someone had told him the news that his son had died in an accident. After coming to Italy, he got a job as a bouncer in a night club. Worked there from 11pm to 5am. He hardly makes time for training. He says, 'Whoever plays sports, his dream is to play Olympics. My aim is not only to play, but also to win a medal.'