THIS IS THE WORLD’S TEAM

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BRAVERY BEYOND BORDERS

This summer, ten refugee athletes will compete on the global stage in Rio de Janeiro. These athletes, forced by conflict and persecution to flee their homes, will compete together as one. They are a symbol of hope for refugees worldwide, reminding us bravery truly knows no bounds.
Stand with #TeamRefugees to support those who have survived the impossible.
Stand with #TeamRefugees to demand an end to violence.
Stand with #TeamRefugees to show the world we can create a better future together.

Content Hub

HOST YOUR OWN #TEAMREFUGEES CLOSING CEREMONY WATCH PARTY!
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Date: Sunday, August 21
Location: Wherever you decide!

Pick a spot
Gather your friends around a TV
Eat & drink merrily
Start a conversation about what #TeamRefugees means to you
Take lots of pics & video to share on social with the #TeamRefugees hashtag
Commit to talk to 3 friends after the party about the refugee crisis and how we can help

Email teamrefugees@purpose.com if you would like free #TeamRefugees swag for your guests!

HOST YOUR OWN #TEAMREFUGEES CLOSING CEREMONY WATCH PARTY!

Date: Sunday, August 21
Location: Wherever you decide!

Pick a spot
Gather your friends around a TV
Eat & drink merrily
Start a conversation about what #TeamRefugees means to you
Take lots of pics & video to share on social with the #TeamRefugees hashtag
Commit to talk to 3 friends after the party about the refugee crisis and how we can help

Email teamrefugees@purpose.com if you would like free #TeamRefugees swag for your guests!

Take Action!
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1. TALK WITH FRIENDS
Start a conversation with your friends and family about the severity of the refugee crisis. The more we know and understand the more likely we are to treat refugees with the respect and understanding they so desperately deserve. Learn the facts here

2. SIGN THE PETITION 
Add your name to the #WithRefugees petition to send a clear message to governments that they must act with solidarity and shared responsibility. Stand #withrefugees and sign here

3. VOLUNTEER
Sign up to join the crucial volunteer force of the International Rescue Committee and find out how you can help the refugee families in your community. Join here

Take Action!

1. TALK WITH FRIENDS
Start a conversation with your friends and family about the severity of the refugee crisis. The more we know and understand the more likely we are to treat refugees with the respect and understanding they so desperately deserve. Learn the facts here

2. SIGN THE PETITION 
Add your name to the #WithRefugees petition to send a clear message to governments that they must act with solidarity and shared responsibility. Stand #withrefugees and sign here

3. VOLUNTEER
Sign up to join the crucial volunteer force of the International Rescue Committee and find out how you can help the refugee families in your community. Join here

#TeamRefugees
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Are you with us? Share to spread the word. Find Team Refugees fans on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook!

#TeamRefugees

Are you with us? Share to spread the word. Find Team Refugees fans on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook!

Rami, Swimming
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“When it comes to sport there is no difference between a refugee or a Syrian. When it comes to sport, you just have to compete to be at the top.” Rami Anis fled Syria at 20 years old in 2011. Likely to be called up by the military for national service, Anis and his family fled their country to escape military involvement in the civil war. Now, in a Belgian town near Ghent, Anis is coached by former Belgian Olympic swimmer Carine Verbauwen. His coach says of him: “He’s very stubborn, that’s good if you have a goal. So if he wants to do something he says ‘I’m going to do that’ whereas Belgians say ‘I’m going to try to do that’ and for me that’s the difference.” (via IOC Newsroom)

Yolande, Judo – 70kg
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Yolande Bukasa Mabika, who competes in the up to 78kg category made an asylum bid to remain in Brazil during the 2013 World Judo Championships in Rio, hopes to spread a message of hope to refugees across the world having been selected as part of the ROT. “My message to them would be not to give up on hope and to keep believing, to have faith in their hearts. We went through a lot of suffering in Congo, and this is still the case nowadays. This is the case of all the refugees around the world who are suffering from their family losses, from the wars, the killings.” (via IOC Newsroom)

Popole, Judo -90kg
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Popole Misenga, who competes in the up to 90kg category, made an asylum bid to remain in Brazil during the 2013 World Judo Championships in Rio. Misenga’s mother was killed during the conflict whilst his brother went missing. For Misenga the reality of competing at the Olympic Games is hard to believe. He said: “When I think that I am now an Olympic athlete, it feels really strange. It’s real; it’s not a dream, but the truth, the reality. I am an Olympic athlete. But I was very lucky to be selected by the Olympic Committee. There are lots of athletes and many refugees.” (via IOC Newsroom)

Yusra, Swimming
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“When you’re an athlete you do not think if you’re Syrian, or from London or Germany you just think about your race and you have your lane, your swimming cap, your swimming clothes and that’s it.” Preparing to travel to Rio is a stark contrast to the situation faced when Yusra Mardini left her Syrian home in August 2015. Having travelled to Lebanon and then Turkey, Mardini and several members of her family endured a potentially life-threatening passage to the Greek Island of Lesbos before beginning their journey across numerous European borders before arriving in Germany. (via IOC Newsroom)

James, Athletics – 400m
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Having fled Bentiu in South Sudan in order to avoid having to join the army and participate in the war, James Nyang Chiengjiek is now settled in Kenya. After his ROT selection Chiengjiek has a message for people who are also facing adversity in life: “Training is just a matter of working hard. I know that everything in this world is about working – if you’re given the chance you have to utilise it in the right way and pray to God to give you this chance.My dream of course is to get good results in the Olympics and also my dream is to help people if I get that chance. Without support I cannot be so because I’ve been supported by someone, I want to be able to support someone.” (via IOC Newsroom)

Rose, Athletics – 800m
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Rose Nathike Lokonyen spent 13 years in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya having fled from soldiers in her home country. Her parents are still in South Sudan whilst her four siblings are living in the camp in Kakuma. She hopes that her inclusion in the ROT will inspire her family and refugees across the world. “My dream is when I went I just want to help my parents and siblings, then after that help also some of my fellow refugees as well.” Lokonyen placed second in a running competition in the refugee camp despite running barefoot, and the 23 year-old is amazed at the prospect of being called an Olympic athlete. “I will be very happy to hold the refugee flag because this is where I started my life and where I saw other people. Hopefully we can come together as one team even from different nationalities and help us interact with people from across the world from all different countries.” (via IOC Newsroom)

Anjelina, Athletics – 1500m
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The 21 year-old, Anjelina Nada Lohalith, left her home country when she was just eight years old. She said: “Going to Rio, it might enable me to meet different people, interact with them and learn many skills. I’ll see many places I’ve never been before and I might succeed in some way, I might earn some money to at least improve the life of my family. In Olympics it will inspire the other refugees because wherever they are they are not just the other people, they are like all of us,” she said. “They might also get that encouragement that they can compete in some way because wherever they are they can be looked down on as a refugee but they might see they have that character and ability to be better at things all over the world wherever they are.” (via IOC Newsroom)

Yonas, Athletics – marathon
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The 36 year-old began running in Ethiopia as a teenager mainly in crosscountry and 10,000m before converting to marathon running. Upon his arrival in Luxembourg Kinde pursued his love for running and quickly became the best long distance runner in the country having joined a local running club. Now residing in Luxembourg, Kinde is reflective on the direction his life has taken.“But I am here and I am alive, so I’m happy and lucky also. There are many refugees in the world, they can do good sports, they can do everything. But this chance is special for me, I can say that, it’s special for me. It’s a very good chance because before I had good results and can win here in Luxembourg; I’ve won many races but I don’t have a nationality to participate at the Olympic Games or European Championships so I do my best training but now it’s very important and very good news for the Refugee Team and refugee athletes for Olympic Solidarity to give this chance.” (via IOC Newsroom)

Paulo, Athletics – 1500m
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“You know there, you meet many people there, you are going to run with the world. You meet with the refugees, not asylum that is a refugee somewhere. If all of us going there you meet together with refugees and then you compete. So people that are watching us in the world. They say these are the refugees,” said Paulo Arnotun Lokoro. Having fled his home country 10 years ago, the 1500m runner arrived at the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya to escape the war in South Sudan. Lokoro is determined to make the most of the opportunity given him by the IOC and the ROT. He said: “My dream, I want to break the record of the world. I want to win the gold, yes in gold is how you win the race, if I win the medal or a gold, it’s my dream. I wish I will go and win the gold.” (via IOC Newsroom)

Yiech, Athletics – 800m
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Yiech spent 11 years in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya until last year when he heard that the Tegla Loroupe Foundation was organizing athletics trials in Kakuma.”To go out to Brazil it will be a great moment in my life and a story to my children and grandchildren.” The 800m runner still has both parents and nine siblings in South Sudan, whom he hopes to inspire with the news of his ROT selection for the Olympic Games. “Being a refugee is only a name,” he said. “And to come out in that situation to be called a refugee is only a human being like me who can change that name, you see. From that journey from Kakuma to this place, I call myself an ambassador for refugees.” (via IOC Newsroom)

Bravery beyond borders
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Bravery beyond borders
Mural Magic in Rio
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These athletes deserve to be 100 ft tall! Check out this beautiful commemoration of #TeamRefugees in Rio

Mural Magic in Rio

These athletes deserve to be 100 ft tall! Check out this beautiful commemoration of #TeamRefugees in Rio

Work in Progress!
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Work in Progress!
Upcoming Events
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Be sure to tune in a support!

Upcoming Events

Be sure to tune in a support!

Former Olympian Albert Llovera
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Apoyo al equipo @TeamRefugees a @Rio2016 los JJOO son para todos y de todos . Todo mi soporte y fuerza para a los deportistas del #TeamRefugees @unicefand ?✊??  via @AlbertLlovera

Showing love
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Thanks for supporting the team @me_cachas

Showing love

Thanks for supporting the team @me_cachas

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David Bisbal is in!
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Únete al equipo de atletas que está llevando esperanza a los refugiados de todo el mundo a través del deporte. Vamos a animar a @TeamRefugeesFC y a extender toda nuestra solidaridad #teamrefugees via @davidbisbal

David Bisbal is in!

Únete al equipo de atletas que está llevando esperanza a los refugiados de todo el mundo a través del deporte. Vamos a animar a @TeamRefugeesFC y a extender toda nuestra solidaridad #teamrefugees via @davidbisbal

Grover stands with #TeamRefugees
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Count Grover in as one of the fans supporting the first ever Refugee Olympic Team! We’re so excited to see him with #TeamRefugees! (via Mashable)

Photo credit: AP PHOTO/FELIPE DANA

2010 Olympic champion, Yuna Kim
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Join Team Refugees this summer! Love & sport have no borders. #TeamRefugees via @YunaKim

2010 Olympic champion, Yuna Kim

Join Team Refugees this summer! Love & sport have no borders. #TeamRefugees via @YunaKim

Talent, Resilience, and Perseverance
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This Is What #TeamRefugees Want To Change via @bustle

Support around the world!
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New Yorkers are showing up for the team big time!

Support around the world!

New Yorkers are showing up for the team big time!

Everyone’s in!
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More love from the @unicefusa team

Everyone’s in!

More love from the @unicefusa team

Yusra the Hero
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Yusra, a Syrian on #TeamRefugees, saved 20 lives by swimming for three hours pushing a sinking boat to safety

via Independent

The World Loves Refugees, When They’re Olympians
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“The world is moved by Team Refugees at the Olympics in Rio. They are greeted with a standing ovation at the opening ceremony. Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, not a man given to extravagant displays of emotion, is all smiles.

President Obama tweets support for these 10 athletes who “prove that you can succeed no matter where you’re from.” Samantha Power, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, posts a video on Facebook in which she speaks of the world’s 65 million displaced people — the largest number since World War II — and says they “are dreaming bigger because you’re doing what you’re doing.”

Who could fail to be moved? These are brave people. They have fled anguish in search not of a better life, but of life itself. In general, you do not choose to become a refugee because you have a choice, but because you have no choice…”

Read the full NYTimes article by Roger Cohen here

The World Loves Refugees, When They’re Olympians

“The world is moved by Team Refugees at the Olympics in Rio. They are greeted with a standing ovation at the opening ceremony. Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, not a man given to extravagant displays of emotion, is all smiles.

President Obama tweets support for these 10 athletes who “prove that you can succeed no matter where you’re from.” Samantha Power, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, posts a video on Facebook in which she speaks of the world’s 65 million displaced people — the largest number since World War II — and says they “are dreaming bigger because you’re doing what you’re doing.”

Who could fail to be moved? These are brave people. They have fled anguish in search not of a better life, but of life itself. In general, you do not choose to become a refugee because you have a choice, but because you have no choice…”

Read the full NYTimes article by Roger Cohen here

Fans around the world!
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Shoutout to @domecamilla!

Fans around the world!

Shoutout to @domecamilla!

@TeamRefugees

Packed pool! Athletes training ahead of today’s heats. Here to cheer for Rami Anis. 

Canada <3s Team Refugees
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Justin Trudeau knows what it means to support refugees around the world!

@SarahKSilverman

Go @TeamRefugees !!!!!

@Pontifex

Good luck to the athletes at ! May you always be messengers of goodwill and true sporting spirit.

Malala’s Message to the Team
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“Dear refugee sisters and brothers, you are the world’s team. We stand with you.” — Malala’s message to #TeamRefugees.

Malala’s Message to the Team

“Dear refugee sisters and brothers, you are the world’s team. We stand with you.” — Malala’s message to #TeamRefugees.

A Symbol of Hope
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Each day war forces thousands of families to flee their homes.
People like you, people like me.

To escape the violence, they leave everything behind – everything except their hopes and dreams for a safer future. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency believes that all refugees deserve to live in safety.

Add your name to the #WithRefugees petition to send a clear message to governments that they must act with solidarity and shared responsibility.

We stand together #WithRefugees.
Please stand with us. Sign Today.

A Symbol of Hope

Each day war forces thousands of families to flee their homes.
People like you, people like me.

To escape the violence, they leave everything behind – everything except their hopes and dreams for a safer future. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency believes that all refugees deserve to live in safety.

Add your name to the #WithRefugees petition to send a clear message to governments that they must act with solidarity and shared responsibility.

We stand together #WithRefugees.
Please stand with us. Sign Today.

President Obama for #TeamRefugees
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@POTUS

President Obama for #TeamRefugees

@POTUS

Grover loves #TeamRefugees
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Your furry pal Grover is here to tell you all about Team Refugees! Click here to watch the video.

“A cry for peace and solidarity” – Pope Francis
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Click here to read the encouraging letter from Pope Francis to #TeamRefugees

 

“A cry for peace and solidarity” – Pope Francis

Click here to read the encouraging letter from Pope Francis to #TeamRefugees

 

Fingers Crossed!
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Be sure to follow @TeamRefugees on snapchat for more!

Fingers Crossed!

Be sure to follow @TeamRefugees on snapchat for more!

Give us a hand to show your support!
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Give us a hand to show your support!
@NowThisNews

Meet the world’s first refugee Olympic team.

[click thru for video]

@melissarfleming
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“I was so inspired to meet five of the refugees who qualified for the #rio2016 Olympics at their training center near Nairobi. They have had such a tough life and now they are getting a chance of a lifetime. #teamrefugees” (via Instagram)

@oliviawilde

As gets underway there is 1 team we can all cheer on:. Get to know these incredible athletes: http://bit.ly/2aIsV97

@jontyclayton53
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Yusra will be swimming in #RioOlympics for #teamrefugees to help sport heal wounds of war. http://bit.ly/29yE50j (via Twitter)

“Judo gave me everything”
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“Olympic refugee team: in the midst of war, judo gave Popole Misenga hope.” (via Rio 2016)

Photo credit: IOC

@TeamRefugees

History will be made at the #Olympics as the 1st ever @TeamRefugees enters this stadium in Brazil.

Refugee. Athlete. Olympian.
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Check out this Sports Illustrated’s piece on how this Refugee Olympic Team will help change the conversation about refugees worldwide.

@WardaAljawahiry

“I didn’t sleep!” Excited Refugee athlete Pur Beil tells me at the airport. #TeamRefugees en route to #RioOlympics

Meet the Refugee Olympic Team
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via Olympic.org

Meet the Refugee Olympic Team

via Olympic.org

Meet the athletes competing in Rio
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“From fleeing the horrors of war and seeking refuge to being on a world stage competing as an Olympic champion, the BBC is charting the dramatic changes in life circumstances of a group of incredible athletes in a new pan BBC, cross-platform project TeamRefugee.” For more information and to check broadcasts, click through to the BBC News page.

Stand with #TeamRefugees
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Stand with #TeamRefugees
Will you support Yolanda?
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Show your support by using #TeamRefugees!

Will you support Yolanda?

Show your support by using #TeamRefugees!

Will your dad hat say RFG this summer?
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Support #TeamRefugees with branded swag. Find us around NYC. We’ll keep you posted!

Will your dad hat say RFG this summer?

Support #TeamRefugees with branded swag. Find us around NYC. We’ll keep you posted!

The stakes are high for #TeamRefugees
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A piece from Al Jazeera reminds us of the growing spotlight on these 10 Olympic-bound refugees. Join us in standing with #TeamRefugees, and cheering our support for these incredible athletes.

Photo credit: Fredrik Lerneryd/Al Jazeera

Yusra is one of 10 refugee athletes going to Rio
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“The courageous Syrian teenager is set to become one of the faces of the Games, having been one of 10 athletes selected to compete for the Refugee Olympic Team under the flag of the International Olympic Committee.” (via Rio 2016)

Photo credit: Boris Streubel/Bongarts/Getty Images

Together, #TeamRefugees
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Together, #TeamRefugees
@UN_Spokesperson
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As he heads to @Rio2016_en Ban Ki-moon shows his support for #TeamRefugees. He will meet with the team tomorrow. (via Twitter)

Seeing refugee athletes as athletes first
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One of the Refugee Olympic Team’s biggest fans is Abdalla, and Fusion has an exclusive interview. He is a former boxer for the Iraq national team until his family had to make the painful decision to flee. Over the course of the Olympics, we look forward to hearing more about the stories of Anjelina, James, Jonas, Paulo, Popole, Rami, Rose, Yiech, Yolande, Yusra as well as Olympic hopefuls like Abdalla. Go #TeamRefugees! (via Fusion)

Photo credit: Unit9

@TeamRefugees

Thanks to @Globecast + @FilmAid, refugees in Kakuma camp will watch the Opening Ceremony + cheer on #TeamRefugees

“She Swam to Escape Syria. Now She’ll Swim in Rio.”
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“She Swam to Escape Syria. Now She’ll Swim in Rio.” Read more about Yusra, a Syrian swimmer representing the Refugee Olympic Team. From fleeing Syria in 2015 to getting back into training in her new home in Germany, her story will inspire you. (via New York Times)

Photo credit: Gordon Welters for The New York Times