Since 1980, political causes have driven many independent Olympians to compete under the Olympic flag as part of a unified team rather than with their national teams. Nonetheless, this year’s unified team will be unprecedented.
Alarmed by the refugee crisis, and determined to send a message of hope to those who have fled their war-torn countries, the International Olympic Committee has decided to form a team of refugees that will compete under the official five-ring flag.
The team of Refugee Olympic Athletes will feature 5 to 10 refugees who have achieved Olympic qualifications. IOC President Thomas Bach stated that the committee will provide the team with officials, coaches and staff. IOC will also cover the athletes’ travel expenses, support them financially and allow them to live in the Olympic Village with the other contestants.
"Having no national team to belong to, having no flag to march behind, having no national anthem to be played, these refugees will be welcomed to the Olympic Games with the Olympic flag and with the Olympic anthem," says Bach, according to Reuters .
Forty-three refugees are currently being considered. The teams final composition will be decided by the IOC executive board in June. The candidates have been selected based on athletic qualifications, officially verified refugee status and personal background. Among them are a judoka from the Democratic Republic of Congo residing in Brazil, an Iranian taekwondo fighter from Belgium and a Syrian swimmer living in Germany.
The IOC’s plan has actually been the center of controversy. Some people believed it was fulfilling the Olympics’ purpose of uniting people in sports and raising awareness concerning important issues. However, others claimed refugees cannot possibly focus on sports competitions, as Syria’s first Olympic medalist Joseph Atiyeh said to TakePart .
Likewise, Helen Lenskyj, a sociology professor who wrote " Inside the Olympic Industry: Power, Politics, and Activism " said, “Realistically, refugees have been on the move for months and months, if not years. It’s cynical and unrealistic, the notion that someone who is fighting for their life would have the luxury of training for the most elite competition in the world. It just cannot happen.”
Nevertheless, forming the ROA team has not been the committee’s only act of concern for refugees. Last September, the IOC set up a $2 million fund for humanitarian refugee projects after the crisis reached Europe.
The IOC continued to honor refugees, choosing two Syrian refugees to carry the Rio Olympic torch. After the flame was lit in the Greek city of Olympia, it was carried across a refugee camp in Athens by Syrian swimmer Ibrahim Al Hussein, who had lost his leg in a bombing and thus fled to attain asylum in Greece.
The torch was then sent to Brasilia and held by 12-year-old Syrian refugee Hanan Khaled Daqqah, who says she loves Brazilian people and feels Brazilian herself.