Cindy Winner Djankeu Ngamba (b. September 7, 1998) left Cameroon for England when she was 11. She was arrested in 2019 and sent to a detention centre. In 2024, she managed to win bronze medal in women's 75kg boxing event at the Summer Olympics in Paris to become the first-ever medallist for the Refugee Olympic Team at the Greatest Show on Earth! Ngamba fought really hard against Atheyna Bylon of Panama in the semi-finals, but lost the match by 1:4 split decision. However, her defeat and victories (in previous matches) have turned the global community towards her struggle, as well as dream. Quite a similar dream prompted Syrian judoka Adnan Khankan (b. May 1, 1994) to leave his home. He crossed the Balkan route and went through Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia to reach Hungary where he was arrested. Later, Khankan found shelter in a refugee camp in Germany. He, too, competed at Paris 2024!
Ngamba and Khankan were two of 37 members of the Refugee Olympic Team who competed in 12 categories at the Paris Olympics 2024. The International Olympic Association (IOA) formed the team with these uprooted sportspersons, this time. While some of them are originally from Syria, others are from Iran, Afghanistan, Congo or Cameroon. However, those 37 represented more than 10 million people, who have left their own countries and sought refuge in Europe, at Paris. All of them have left their respective countries, religions and cultures; and here they share the common identity known as Stateless.
In September 2015, the body of three-year-old Alan Kurdi washed up on a Turkish beach as the dark-haired toddler, wearing a bright-red T-shirt and shorts, was found lying face-down in the surf near the (Turkish) resort town of Bodrum. The Kurdi family made their way to Europe by boat in search of a safer and somewhat better life. However, they died after their boat capsized. The image of the child lying on the sand became a symbol of the global refugee crisis. In October of the same year, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the formation of the Refugee Olympic Team while speaking at the UN General Assembly. It may be noted that 10 refugees from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria and Congo participated in the Rio Olympics 2016, while 29 contestants represented the Refugee Olympic Team at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and 37 refugees took part in the Paris Olympics 2024. Most importantly, this is the first time when a refugee athlete has won a medal at the Olympics! Indeed, this is a huge achievement for Ngamba who has sent a strong message to the world that has been facing the refugee crisis for the past decade.
Anjelina Nadai Lohalith (b. January 1, 1993), who fled South Sudan with her aunt due to the Civil War there, also took part in the 10km event at Paris Olympics, while Matin Balsini (of Iran) finished 26th overall in the Men's 200m Butterfly event with his 2:00.73 time at the Paris La Defence Arena. Although they failed to win a medal, their efforts have lit the light of hope in the minds of the refugees who have left their respective countries in search of a safe and peaceful lives. While some of them are staying in refugee camps, others are still on their way to new destinations. Once, Ernest Hemingway wrote: "A man can be destroyed but not defeated." People in Paris applauded the presence, as well as the success, of the Refugee Olympic Team! In a way, spectators inside the stadia saluted the struggle of refugees who are in search of healthy and safe lives!
The presence of the Refugee Team at the Olympic arena reminds one that humanity is facing its worst crisis since the Second World War. Millions of people are losing their lives in war zones in Myanmar, West Asia, Africa, Europe and other parts of the globe, on a regular basis. Millions have also been displaced by war, scarcity of food or environmental disasters. As per the 2023 statistics, the highest number of refugees are from Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Venezuela and South Sudan. The Israeli atrocities in Gaza have worsened the refugee crisis, as children and women there have become more vulnerable.
In such a situation, Manizha Talash, an Afghan national, participated in the Break Dance event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, while Aram Mahmoud, who had left Syria to take refuge in the Netherlands, arrived on the court with a badminton racket. They have successfully made the global community think about the horrors of the refugee crisis, as well as the complex issue of providing refugees with asylum, yet again! According to a report prepared by the UN, Iran, Turkey, Colombia and Germany accommodated the largest number of refugees from 2015-16 to 2022. However, the majority of asylum seekers from Africa and Asia want to live in European countries!
Sadly, public opinion has developed in various countries against providing refugees with asylum! The Far-Rights have influenced people by arguing that national wealth should be used only for the improvement of the quality of life of the people in their respective countries. As expected, such an argument has triggered racism. The Pledge of not to accommodate refugees is behind the rise of the Right-Wing Politics across Europe. Giorgia Meloni, the newly-elected Prime Minister of Italy, has vowed to block waterways in order to stop refugees from entering her country. Her policy is quite similar to former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Stop the Boat move! Even Scandinavian countries, popularly known as Ultra-Liberal, have started adopting stricter refugee policies!
Interestingly, there is a sacred tradition of providing shelter in the Western civilisation. The Old Testament mentions six cities known as the Cities of Refuge where the perpetrators of accidental manslaughter could claim the Right of Asylum! Those are Golan, Ramoth, Bosor, Kedesh, Shechem and Hebron. While the actual existence of those cities and their religious character are open to debate, it cannot be denied that the sacred practice of sheltering was part of ancient Western culture!
According to French Philosopher Jacques Derrida (July 15, 1930 - October 9, 2004), "Unconditional hospitality has to say 'yes' to the stranger without any discrimination. It goes beyond the limits of the laws and norms of conditional hospitality. It resists all forms of border enforcement." He explained that "absolute or unconditional hospitality presupposes a break from conditional hospitality. Absolute hospitality should be open to all kinds of 'otherness', and it demands us to welcome the stranger, regardless of who you are, your name, race or species, which might be human, divine or animal".
It may be difficult to accept Derrida's concept of unconditional hospitality in the current global political and socio-economic context, but one can still hope that the Refugee Olympic Team in Paris would inspire the West to look back on its sacred tradition of providing the humans with shelter.
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