They competed in races with self-made horse heads and sprinted through rows of tents in the hope of gold: In Idlib, northern Syria, children of refugees held their own Olympic Games. 120 boys from a total of twelve refugee camps in the Islamist-controlled region competed for the “Olympia of tents” in the Jaman tent settlement on Saturday evening – and had at least as much fun as the athletes in Tokyo.
Competitions that lasted for hours
As in Tokyo, the eight to 14-year-old hopefuls wore the colors of their camp while they competed against each other in disciplines such as javelin, high jump, hurdles, gymnastics, martial arts, badminton and soccer. “I won second place,” said a happy Walid Mohammed al-Hassan. The twelve-year-old was allowed to represent his camp in the long jump and was heavily celebrated by his teammates.
The little athletes competed with each other for hours, cheered on by their fans who watched in small groups. As the sun went down, participants and organizers cheered the winners. Under the confetti rain, they received their medals on the podium. “We had so much fun,” said Walid, grinning widely.
Almost three million people live in the Idlib region, two thirds were displaced from other parts of Syria during the ten-year conflict. Most of them are housed in camps. They depend on humanitarian aid to survive. The cold and wet winters are especially hard for them – and there is no end in sight to camp life.
The Olympic Tent Games were organized by the Syrian charity, Benefits. They should give hope to the little athletes, said Benefits representative Ibrahim Sarmini. The main goal, however, is to make the international community aware of the plight of the camp residents.
So far, around 500,000 people have been killed in the Syrian war, and millions more have been driven from their hometowns. At the Olympic Games in Tokyo, in addition to an official team from Syria, nine Syrian athletes competed in the Olympic refugee team, including from Germany.
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
