Two members of the Refugee Paralympic Team who have had incredible journeys to get to Tokyo are in action on Thursday (2 September) at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. For both Al Khalifa and Hakizimana, just competing in Tokyo is already a big victory.
Anas Al Khalifa fled the war in Syria and lived in camps before reaching Germany. In 2018, he suffered a spinal cord injury in a workplace accident. He is one of six members of the Refugee Paralympic Team at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games.
The Refugee Olympic Team made its first appearance at the 2016 games. Ten athletes, hailing from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo took part in the Rio event five years ago. And now, for the first time, a Refugee Paralympic Team is competing in Tokyo. The athletes, one woman and five men, will compete in a range of sports including athletics, swimming, canoeing and taekwondo. Two members of the team, Shahrad Nasajpour and Ibrahim Al Hussein, took part in the 2016 Paralympics as Independent Paralympic Athletes. Club thrower Alia Issa becomes the first female to be named part of a refugee team at the Paralympic Games. The team is completed by taekwondo star Parfait Hakizimana, canoeist Anas Al Khalifa and swimmer Abbas Karimi.