We Are Tomodachi Autumn / Winter 2017

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32Syrian refugee, Olympic swimmer, and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Yusra Mardini visited 2020 Olympic Host City Tokyo in August 2017 to promote awareness and understanding of refugees by sharing her own dramatic story.“Refugees are people who, if only given a chance, are capable of extraordinary things.” Yusra Mardini lives out her claim. In 2015, Mardini fled war-torn Syria for Germany. In 2016, she swam in the Rio Olympics with the first ever Refugee Olympic Athletes Team. Now, as Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, she represents the more than 65 million forcibly displaced people around the world, working to inspire other refugees to pursue their dreams.Mardini is seeking to change the negative image many people hold of refugees. Speaking at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in January, she declared, “‘Refugee’ is becoming an insult—a name to hurt and humiliate—but there is no shame if we remember who we are.” Mardini describes refugees as “survivors with their own talents and skills that had to flee their country to escape persecution.” The label “refugee” hides the fact that these people are “doctors and lawyers, mothers, and brothers with much to contribute.”Mardini knew her native Syria as a “vibrant country, full of generous, kind people; a center of art, culture and civilization.” Until 2011, Syria welcomed millions of tourists annually. Mardini grew up in the capital city of Damascus. Her father, a professional swim coach, Mardini with students of Taimei Elementary School, Tokyo. © UNHCRAchieving the Impossible: Syrian Refugee Swimmer-AmbassadorSeries: Friends of JapanYusra MardiniOlympic swimmer and Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Born in Damascus, she fled war-torn Syria in 2015 and currently lives in Germany. She swam on the Refugee Olympic Team in the Rio Olympics, and hopes to compete again in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.