Tokyo Olympics: stranded team from South Sudan find refuge, kindness in Japan

South Sudan’s track-and-field team arrived in Japan before the Games were delayed by the pandemic - some 20 months ago

Taxpayers across Japan have contributed funds towards the cost of hosting the team in the town of Maebashi through a quasi-crowdfunding campaign

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100-metre sprinter Lucia Moris, left, and 400-metre hurdle sprinter Akoon Akoon during their training in Maebashi on July 6. Photo: Noriko Hayashi/Bloomberg

Published: 7:00am, 17 Jul 2021Updated: 8:31am, 17 Jul 2021

For the past 20 months, the South Sudanese track-and-field team have been training in Maebashi, a city two hours north of Tokyo, for the Olympics. The five athletes arrived before the Games were delayed by the pandemic, expecting to stay for only half a year.

Now, the area known for its historic silk industry has become a second home for the athletes as they seek the first-ever Olympic medal for the Republic of South Sudan, which gained independence in 2011 only to be caught up in a civil war for most of the next decade.

Maebashi, a city of 334,000, has taken in the team, helping to raise money to pay for their stay. On weekends and holidays, the group has mingled with locals at dancing parties, given speeches at schools and universities, and worked with the local police department to raise terrorism awareness.

Even amid the controversy over holding the Olympics during a global health crisis, the relationship between the South Sudanese and their hosts have generated positive publicity and goodwill.

Maebashi, a city two hours north of Tokyo. Photo: Noriko Hayashi/Bloomberg

“We shall be able to learn a lot of things from each other, both bad and good,” said 1,500-metre runner Abraham Guem, who lost his stepbrother in the civil war. “What we feel is good, we take and teach our people at home. And what we feel is bad, we learn but we leave at the Olympic Village gate when we leave.”