Members of the Refugee Paralympic Team vowed to represent all refugees living with disabilities at a press conference in Tokyo on the eve of the Tokyo Paralympic Games opening ceremony.
Alia Issa, the only woman on the team, will be the team's flagbearer at the ceremony. Born to Syrian refugees in Greece, the 20-year-old para-athlete will compete in club throw.
"I want to say to the women that have a disability [to] not stay at home. I hope that I am the first example to follow," said Issa, who has speech and mobility impairments.
Paralympic swimmer Ibrahim Al Hussein, who is originally from Syria, will be competing as a refugee at his second Games. The 32-year-old said he wanted to send a message of peace through the Games on behalf of the 12 million refugees with disabilities in the world.
Iran-born discus thrower Shahrad Nasajpour, 31, said the adversity experienced by para-athletes is what gives them the resilience to persevere in their lives and careers.
-- Afghan para-athletes leave Kabul
Two Afghan para-athletes who were supposed to compete in the Tokyo Paralympics were evacuated from Taliban-held Kabul by an Australian military aircraft and will be taken to Australia, the Australian public news service ABC reported Monday.
The two athletes, female taekwondo athlete Zakia Khudadadi and male track athlete Hossain Rasouli, are said to be still hoping to compete in Tokyo. They were initially taken to Dubai and will be flown to Australia after being issued visas, according to the ABC report.
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