Displaced Syrian children compete in 'Tent Olympics'

IDLIB, Syria－Hurling a javelin, leaping over hurdles and sprinting beyond rows of tents to win gold, displaced children in the northwest of war-torn Syria staged their very own Olympics.

As the Tokyo Olympics wrapped up over the weekend, 120 boys from 12 different camps excitedly gathered late on Saturday for their own version of the Games in Idlib.

Each wearing the color of their camp, it was their turn to be star athletes on a running track and soccer pitch etched in the red earth beside the tent settlement of Yaman near Idlib city.

Among the participants at the "Tent Olympics 2020", Walid Mohammed al-Hassan was delighted to have represented his camp in the long jump.

"We had such fun," said the 12-year-old, as three fellow teammates huddled around him with their arms draped over his shoulders.

"I won second place in the long jump," he said, grinning from ear to ear in his team's uniform of white head band and blue vest.

The 8- to 14-year-olds competed in various sports events such as javelin, discus, high jump, hurdles, gymnastics, martial arts, volleyball, badminton, football, running and even "horse racing".

Surrounded by a small crowd, two boys in white karate outfits squared off, while another much shorter boy appeared to act as referee.

On the racetrack, a boy ran as fast as he could clutching a cutout of a horse's head to his chest in a "horse race".

As the sun set, participants and organizers cheered wildly as the winners stepped up onto the podium to receive their medals under a shower of confetti.

A boy named Abdallah, who did not give his age, said his team had won gold in badminton.

Idlib is home to nearly 3 million people, two-thirds of them displaced from other parts of Syria over the course of its 10-year civil war.

Giving hope

Organizer Ibrahim Sarmini, representative of Syrian charity Benefits, said the event aimed to give the children some hope, but to also draw the attention of the international community to their plight.

He said they wanted to introduce the children to different kinds of sports that we, as a society, had not really tried before.

But "the main aim was to shine a light on the camp residents, children and adults, who are living a very tough life", he said.

Syria's civil war has killed around 500,000 people since it started in 2011, displacing millions in and outside the country.

Syrian athletes competed at the Tokyo Olympics as part of two teams－six on the national one representing the Damascus government, and nine on the international Olympic Refugee Team.

Two Syrian brothers took part in the Tokyo Games in different teams, though they both live in Germany.

"It's sad to see young Syrians taking part as refugees," Sarmini said. "But it's great for us that there are real free heroes to represent the people here in northwest Syria at the Olympics."

Agencies Via Xinhua