Homeless refugee turned Olympic weightlifter on Tokyo dreams
By AFP
29 July 2021 |
10:03 am
Seven years ago Cameroonian refugee Cyrille Tchatchet II was penniless and living on Britain’s streets. Now he is preparing to make history at the Tokyo Olympics as the first UK-based refugee Olympian, after being officially selected as weightlifter for the International Olympic Committee's refugee team.
In this article
Related
23 Apr 2022
Of the five million Ukrainians who have fled the war in their country, almost three million have gone to Poland, which now hosts the highest number of Ukrainian refugees in Europe. Many have arrived in the town of Rzeszów, less than an hour's drive from the border with Ukraine. Our team reports from a shopping centre that's been transformed into a shelter for refugees.
30 Apr 2022
This week, we take a special in-depth look at the Yarmouk camp on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus. It was once home to the largest concentration of Palestinian refugees. During the Syrian civil war, Yarmouk was placed under a brutal siege from 2013 to 2015, leading it to be described as the "worst place on Earth". We speak to filmmaker Abdallah Al-Khatib, who chronicled this period in his documentary "Little Palestine (Diary of a Siege)".
10 May 2022
Ten-month old Davyd suffers from a life-threatening illness. His mother has fled Ukraine to Germany with him and his brother, making their struggle for survival even more difficult.
7 Jun 2022
An estimated 6 million refugees have poured out of Ukraine as they flee Russia's invasion. Their welcome in central Europe has been generous and genuine. Now some hosts are also considering potential benefits.
22 Jun 2022
A Congolese refugee is providing clean energy to 200 businesses around north-western Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp with help from a 20-kilowatt mini solar grid.
10 Jul 2022
Mourners flocked to the site where Japan's former prime minister was shot. Shinzo Abe's body has been moved to Tokyo from Nara, where he was attacked while giving a speech.
27 Aug 2022
India's lack of a national law on refugees has allowed the BJP government to pick and choose the asylum-seekers it wants to admit. Human rights activists suspect a political motive.
4 Oct
The Dutch capital Amsterdam has approved a plan to accommodate at least one thousand migrants on a cruise ship moored in the city's port, as the Netherlands seeks to end an accommodation crisis saw asylum seekers sleeping outside a reception center.
21 Oct
A group of Rohingya attacked two Rohingya refugee camp leaders in Bangladesh, according to a police spokesman. Some sources indicated that a rebel group fighting in Myanmar might be connected to the killings.
1 Nov
Sonia Alaghehband is fulfilling her dream after fleeing from Iran and has become a train operator. Germany lacks such skilled workers.
7 Nov
With her powerful performances she questions gender, race and the aftermath of colonial oppression. Nora Chipaumire has forged an artistic path from Zimbabwe to New York through choreography and dance, picking up multiple awards along the way.
5 Nov
Japan is the only G7 country which does not recognise same-sex unions. But this week, its capital Tokyo began rolling out a partnership certificate scheme. It allows same-sex couples to be treated as married couples for certain public services, this for the first time. Those services include housing, medicine and welfare.
Latest
1 hour ago
Chelsea posted an overall net loss of almost $149 million for 2021-22 due to "extraordinary expenses and loss of revenue" after sanctions were imposed on previous owner Roman Abramovich, the English Premier League soccer club said on Monday.
2 hours ago
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping will hold a second day of talks, with the Russian leader expressing his willingness to discuss China's proposals on the conflict.
2 hours ago
What will it cost to transition the global economy to net zero? We take a look at how much money should be spent and where, in order to mitigate global warming. Charles Pellegrin speaks to Lord Adair Turner, Chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, a global coalition of leaders from across the energy landscape.
2 hours ago
Twelve years ago, young people took to the streets calling for constitutional reforms in Jordan. But the March 24 youth movement fizzled out.
5 hours ago
France's midrange pret-a-porter chains are suffering due to the current economic crisis and structural problems. But some firms are surviving with sustainability, new digital concepts and branding.