Sudanese Refugee Leads U.S. Olympic Team

As many of you may have seen during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing, Lopez Lomong, a refugee from Sudan who is now a U.S. Citizen led the U.S. delegation into the stadium. AFP reports:

The US team Thursday chose a former refugee from violence in Sudan to carry the flag at the Olympic opening ceremony, throwing the spotlight on China’s much-criticised policy on Darfur.

The decision to nominate Sudan-born 1500m track star Lopez Lomong, a member of the Team Darfur activist group, added a touch of political drama to Friday’s ceremony at the “Bird’s Nest” stadium in Beijing.

Coming just days after a visa was revoked for Team Darfur co-founder Joey Cheek to visit China, the decision honors Lomong’s heart-tugging tale of escaping conflict in Sudan as a child.

“It’s just a happy day. I don’t even have the words to describe how happy I am,” Lomong said.

“This is another amazing step for me in celebrating being an American. Seeing my fellow Americans coming behind me and supporting me will be a great honor — the highest honor.”

US captains in every Olympic sport met at the Olympic Village and voted late Wednesday for Lomong, who became a US citizen in July 2007 after being kidnapped from a church aged six and spending 10 years in a Kenyan refugee camp.

“This is the most exciting day ever in my life. It’s a great honor for me that my teammates chose to vote for me,” Lomong said.

Lomong, 23, is a member of Team Darfur, a group of global athletes who seek to raise awareness of the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan. He said in July that if he stands on the Olympic podium, his thoughts would be with Sudan’s children. Click here for the rest of the story.

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