• Text size Normal size text | Increase text size by 10% | Increase text size by 20% | Increase text size by 30%

Guor Marial: the refugee marathon man running for the world

News Stories, 14 August 2012

© Press Association
Guor Marial, a refugee competing at the London Olympics nearly 20 years after he was forced to flee from his village in South Sudan.

LONDON, 14 August (UNHCR) – Guor Marial has been running since he was eight years old, but nearly two decades after he had to run from armed militiamen in South Sudan, this refugee is now a world-class athlete competing in the Olympic marathon.

"The last time I saw my family was in 1993 – almost 20 years ago," Marial told UNHCR as he awaited the Marathon that was run on the last day of the London Olympics. "I hope they will be able to watch me run on TV, they will walk to the nearest city Panrieng, which is 30 miles (50 km) away."

Marial, 28 and now living in the United States, became separated from his family in what was then a single country of Sudan torn by civil war. His village was burned down, 28 members of his family were killed and his jaw was smashed by a rifle butt.

Trying to escape, he was captured and used as forced labour. He eventually got away and found relatives further north in Sudan, where he remained until he left for Egypt at the age of 16. He was accepted for resettlement in the United States, where he still has refugee status.

"Running is something I started doing to make friends in high school and to be part of a team," Marial said. His potential was spotted and he was given a scholarship to Iowa State University, where in 2009 he received his degree in chemistry.

"After graduating from college, it (running) was something I wanted to do as a career and to show my appreciation for those who supported me.," Marial said. Although he had run only two marathons ever, he qualified to be among the 105 runners who competed in the gruelling test last Sunday.

He was one of a handful of athletes at the London Olympics competing under the flag of the International Olympic Committee. He had one draped on the wall of the room he was allocated during the games. He finished in 47th place, covering the 42.19 km in 2 hours and 19 minutes.

"I want to thank the International Olympic Committee for giving me the opportunity to be here and raise awareness about refugees and all the people around the world who don't have a country. To run under the Olympic flag – I feel like I'm representing the whole world."

In the Olympic village Marial mixed with the international sports stars he had seen before only in the media, gaining new confidence and motivation to accomplish even more.

He hopes his story will inspire members of the next generation in South Sudan, the new country that emerged from the civil war, to strive to reach the Olympics. It has been a remarkable journey from smouldering village to running through the streets of London under the television cameras.

"In the refugee camps it's hard, you're isolated. You only think about what there is to eat… That kind of toughness, being able to survive those critical conditions, had an impact on my daily life and how I face things," Marial said.

"When I left South Sudan for Cairo, and then the United States, my world kept getting bigger and bigger and I learnt that there was another way, that people could live peacefully. "I wasn't interested in running in the camp because running there is running away from danger. But now I want to run every day."

By Laura Padoan in London

• DONATE NOW •

 

• GET INVOLVED • • STAY INFORMED •

Related stories by:

UNHCR country pages

South Sudan Crisis: Urgent Appeal

Donate now and help to provide emergency aid to tens of thousands of people fleeing South Sudan to escape violence.

Donate to this crisis

Giving is Winning

Athletes donate sports clothes and equipment.

Sport Against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

The Continuity Of Risk

A three-city study of Congolese women-at-risk resettled in the U.S.

Stateless in American Samoa: Mikhail Sebastian's Story

Mikhail Sebastian is a stateless man who has been living in the United States for more than a decade-and-a-half. In this video, he tells of the hardships he has faced and the importance of providing legal protections to stateless persons in the U.S.

Operational Guidance

Operational Guidance for the prevention of micronutrient deficiencies and malnutrition.

Southerners on the move before Sudanese vote

Ahead of South Sudan's landmark January 9, 2011 referendum on independence, tens of thousands of southern Sudanese in the North packed their belongings and made the long trek south. UNHCR set up way stations at key points along the route to provide food and shelter to the travellers during their arduous journey. Several reports of rapes and attacks on travellers reinforced the need for these reception centres, where women, children and people living with disabilities can spend the night. UNHCR has made contingency plans in the event of mass displacement after the vote, including the stockpiling of shelter and basic provisions for up to 50,000 people.

Southerners on the move before Sudanese vote

South Sudan: Preparing for Long-Awaited Returns

The signing of a peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the army of the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement on 9 January, 2005, ended 21 years of civil war and signaled a new era for southern Sudan. For some 4.5 million uprooted Sudanese – 500,000 refugees and 4 million internally displaced people – it means a chance to finally return home.

In preparation, UNHCR and partner agencies have undertaken, in various areas of South Sudan, the enormous task of starting to build some basic infrastructure and services which either were destroyed during the war or simply had never existed. Alongside other UN agencies and NGOs, UNHCR is also putting into place a wide range of programmes to help returnees re-establish their lives.

These programs include road construction, the building of schools and health facilities, as well as developing small income generation programmes to promote self-reliance.

South Sudan: Preparing for Long-Awaited Returns

South Sudan: The Long Trip Home

When the peace treaty that ended 21 years of civil war between north and south Sudan was signed in 2005, some 223,000 Sudanese refugees were living in Uganda – the largest group of Sudanese displaced to a neighbouring country.

Despite South Sudan's lack of basic infrastructure, such as schools, hospitals and roads, many Sudanese were eager to go home. In May 2006, the UN refugee agency's Uganda office launched an assisted repatriation programme for Sudanese refugees. The returnees were given a repatriation package, including blankets, sleeping mats, plastic sheets, mosquito nets, water buckets, kitchen sets, jerry cans, soap, seeds and tools, before being transported from the transit centres to their home villages. As of mid-2008, some 60,000 Sudanese living in Uganda had been helped back home.

As of the beginning of May 2008, some 275,000 Sudanese refugees had returned to South Sudan from surrounding countries, including Uganda, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya. Some 125,000 returned with UNHCR assistance.

Posted on 16 July 2008

South Sudan: The Long Trip Home

Lebanon: Refugees Brave Winter in Unfinished BuildingPlay video

Lebanon: Refugees Brave Winter in Unfinished Building

More than half of Syrian refugees in Lebanon live in precarious shelters such as unfinished buildings, garages and shops. Their already difficult conditions are made worse by the winter weather.
Lebanon: US Dream keeps Hopes Alive for Syrian Family Play video

Lebanon: US Dream keeps Hopes Alive for Syrian Family

When Syrian refugee Yaser, his wife Amani, and family heard media reports of anti-refugee sentiment among some quarters in the United States, they feared their 18-month wait to find refuge in the country that resettles more refugees than any other could go on indefinitely. But putting their hopes on a new life in the United States, away from the horrors of Syria's war is the refugee family's only way to escape the fear of the past and struggles of the present in Lebanon.
South Sudan: A Long Walk in Search of Safety Play video

South Sudan: A Long Walk in Search of Safety

Years of fighting between Sudan and rebel forces have sent more than 240,000 people fleeing to neighbouring South Sudan, a country embroiled in its own conflict. After weeks on foot, Amal Bakith and her five children are settling in at Ajoung Thok refugee camp where they receive food, shelter, access to education and land.