Refugee women in the Women's Race: Running for Life
Refugee women in the Women's Race: Running for Life
A group of refugee and migrant women participate in the Women’s Race in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, in March 2023.
They do not know each other, but they have a past with many similarities and in 2023 they had a common goal: to be part of the largest women's sporting event in Europe, which has already been joined by more than 1.4 million women since it started in 2004. We spoke to them on the phone, and this was their experience:
- 04:00 am: the alarm clock rings and Mar* wakes up in Seville to catch the 5:30 train, which will take her to the historic center of Malaga where the Carrera de la Mujer starts. Mar is 28 years old, likes cycling and hiking, but this is the first time she signs up for a race. As she does not have the financial resources to spend the night in Malaga, getting up early and returning to Seville the same day is the only option. Mar is a Colombian asylum seeker from Cúcuta and had to leave her country after being threatened in her work as a social activist for youth and the environment.
- 05:30 am: Carolina gets up, has her coffee for breakfast, puts on her pink T-shirt and takes the bus and the metro to get to Barcelona's Arc de Triomf, where the peloton starts. She does not intend to do the whole route, but it is clear to her that she wants to be part of this event. Carolina is a 32-year-old trans woman who had to leave Honduras, where her life was in danger for defending LGBTIQ people, and for claiming and wanting to live coherently with her gender identity.
- 07:00 am: Viktoriia wakes up in Santiago de Compostela, has breakfast, stretches and gets ready to take the train that will take her to the starting point at Riazor Beach, in A Coruña. At 26 years old, this biotechnologist is a sportswoman who likes to run and intends to run the 6 km race. Viktoriia is from Kiev and, although Russia's full-scale invasion of her country caught her out, she had to return to Ukraine to help her mother and uncles escape the war and bombs.
These three women received an email from UNHCR at different times in 2023, inviting them to register for free for the Women's Run in their respective cities. This opportunity was the result of the organizers' commitment to collaborate with UNHCR, in the Forum Spain with Refugees, to offer refugee and stateless women and girls the opportunity to participate. The Race, which this year celebrates two decades since its inception, is a day of sport, solidarity, and vindication of the role of women in the world of sport.
"I was amazed, I loved the feeling of energy and strength when I saw so many women together. I was very encouraged by the organizers, and I want to say that sport gives you peace and strength to help yourself and to help other people," says Viktoriia from Galicia, who fondly remembers the veteran runner's diploma received by a 92-year-old Galician woman.
Mar ran the 2.5-kilometer course in Malaga "at a gentle trot", as she says. Despite the early start, she stayed until the closing and enjoyed the awards and dance activities very much, but above all, she emphasizes the strength of the sorority of all that surrounded the race. "I stayed until the end, and there was truly a pure energy in that space," Mar recalls with emotion. "It was impressive to see so many women from all over the world, it was transgenerational, families, moms with baby buggies, others playing music to encourage us along the way, and to me, all that sisterhood in something as healthy as sport, seemed almost magical.
Carolina was also pleasantly surprised by the race in Barcelona because she thought it would be an event only for refugee and migrant women. "Seeing so many people from here and that diversity of backgrounds made me feel like one more among so many women, I felt the warmth of the welcome, I felt supported by society and I thought "I'm not alone." Carolina started talking to a group of women who were walking the route. "They were surprised to be with a trans woman, but they thought it was great, sometimes it is the LGBTIQ people themselves who limit ourselves and censor ourselves, but if we do not make an effort to interact, we will never know if they will accept us," adds this Honduran woman who exudes positivity.
All three are looking forward to participating in the upcoming Women's Run 2024 events in their respective cities. Viktoriia is confident of beating her own record and is already training in Santiago de Compostela, albeit indoors, because she says that "it rains a lot". Carolina has joined a gym to prepare and insists on making sure that UNHCR will send her the invitation this year as well; she wants to encourage other friends to join her. From Seville, Mar would love to repeat the experience one more year if she can raise enough money to make the trip to Malaga.
UNHCR is collaborating again in 2024 with the organizers in spreading the word about this opportunity to reach as many refugee women as possible. After this experience, there is no doubt about the power, energy and positive impact that being part of the Pink Tide has for thousands of women and, among them, those who one day had to run for their lives and who today are running to rebuild their lives and feel welcomed in society.
About the Women's Race
The Women's Race is a pioneering sporting event in Spain that has been held in different cities since 2004 with the aim of promoting the practice of running and aerobic exercise among all women, fight against cancer, raise funds for research and raise awareness about the importance of its prevention. It is an international benchmark in the activation of female participation in sports activities and has a strong solidarity character in favor of entities of all kinds related to women, as well as combating gender violence and social and educational inequalities suffered by women in all areas.
(*) Mar is a fictitious name that has been changed for protection reasons.
This story was originally published on the Carrera de la Mujer website.