Creating a Flag and an Anthem for the World’s Refugees
by Refugee Nation
What makes a nation?
This is the crux of our project. When we first started pondering the situation of the athletes called to partake in the Rio Olympics as “Refugees” without representation, we found the paradox of being stateless in the world’s biggest display of statehood uniquely equivocal and somewhat outrageous.
For the first time ever, a refugee team was supposed to compete at the Olympic Games, representing 65 million displaced people worldwide, and for the first time ever, 10 athletes would be there with no national team to belong to, no flag to march behind, and no anthem to be played for them.
In this context, we — a collective of creatives — in partnership with a group of refugees, decided to do something about that. Together, we came up
with the concept of the Refugee Nation: a nation reimagined to challenge geography and the notion of territories.
Our nation is a borderless ideal, immersed in the core values of human rights and, above all, open to taking in those in need anywhere in the world.
The Flag
This symbolic nation was meant to pay a tribute to the refugee athletes in the Olympics, and, by extension, all the refugees in the world. Together, we created a flag and an anthem all refugees could call their own.
To design the flag of this new nation we teamed up with an artist, but not just any artist. We partnered up with Yara Said, a Syrian refugee who had to leave her own country to find asylum in Amsterdam after graduating from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Damascus.
The flag of a nation without borders had to reflect the conflict between the dream of crossing over and the obligation of staying within the lines. Said was very familiar with the struggle and the complex circumstances brought up by forced displacement, so she created a meaningful, powerful flag.
The idea was inspired by the only passport so many refugees have used throughout their journey: life vests. The flag is a vivid orange with a single black stripe, reminiscent of movement, pain, fear, and hope. Said stated,
“Black and orange is a symbol of solidarity with all these brave souls that had to wear life vests to cross the sea to look for safety in a new country. Since I had to wear one I have a personal engagement with these life vests, and these two colors.”
The Anthem
To write the anthem, we invited a very special composer: Moutaz Arian, a Syrian refugee currently living in Istanbul. He was a music scholar in his fourth year at the University of Damascus when he had to flee his own country as the situation in Syria deteriorated. Since the refugee crisis is a global issue, Arian decided to create an anthem without words to resonate beyond borders. His intention was to let music, as the most commonly understood language, speak for itself: “I want to make music not just for Kurds and Arabs. I want to make music for the whole world.”
The epic hymn’s high notes and rhythm were meant to portray the volatility of the crossing the refugees have to undertake. Arian explained,
“Music is the best language to deliver my message to humanity, which is to love each other, and this language does not require a translation.”
With these two national symbols in hand we presented a convincing case to the International Olympic Committee, arguing for the replacement of the Olympic flag and the Olympic anthem (which the refugee athletes had to use) with these potential symbols that were closely related to their strife.
Unfortunately, the IOC has strict protocols that led them to say no to the project.
But on the other hand, something amazing has happened: the world said yes.
The refugee athletes and their growing fandom embraced the symbols, thus recognizing everybody’s basic right at home. We delivered the flag to a few members of the team, and they felt honored by the tribute. As Popole Misenga, a judoka competing for the Refugee Team, put it,
“A sister refugee from Syria has made this for all of us, refugee people. This flag is a gift. I’ll never forget.”
Refugees across the world also said yes. They waved the flag to cheer for their heroes at the Olympics. Charly Kongo, a Congolese refugee living in Rio de Janeiro, shared what having a flag means to him:
“This flag gives a message to engage humanity. We can’t let people die just because they are in search of a safer place to live.”
Banners have been delivered to Kakuma, Kenya — the largest refugee camp in the world and home to five members of the Olympic team — which introduced it to over 180,000 displaced people.
The crowd said yes. The flag has been seen throughout multiple Olympic venues. And, little by little, countries started showing support, including Olympic athletes.
By the end of the games, even the IOC agreed to display the flag.
The story of this flag, which has transcended borders and traditional mapping, has been largely covered by major media channels. And what started as a nation to pay tribute to 10 athletes ended up becoming a symbol that unifies all refugees around the world, and a way to channel the voices of every supporter of the basic human right of having a place to call home.
