Episode 83: The Olympian and refugee advocate Pur Biel

Episode 83: The Olympian and refugee advocate Pur Biel

This episode of the BAL Immigration Report is brought to you by BAL, the corporate immigration law firm that powers human achievement through immigration expertise, people-centered client services and innovative technology. Learn more at BAL.com.

In this week’s episode, BAL’s Tiffany Derentz met with Pur Biel, a member of the International Olympic Committee, to talk about his inspiring journey from Sudanese refugee to Olympian. Plus, we discuss updates for DACA college graduates and other top immigration news.

From Dallas, Texas, I’m Rebecca Sanabria.

Spotlight

Pur Biel is an Olympian runner born in war-torn South Sudan who escaped to Kenya and now lives in the United States.

Recognized as a member of the International Olympic Committee, board member of the Olympic Refugee Foundation and Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, he advocates on behalf of displaced peoples around the world.

BAL’s Tiffany Derentz, senior counsel in the D.C. office, met with Biel to talk about the staggering obstacles he overcame to compete for the first Refugee Olympic Team at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics — and the personal triumphs that followed.

Tiffany: Pur, thank you so much for being with us today. I am super excited to talk to you right before you’re headed to Paris for the Olympic and Paralympic Games — I’m a little jealous because Paris is lovely.

You developed your exceptional talent under very challenging conditions. Can you tell us about some of the challenges you faced growing up and as you trained over the years?

Pur: Thank you so much. It is an honor to be here today, sharing my personal story. First of all, I will begin with, I left South Sudan in 2005, and the reason is whereby  that we have civil war in South Sudan for 21 years. So it happened in 2005 when our village was attacked by the government, I had to flee with all my family. Then luckily I was rescued by the UN, and we were taken to Kenya — to Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya.

Life was not that easy, first of all, living without my family — it was something that bothered me, traumatized me, but in every situation, you must trust in God. So I put God first in everything, but life becomes challenging. First, in Kakuma Refugee Camp, everyone will know that place is so dry, you cannot get food, you cannot get water, and even going to school, it is far away, that was the first challenge.

The second challenge was adapting to life without family, which is something that a young boy, 10 years old, surviving alone, could not imagine living in that life. But I started developing, making friends at school, and I find out we have different people, we have the same challenges, coming from South Sudan also, other people coming from different places, and we become friends sharing the same story.

I get involved in sport and become part of it, but there have been a lot of challenges that, you know, running barefoot. And second, that it is like, how to adapt the life without family, and also making that exceptional life of becoming an athlete and becoming someone that you can depend on the spot.

I’ve been playing soccer for 10 years, and that’s why I began loving sport. Then in 2015, I started to be part of the athletics, which is something that I feel it became a changing life for me, so there have been a lot of challenges — because I ran barefoot, and also, becoming a refugee is something that everyone doesn’t want to be. Because when you are called a refugee, you feel like shame, and that contributed to my life and also everything — that I’m living in the refugee camps.

Tiffany: Can you share a bit about competing on your first Refugee Olympic Team in 2016 at the Rio Summer Olympics?

Pur: I remember our first training. We did not have, all of us, we did not have shoes, so that was the first challenge. The second challenge was, Nairobi is a cold place. Coming from a warm place to a cold place, it was totally different for us.

We normally wake up at 5, but you feel like you are not going to run — that was another challenge that we faced. But all in all, that transition from refugee camp to Nairobi, and also preparing for the Olympics, it was not easy. The challenges of not having the gear, not having the training shoes, and not having also the proper coaching, it was something that was contributing, but all in all, after that, after six months, I managed to be on the team with all the challenges.

You know, I feel like the determination of a person contributes a lot, and when you believe in something, you have to work on it. And I believe that six months helped me to be where I was, although I was not that best, but I make the best out of the people that I was training. So, challenges might be there, but you have to be resilient and also believe in yourself.

Tiffany: So, you said you only had six months to train before your very first Olympic Games. How did you get involved in the training and selected for the Games?

Pur: Well, in that group of 32 athletes who are in training camp in Nairobi, we have long distance, we have middle distance and we have sprinters. So I was part of the middle distance, and we were almost like 15. What we did, we always have trial every month, whereby they can see you’re improving or you are not improving, and the coach will call you, because we have a German coach who was one of the people who was selecting the team.

So, for us, it was like, okay, progressing and also telling the story of the refugees, because it was not just about competing about yourself. You are representing 55.3 million by then. So that’s what motivated me. Also, that competition helped us to better ourselves. And also, competing with Kenya, as you know, that Kenya is better in athletics — so, competing with them, it becomes something that helps us to become better in that six-month time frame.

Tiffany: Can you also tell me a little bit about your experience representing refugees in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games?

Pur: Well, in Tokyo, I was the team leader for the refugee teams, which is something that I was so honored and privileged to be a support person for the team. As you know, it was a COVID year, but we did what we could. And what makes me happy is to see the transition of the team from 10 athletes to 29 athletes in Tokyo, coming from different backgrounds, different nationalities and different dreams and also hopes to make one team for the refugees.

Tiffany: How did you balance the responsibility between being the team lead and being there representing the refugees competing? It’s a lot on your shoulders. And as you pointed out, it’s a COVID year. How did you balance all of that?

Pur: It was like taking responsibility for yourself and also for the other million of refugees. Imagine out of that million of refugees, and we have only 29 athletes. And within those 29 athletes, we have only one spokesperson who is speaking about the refugee situation.

So for me, it was like, yes, I have the refugee population, which are looking upon me to pass the message of hope for the young people who are not having that level of becoming an athlete competing in the Olympics, competing in the world championship. So I take it as a responsibility. Apart from that, it’s something that I just want to become a role model for the young people.

And that is what I take it, since I came back from the Olympics 2016. I said, it is time to advocate for the refugees, either in education, either in their basic needs. But we have to change the narrative through sport, which is refugees can be part of the peace promotion, can contribute in different ways. I know that sport is one specific peace promoter.

But in the refugee situation, we have different professionals. We have doctors, we have pilots. Those people can contribute in other ways. But as sport people, we have to contribute, telling our story, personal story, to change other people’s lives, to change other people’s mindset.

Tiffany: Well, you’re a man with many hats when it comes to advocating for refugees. And one of those roles is as a board member of the Olympic Refugee Foundation. Can you talk a little bit about what the Olympic Refugee Foundation is and what your role is as a board member?

Pur: The Olympic Refugee Foundation was formed in 2017, after the first ever Refugee Olympic Team. And the main goal for the Olympic Refugee Foundation — you know, not everyone will compete in the Olympics — our target is to go back and develop a grassroots foundation that can bring up young people who are living in refugee camps to have access to sport, to have self-support and also have a sense of belonging, because when you become a refugee, you feel like you are not belonging to anywhere.

So the Olympic Refugee Foundation is to make sure that all the refugees have access to a sport facility, have a safe environment and also have access to education opportunities. And mainly, like, our target for the Paris 2024 is to make sure that we have 1 million young people who are displaced around the world to have access to a sport facility and a sense of belonging, which is something that we all want to make sure that we have changed that narrative.

But I think I contributed in a different way with my experience, with my personal story, and bring it on the Olympic Refugee Foundation to understand what could be changed for the refugees.

Tiffany: Absolutely. You also are a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Can you tell us a little bit about that role in the organization?

Pur: Yes, my role as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador is to advocate for the right of displaced people globally, especially education and basic needs, and mostly access to support facilities.

In 2016, I competed when I was 21 years, and I started running when I was 20. So if it is something that everyone, young refugees, have that opportunity to start running, like when they’re still young, I think that could have a different way, not just only to compete, but also we will be talking about getting medals, even in 2016. But since that was the first time of creating a team, it is something that we all need to advocate.

And that is when I took that role doing all the advocacy, and also using my personal story to tell what it looked like to be a refugee and also change the narrative of everyone believing that refugees cannot contribute.

As we can see now, there’s different other people who have been displaced, but they’re still contributing in different ways. So that is a main goal for me, especially as we know that many refugees are young people who are underage.

So if we are not going to stand up for them, no one is going to stand up for them to have the right of education, and also have access to a support facility that creates belonging to everyone and inclusion for everyone.

Tiffany: I’m going to switch gears a little bit, because you’re in the U.S. on your way to Paris tomorrow, but in the U.S. right now. And when you first came to the U.S., you came in as a student. Can you talk a little bit about what that experience was like, in particular with the U.S. immigration system?

Pur: Well, you know, when I came in 2019, I came as a under an F-1 student visa, which it was a privilege for me to come to the U.S. and study here. But in everything there’s challenges, especially when I came here, my mindset was like, yes, I’m a refugee, so I will be totally different as an international student. But that narrative was not the same way.

Tiffany: How so?

Pur: Institutions tell us if you come as a refugee, you are not a refugee longer. You are an international student. You are no different with other people who are coming as an international student.

And I know from my background, I did not come from my country, I just came from the refugee camp. So that is something that totally blew my mind, because I thought, I’m coming to get that treatment of being a refugee, getting access to all the benefit. But it did not happen to that.

Second to that, it’s through the immigration — the documentation that we are using as a refugee is totally different, because it’s not a passport. For me, I was using the Kenyan travel document, which is issued by the United Nations Convention of 1951, that the refugee could have a travel document that they can go to different countries, either in a different way.

Tiffany: I love that you know the year of the convention.

Pur: Yeah. Either it could be education or another mission. But that travel document, not everyone recognized that travel document, depending on that country. I remember my past travel document was, it was unwritten, which is something that you cannot put on machine to be read it. So you have to go and scan it.

Someone will take you there and say, okay, what is this? And that is what has been happening in my life. Like, in every traveling, I have to prepare my mind, say, okay, there might be traveling trouble coming up. Either it could be at the airport, at the immigration, asking question, why, what is this? Why are you using this one? But so far, I feel like every time I got different understanding from different country, because I went back to Kenya, I came back to U.S. using the same travel document. But still there is a lot of challenges. Being a refugee, you don’t have that access to all the things that you need to have access.

Tiffany: And you’ve traveled quite a bit. So I imagine you’ve run into some hurdles here and there.

Pur: Yeah. Even when I was in Kenya, I remember I went to South Africa and I could not get out from the airport because I was having the travel document. That’s frustrating. I have to meet the function, sleep at the airport and return back the same flight that I could go back to Kenya with.

So imagine having all those experience because of your status and because of your background being a refugee. Although you are not a criminal, but those things contributing to your challenges that you are facing. But hoping, you know, this is part of life. I believe that one day, one time, maybe things will change because everyone wants to become a better person to contribute in the society where we are living.

Tiffany: Well, keep doing the great work that you’re doing because I think it’s incredibly important and you are clearly a very big advocate for the refugee community. Tomorrow you head to Paris for the Olympic Games. Is there anything in particular that you are most excited about or eager to do in Paris?

Pur: Well, I think what I’m looking forward is to see the team, the 36 athletes that we selected to represent our team. The team of dream, the team of hope and the team of belonging for all of us. I like that. We have different color, different nationality, but we have one common thing, refugee and athlete.

It will be a big thing for us to see how our team will be performing in the Olympic Games. Because remember, this is the third time for us to compete in the Olympics. So in every time, the excitement, it is growing for us to make that it’s not just only competing, we can perform and even we can get medals. So it is upon us to encourage those young athletes to represent themselves and also representing 120 million people who have been displaced.

Opening ceremonies start tomorrow and BAL is sending best wishes to the IOC Refugee Olympic Team and all the other athletes competing in the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. Bon chance! Good luck!

Top immigration news

And now, the top immigration news of the week.

First, the State Department will ease the work visa path for certain college graduates and recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, policy.

Recent updates to consular guidance explain when officers should recommend that the Department of Homeland Security grant ineligibility waivers to these individuals.

This guidance will potentially result in certain individuals receiving work visas more quickly if DHS approves a waiver.

However, it is unclear at this time if DHS will expedite these waivers.

In our next item, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services provided updated guidance and a detailed FAQ on the International Entrepreneur Rule.

First issued in 2017, the rule grants foreign national entrepreneurs who have a startup business and meet certain qualifications a period of stay, or parole, of up to 2½ years.

The parole may be renewed for another 2½ years (for a maximum of 5 years) if additional benchmarks are met. Up to three entrepreneurs per startup are eligible under the rule and may be living abroad or in the U.S.

In our third piece, Japanese authorities announced that eligible foreign nationals who wish to travel to Japan for short-term tourism can now apply for an electronic visa, or eVisa.

The eVisa is available to foreign nationals residing in certain designated countries, including Canada, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States, among others.

The eVisas are issued through the eVisa website and will be valid for a period of up to 90 days.

And last, Australia extended its business visitor visa validity period to five years for applications received after April 1.

The validity period applies to nationals from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Timor-Leste

The government hopes this initiative will boost trade and investments while promoting job growth and increasing cultural exchanges.

Find all of our news at BAL.com/news. Follow us on X at @BAL_Immigration. And sign up to receive daily immigration updates in your inbox at BAL.com/newsletter.

We’ll be back next week with more insights from the world of corporate immigration.

I’m Rebecca Sanabria. Thanks for listening.

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