After swimming at the Olympics, a Syrian refugee gains a new platform at the U.N.

After swimming to escape Syria and saving the lives of other refugees -- then swimming as part of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team at the Olympics -- Yusra Mardini probably deserves a bit of a rest. Instead, the tenacious Syrian teen was honored earlier this month at the first Global Goals Awards and continues to raise awareness for refugees. Read on to learn about Mardini, as well as more about what refugees face -- and what they can achieve. 

washingtonpost.com - A Syrian teenager who saved fellow refugees from drowning and then swam for the refugee team at the Olympics was among those honored at the first Global Goals Awards in New York City.

Yusra Mardini, 18, who fled Syria with her sister in 2015 and now lives in Germany, received the Girl Award at the ceremony on Tuesday night.

The awards honor champions for women’s and girls’ rights and were organized by UNICEF, a children’s humanitarian program run by the United Nations.

Mardini, who had to swim for her life when her overloaded boat broke down in the Mediterranean Sea on the way to Europe, captured headlines when she competed at the Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

At a U.N. summit on migrants and refugees this week, she told world leaders that she wanted to change perceptions of those displaced from their homes.

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Meet the Women Who Are Part of the Olympics' First All-Refugee Team

makers.com - Well, this will give you chills: The International Olympic Commission announced yesterday that four women and six men are part of the first all-refugee team. The Refugee Olympic Team, as it will be known, will compete in running, swimming, and judo, and is made up of athletes from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, and Syria.

"These refugees have no home, no team, no flag, no national anthem," said IOC President Thomas Bach in a statement. "We will offer them a home in the Olympic Village together with all the athletes of the word. The Olympic anthem will be played in their honor, and the Olympic flag will lead them into the Olympic Stadium. This will be a symbol of hope for all the refugees in our world, and will make the world better aware of the magnitude of this crisis."

"It is also a signal to the international community that refugees are our fellow human beings and are an enrichment to society. These refugee athletes will show the world that despite the unimaginable tragedies that they have faced, anyone can contribute to society through their talent, skills and strength of the human spirit.”

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