Olympics: South Sudan looks for a basketball win

By Giampaolo Mattei

Some parts of the world “discovered” South Sudan’s existence from a basketball game at the Olympics over the weekend, beating Puerto Rico 90-79.

These points may even stand out more than the years of war and poverty faced by people living in a large refugee camp crisis, while work toward reconciliation seems paralysed and peace promises remain unkept.

In February 2023, Pope Francis travelled to the African nation to embrace and encourage the people of South Sudan. He carried out an ecumenical pilgrimage of peace to talk about hope and reconciliation.

On Sunday, via the Olympics, the world – often uninterested in the stories of violence and poverty of places far from home – “discovered” that South Sudan exists, as well as Sudan.

That reality became clear when Sudan’s national anthem was played instead of South Sudan’s before the start of the game (in the controversial opening ceremony South Korea was also called North Korea).

Basketball fans found out about South Sudan a few days ago, when in a friendly against the USA, the reputed best player in the world, LeBron James, needed to score in the last minutes to secure victory for the American dream team. South Sudan will try to make history against the NBA stars again on Thursday, August 1, at 9pm, to then face Serbia on Saturday, another tough team.

South Sudan’s Olympic dream team historically has at least three “founding fathers”.

Loul Deng, former Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers player, now president of the South Sudan Basketball Federation, has brought together the best talents alongside coach Royal Ivey: from Marial Shayok and Carlik Jones to Khaman Malouach, not even 18 years of age, 218cm tall, raised in a refugee camp in Uganda with his family.

The second “founding father” is Manute Bol, the South Sudanese “big friendly giant” of the NBA (231cm tall with a season at Forlì under his belt), who put his all in trying to give hope to his nation’s youth. He died at 47 in 2010, in the midst of efforts to bring the nation to birth as it sought independence from Sudan.

The third “founding father” is the Italian Comboni Missionary, Fr. Daniele Moschetti, who also brought forward sporting experience, from marathons and football, and a shot at redemption in the “long and suffered road to peace, justice and dignity”.

In Paris, South Sudan is also participating in athletics with Lucia Morris (100m) and Abraham Guem (800m), who represent the nation’s athletes who play out of sight in refugee camps.

These include the legendary Kenyan marathon runner Tegla Loroupe, sporting ambassador of peace and of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Two more athletes are in the refugee team: Dominic Lobalu (5000m) and Perina Lokure (800m).

South Sudan’s Olympic representatives are rounded off by Yiech Pur Bielm, who hails from a refugee camp in Kakuma, in northern Kenya, where he grew up without his family. He is now a member of the International Olympic Committee, after competing at the 2016 Olympics with the refugee team.