“We Dare to Dream:” The Story of the Olympic Refugee Team

AMANPOUR, CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Turning to the refugee crisis following another tragedy at sea this week, dozens died when their boat sank off the coast of Greece. The horrific incident is a reminder of the dangers and the challenges they face in search of safety. Now, a new documentary, “We Dare to Dream,” aims to be a beacon of hope. Oscar nominated director, Waad Al-Kateab, turned her lens on five refugee athletes as they competed for a place in the Tokyo Olympics of 2020. Waad and Joe Gebbia, one of the film’s producers and in the cofounder of Airbnb, join Hari Sreenivasan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARI SREENIVASAN, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christiane, thanks. Waad Al-Kateab and Joe Gebbia, thank you both for joining us. First, Waad, I think that if people have heard about your work before, it was from a riveting documentary that won so many awards, “For Sama,” and I wonder being a refugee yourself and covering this idea of athletes who are also refugees, why was that important to you?

WAAD AL-KATEAB, DIRECTOR, “WE DARE TO DREAM”: Thank you so much for this question. I think it’s — it was a process of discovery for me. When I decided to do this film, you know, like as any director, when you done a very worldwide successful documentary, when people are talking about it until this single day, you always want to do something after to be also important, also — you want to be also passionate about it. And for me, you know, like when I started working on this, I was still emotionally stuck in Aleppo. I couldn’t accept that I’m no longer there anymore. I couldn’t, like, even look forward. And for me, like this process of two years, working with these amazing athletes, learning from them, from their experience, just like — was kind of a therapy for me. Like, I was able — after this — to able in life, to accept where I am, to be a proud refugee, to feel like we belonged, not what I lost before but to these hundred million displaced people around the world.

SREENIVASAN: Joe, you are the co-founders of Airbnb, which has allowed you and continues to allow you to be a philanthropist in lots of different causes. Why this documentary idea? What drew you to the topic in the first place?

JOE GEBBIA, PRODUCER, “WE DARE TO DREAM” AND CO-FOUNDER, AIRBNB: Well, thanks for having us, Hari. I’ve been involved in the refugee topic for many years now, going back to the early days of Airbnb.org, where we (INAUDIBLE) our platform to house people in the greatest need, and that could be after natural disasters or for those seeking asylum. And we’ve been very active in the space. Most recently, we’ve helped house 100,000 Ukraine refugees in different parts of Europe and help house up to 80,000 Afghan refugees as they resettled into the United States over the last couple years. So, this is a topic that I’ve been close to, and it’s really born from this idea that if you have the ability to fall asleep at night feeling safe, then that means you have the responsibility to help those that don’t. And so, when this opportunity came up to use entertainment, to advocate on behalf of refugees, for me, it was no-brainer, especially because the stories are so rich, they’re so powerful and they’re so inspiring. And it’s the kind of story that just had to be told. And so, I couldn’t have been luckier to pair up with Waad and our crews to bring this story to life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I’d be very honored to be given the opportunity to represent all the underprivileged people around the world. We also need to showcase that refugees can also be athletes who can compete at the highest level.

SREENIVASAN: Waad, I think what’s interesting is this is maybe one of the first times that you are seeing refugees as kind of multi-dimensional humans, because more often than not Americans and I guess people over the world, they see refugees in a visual and a narrative frame of someone standing in line for food, or someone who is emaciated or someone who is running with clothes on their back. And yet, we are watching taekwondo athletes and we’re watching a runner. And, you know, one of the things that you mentioned early in the film was that filming was your way of fighting back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL-KATEAB: I got this plant. It will grow out of Aleppo. It’s still hard for me to realize that we survived it. Filming was my way of fighting back. I film to protect my memories, to preserve the home I miss and to save the people I lost.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AL-KATEAB: I think the — from this very second in the film, like we’re breaking stereotypes. We’re showing people who we are, you know, not like the labels that’s usually been like attached to us. And we’re finding representation, you know. Like, yesterday, we were in a public school in New York with these amazing athletes. And one of the — like I think, 80 years old boy, just stood up and said like, I want to translate to — because I speak Arabic. I came from Yemen. Like to see yourself represented in such an amazing way, like I think that’s what we were fighting about for.

SREENIVASAN: Yes. How did you choose these different athletes?

AL-KATEAB: I mean, this is one of the most difficult decision that I would have take. We dig through like 56 scholarship holders, athletes, refugee athletes, and we narrowed like across different filters and issues until we agreed on these five athletes.

For me, one of the stories is one of the athletes who didn’t make it, and that’s, for me, like was very important, people who are left behind. It’s not just about this team, it’s about the legacy of this team. It’s about the hope that he shares with other people. And then, it was really important to look at different stories. We did — I didn’t want to show the refugee as one picture, we’re different humans, we’re different cultures, different like backgrounds, we’re different even characters. And even circumstances.

SREENIVASAN: Joe, were there athletes or storylines that resonated with you?

GEBBIA: Well, luckily, I get to be very involved in the process. I was able to fly to Doha, Qatar, where the refugee team staged before departing to Tokyo for the actual games. And so, I was able to meet the athletes firsthand. I was able to be with the crew, with Waad, and others.

The ones that we end up featuring have incredible stories of perseverance, of pushing through the adversities that are unimaginable. And I think when you see these stories play out in the film, you really see that underdog side. You see the will power that these athletes have to be members of society, to participate in life, and in this case, the highest level of sport at the Olympics.

SREENIVASAN: Yes. Waad, one of the athletes you profiled is a female Iranian, Kimia Alizadeh Zonoozi, and she fled Iran, and she competed in taekwondo for the Olympic refugee team. And she was already an accomplished athlete. Won medals on the international stage before. And there’s a fantastic sort of tension that builds right at the first match that she has. Tell us a little bit about who she had to fight and what she was going through in her head?

AL-KATEAB: Yes. I mean, that was one of the, I would say, like most emotional moments like maybe in my life, as well as terms — as — in terms of like looking at someone as like situation. You know, it’s the Olympics. So, it’s every possible team, it’s each country, it’s these people home countries. And you think, you know, like you’re going to like find them across the corner or like where you have coffee or something, and I myself experienced this.

You know, when I saw the Syrian team coming in with the Syrian flag, and I was just like very heartbroken, you know, like I can be back for my country, I can feel resented by this country. But then — and this flag. But then, you look at the refugee team and you see your own representation. And like, you know, Kimia, for me, was like a role model. Like she’s my hero. And, you know, at the first match when she has to go against her own country, against Iran, the country that she fled from and the athletes is her best friend who they were together since they started taekwondo. The coach was her coach when she got the bronze medal. I think, you know, like it’s just as much as it’s hard and challenging as much as you can see the strength and like there’s no one single one country like represent

(INAUDIBLE).

I think it’s just amazing. You know, it shows the reality to the point that even sometimes this challenge could be internal, could be between you on your emotions, but you have to stand up. It’s not just like cliche of words, you know, like people sometimes feel they want to give up, and they could give up sometimes, but it’s about what you want to do next, how can you stand up fight against even your own fear.

SREENIVASAN: Waad, one of the athletes that you profiled, the South Sudanese refugee —

AL-KATEAB: Angelina.

SREENIVASAN: — and her story was fascinating because she literally hadn’t seen her parents in so many years. And, you know, she had gone to a training camp away from her little boy. And I mean, she had a lot on the line that she was kind running for.

ANGELINA: I have been really training hard, sacrificing a lot, so that I can get one more chance.

AL-KATEAB: This is one story of so many people who like they face these difficulties in different way. And, you know, I was very connected to Angelina because when I had to do my own journey from Turkey to the U.K., I had to leave my second daughter behind in Turkey for six months. And at that time, I didn’t know that this would be six months, you know. So, this could’ve been Jayden’s story like with Angelina’s son or her parent’s story. And I think, you know, it’s a lot of — like, it’s about motherhood, it’s about love, it’s about not giving up, you know, to — in really different way. And I learned a lot from Angelina.

SREENIVASAN: You and high commissioner of refugee said in 2021, 89 million people were displaced. That’s the highest since World War II. And I think it’s a hard idea and a number to visualize, considering that you’ve been kind of on different parts of this refugee journey. How do you convey either the scale of the camps that people like Wyle (ph) are living in and he said he’s been there for more than eight years. I mean, that’s not just a camp, that’s now a town in Jordon.

AL-KATEAB: Yes. I mean, that’s the reality. You know, we — you — we — you look back at the history and then you look now at what’s going on around the world. And unfortunately, it shows that — like the number is going more and more, higher and higher. And within the circumstances, like I think the most important thing is like the responsibility that governments and the public should take forward, you know. It’s about what is the future holding for us, whether it’s Wyle (ph) in the refugee camp in Jordan, whether it’s Serb (ph) who became like a British this year, like there’s a lot between this, and there’s so many other people which we don’t even know about them. I think we should look forward and look about at what — how we can make this life be more like indignity, you know, and respectful way? How do wewant to be, like, facing if something happened with us today?

SREENIVASAN: Joe, there’s — you know, you mentioned that you’ve been involved in the refugee issue for a while. And how does this film, you think, fit right now into kind of the global political climate where countries that have the means are trying to tighten their borders, whether that’s in Europe, whether that’s here in the United States and elsewhere, there’s a little bit more nationalism and protectionism on the rise, and here you are trying to say something explicitly different?

GEBBIA: Well, that’s one of the beautiful themes of sport is that it does transcend borders and cultures and divisiveness in men and politics. And, you know, the Olympics, in and of itself, is a beacon of peace. Going back to — you know, when it started 1896. It was a time when warring countries would, you know, put down their weapons, when, you know, it would be a time for the world to come together and celebrate, you know, the most elite athletes on the planet. And so, I hope this film is just a continuation of that. I hope it takes that spirit and is able to get into the living rooms of as many people as we can reach around the world, onto as many devices as we can reach around the world to show this uplifting very human story.

SREENIVASAN: Waad, what do you want refugees that might be watching this film to gather from it?

AL-KATEAB: The main thing I want people to see themselves into this, especially refugees like in camps, in a situation where — like whether they started their journey today or whether like they would have it with their — like they had already, whether like, for me, you know, I have two little girls, like seven and six years old, I want them to see this and to look Kimia, to look at Wyle, and feel inspired, feel like driven by this. And I want, you know, the world to look at this like refugees are not the issue, they are not the problem. We are the result of other issues, and people should take really like deep look about what are these issues, whether it’s global warming, whether it’s like war and crimes and people hate and sometimes even like clothes (ph) and, you know, like it’s a lot of things, but we’re not the problem, we’re not the issue. You know, we are one of the consequences of so many other issues, and that’s why people should look and where they find different solutions.

SREENIVASAN: Waad, you described this process a little bit like therapy for you. How did it help?

AL-KATEAB: I mean, it was a big challenge for me, you know. Like I like was introduced, I would say, to the world after “For Sama.” But within that, I was carrying on my shoulders a very heavy like responsibility, you know, like within everything happened in Syria, within my personal survival, I needed to tell the world what crimes I’ve been witnessed, what things happened. I wanted to change something. And for me, like, within this film, like I’m very proud. I can’t be even like more proud of myself that now, in my career, as a refugee director, I was able to do a film like this in over like 10 countries with people who speaks so many languages with an amazing crew who supported me, and that’s — I think, it’s another message, you know, like behind the film that refugee should be on the table, refugees should give and be able to give what they can do.

SREENIVASAN: Yes. Joe, you’re a member the Olympic Refugee Foundation and their mission is in part to provide access to safe sport for a million people. And I guess my question is, why is sport so important, access to sport? What do you think that does in the life of a refugee?

GEBBIA: Well, there’s many things that can be provided. I think sport is one of these things that is universal and acceptable and very well understood. It’s a way to build community, it’s a way to build connections within these groups. And, you know, I think it’s proven as ways to help deal with mental illness in certain cases. So, sport can be therapy in and of itself. You know, it’s a way to really create connections, you know, anywhere in the world. And, you know, one soccer ball in one flat space is an easy way to bring people together.

SREENIVASAN: Waad Al-Kateab and Joe Gebbia, director and producer of “We Dare to Dream,” thanks so much for joining us.

AL-KATEAB: Thank you so much for having me.

GEBBIA: Thank you, Hari.

(END VIDEO CLIP)