Stakeholders of the Tokyo Paralympics are hoping the games will shed light on wider issues that have put extra pressure on people with disabilities, such as being displaced from home and political instability.
"Any athlete has a story of resilience. When you're a refugee Paralympian, it makes it harder. The adversity behind that makes you persevere throughout your life," Shahrad Nasajpour, an Iranian refugee living in the United States, said after arriving in Japan.
The five men and one woman in the Paralympic Refugee Team have pledged to represent all displaced people around the world -- estimated to be around 82 million -- and deliver them a message of hope through the games, running through Sept. 5 from Tuesday.
"I want to raise awareness, together with the other athletes, to 82 million refugees and 12 million refugees with disabilities," said Ibrahim Al Hussein, a Syrian refugee living in Greece, at a press conference on Monday.
According to the International Paralympic Committee, people with disabilities make up about 15 percent of the global population, the largest marginalized group.
In addition to the coronavirus pandemic, some athletes have been hampered by political chaos, including those of Afghanistan, where the Taliban regained power earlier this month.
"It's very sad what's happening in Afghanistan and our hearts go out to the people of Afghanistan," said Ileana Rodriguez, chef de mission of the team and a former refugee from Cuba who represented the United States in swimming at the 2012 London Paralympics.
In the meantime, the IPC has launched a massive global campaign to bring together the coalition of organizations from the worlds of sports, human rights, policy, business, arts, and entertainment in an attempt to change attitudes toward people with impairments.
"In order to get the change that we want, we need to bring (these) different sectors of society together," IPC President Andrew Parsons said in a recent interview.
"We, the Paralympic movement and the IPC, are relevant enough now with the growth of the games, the growth of the games' impact around the world," said Parsons, stressing it was the right time to launch the decade-long campaign, named WeThe15.
Paralympic medalists have backed the new campaign aimed at placing disability at the heart of the inclusion agenda, alongside ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation.
"I am so happy that WeThe15 showcases not just the elite athletes," said Miki Matheson, a three-time Paralympic champion in ice sledge racing.
"Only a tiny number of elite athletes are Paralympians...WeThe15 (will), however, scoop up all the population with disabilities. It has huge potential," said Matheson, who is also the deputy chef de mission of Japan's Paralympic team.
