South Sudanese refugee and former footballer Anyier Yuol has become the 2023 recipient of the Les Murray award for refugee recognition....
2023 Les Murray award for refugee recognition recipient Anyier Yuol (Source: Getty)
The award is in honour of former Hungarian refugee and legendary SBS sport broadcaster Les Murray AM, and recognises an outstanding former refugee who is raising awareness of the plight of forcibly displaced people.
“SBS is thrilled to sponsor the Les Murray Award and I congratulate Ms Yuol on her work advocating on behalf of refugees which has benefited many, both in her local community and also in wider international forums,” said James Taylor, Managing Director of SBS.
“Les Murray himself was a champion for refugees and we’re pleased to keep his legacy alive through this important award. Ms Yuol is a worthy recipient and SBS is proud to recognise her valuable contribution.”
“There were many outstanding people nominated for the Les Murray award this year,” said Trudi Mitchell, CEO of Australia for UNHCR. “The judges noted Ms Youl’s many accomplishments but they were also impressed with her energy, her positivity and her determination to make a difference for refugees.”
Yuol's parents are from South Sudan, but she was born in a refugee camp in Kakuma, Kenya. Her parents sadly passed away and her aunt raised her until she was 10, when she moved to Australia on a humanitarian visa.
She settled in Blacktown, Western Sydney and discovered a passion for football, revealing she regularly tuned in to early morning broadcasts to watch Les Murray on SBS.
“Les Murray is an icon. I used to wake up at 4am to watch his World Cup broadcasts on SBS," Yuol said.
"It’s such an honour to be able to receive this award because he was a refugee advocate and a passionate football fan who understood how sport plays an important part in refugee communities.”
That love of football blossomed into Yuol becoming a player herself and representing Australia at the FIFA Football for Hope Festival held at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
She also spearheaded an initiative called Football in the Park that provided a safe space to talk about challenges in her local community.
Outside of football, Yuol has created a beauty pageant for African-Australian women called Miss Sahara as well as her own company, Anyier Model Management, to give under-represented groups professional modelling opportunities.
If that didn't speak enough to her achievements, Yuol has also been the Chair of the Australian National Committee on Refugee Women (ANCORW) which involved her consulting with refugee women from various backgrounds to inform national policy and to advocate internationally.
“With ANCORW, I was able to collect the voices of refugee women and take them to Geneva and share them at the Global Refugee Forum. It gave me the strength and platform to do even more,” Yuol said of the role.
Now studying a PHD at Western Sydney University and running her own charity, Lead Beyond Education, Yuol continues to be a valuable voice in her own and the wider national and international community.
“There are so many conflicts, so many vulnerable people displaced. It is the work of every individual – whether you’re giving money or volunteering your time – to contribute to the work of agencies like UNHCR,” she said.
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