Safety and Resilience
October 8, 2025
By Eva Buzo
I can recall with perfect clarity key sporting moments from my childhood. The unbridled joy of watching Susie O’Neill win gold in the 200 meter butterfly at the 1996 Atlanta games. The suspense of Susie Maroney’s historic Cuba to Florida swim. The magic of sport leaves a lasting legacy. Yet too often, sport remains out of reach for underprivileged and conflict-affected communities. Growing up in Australia, I had access to facilities, coaches, athletes, and events that made it easy for me to dream of being a great athlete. I cannot imagine who I would be in all areas of my life without that inspiration. Seeing thousands of people feeling inspired in Colombia after I swam 40 kilometers for peace and resilience was one of the proudest moments of my life.I met Hugo Tovar, Open Society Foundations’ director of the security and rights work, by chance while visiting the Open Society London office as a grantee. The week before, I had swum the English Channel, and as all channel swimmers are inclined to do, I found a way to slip it into the conversation. “You should come and do a swim in my hometown in Colombia,” he said. I, of course, agreed, but didn’t expect anything to come of it. Three months later I ran into Hugo again at an event in New York. “We have to talk about your swim,” he pushed. The previous month I had completed an historic 92 kilometer swim from Italy to Albania. My grandfather was from Albania and had to flee in the 1940s. Our family’s connection to its heritage had been severed by this dark chapter in Albania’s history, and I saw the swim as a chance for me to forge my own bond with the country. After the swim, it became apparent that it held meaning beyond my personal pursuit. The symbolism of a member of the Albanian diaspora swimming to Albania across the stretch of water for decades used as an escape route resonated deeply with people. “It was a swim for democracy,” one person told me. “It showed that times have changed and that stretch of water is no longer a place of just tragedy.” Hugo and I met, and he outlined his vision. The swim could be used to highlight the work of civil society groups supported by Open Society, who are leading anti-violence initiatives. Buenaventura, located on Colombia’s largest port, has been heavily impacted by the decades long conflict. While I hadn’t worked in Colombia, my career has largely focused on conflict-affected communities, and I felt an immediate solidarity with these groups. Their earnest desire to forge a new path for their communities, standing for peace with character and resilience, mirrored my own convictions. The swim was envisioned as a vehicle to celebrate this spirit in a new campaign: “Forces of Inspiration.” A team was assembled, and we planned a 40 kilometer route from Juanchaco to Buenaventura town, estimating a 10 to 12 hour swim.
