Saturday, June 30, 2007
Soccer team provides hope for refugees, coach - MSNBC.com
Players have escaped war, but not poverty and racism
... But the members of this soccer team, aptly named the Fugees, are anything but typical American teens. They have come to this small town on the outskirts of Atlanta to escape their war-torn homes in Afghanistan and Sudan and Bosnia. In a way, this soccer team, started by a young woman who once felt lost herself, provides an escape from the hardships that they now face as refugees starting over America.
...
“One kid on my team saw his dad shot to death. I’ve had another kid see his dad’s fingers cut off in front of him and then his shoulder slashed. Some of the moms have been raped. These kids, the rebels take them and they say, oh, you’re gonna be a soldier for us. And they give them drugs. They give them weapons. They’re giving them a bandana to identify which group they’re with. And they send them out to kill and you’re thinking about them and you’re like, how can — you know, how did — how did you survive that?”
...
While they are physically safe now, Luma knows that life in America poses its own challenges. Most of the kids’ parents have no education so the poverty at home is often crushing. They battle constant racisim on and off the field. Some of her players told Luma it feels as if they have exchanged one war for another.
...
In one game, Luma instructed her players to smile no matter what. The team obliged, even when the opposing coach got ejected for calling one of them the "n" word.
...
Luma has become more than just a coach to her players, who range in age from 9 to 17. She has become an advocate, fighting for better fields; she is a source of income, having started a cleaning business that employs six refugee women; and she is a pivotal figure in her players' attempts to integrate. She knows the soccer field may be their refuge, but the classroom is their future. So with the help of volunteers, she’s instituted tutoring sessions after each practice. ...
Players have escaped war, but not poverty and racism
... But the members of this soccer team, aptly named the Fugees, are anything but typical American teens. They have come to this small town on the outskirts of Atlanta to escape their war-torn homes in Afghanistan and Sudan and Bosnia. In a way, this soccer team, started by a young woman who once felt lost herself, provides an escape from the hardships that they now face as refugees starting over America.
...
“One kid on my team saw his dad shot to death. I’ve had another kid see his dad’s fingers cut off in front of him and then his shoulder slashed. Some of the moms have been raped. These kids, the rebels take them and they say, oh, you’re gonna be a soldier for us. And they give them drugs. They give them weapons. They’re giving them a bandana to identify which group they’re with. And they send them out to kill and you’re thinking about them and you’re like, how can — you know, how did — how did you survive that?”
...
While they are physically safe now, Luma knows that life in America poses its own challenges. Most of the kids’ parents have no education so the poverty at home is often crushing. They battle constant racisim on and off the field. Some of her players told Luma it feels as if they have exchanged one war for another.
...
In one game, Luma instructed her players to smile no matter what. The team obliged, even when the opposing coach got ejected for calling one of them the "n" word.
...
Luma has become more than just a coach to her players, who range in age from 9 to 17. She has become an advocate, fighting for better fields; she is a source of income, having started a cleaning business that employs six refugee women; and she is a pivotal figure in her players' attempts to integrate. She knows the soccer field may be their refuge, but the classroom is their future. So with the help of volunteers, she’s instituted tutoring sessions after each practice. ...
Labels: compassionate people, suffering
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