环球英语 — 179：Refugee Football
Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight program. I’m Ryan Geertsma.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Shamsoun Dikori was born in the Nuba Mountains of central Sudan in the early 1980’s. He remembers his home as a beautiful place. It was filled with fruit trees and grass fields. As the oldest of six children, Shamsoun also had a large, loving family.
Voice 3
“My mother cared for everyone. She always wanted the best for her children. And my father worked hard on our farm. Then my mother always told us stories at night. Everyone sat under the stars. My home is a beautiful place.”
Voice 2
However, that beautiful home was soon surrounded by war. In 1983, a civil war began between North and South Sudan. Much of the fighting happened in the Nuba Mountains, near Shamsoun’s home.
Voice 3
“The planes came at night. We did not expect them to come. You see a bomb dropped and you see somebody’s arm is cut off. You see somebody’s leg is cut off. And you run for your life.”
“There was a little girl and she got shot. It was the end of her life. That was my first time seeing a person get killed. And it was a little child.”
Voice 1
Shamsoun’s family ran from the fighting. They wanted to stay safe. They did not want to be a part of the war.
Voice 2
For two years, they ran. Finally, in the year 2000, they arrived in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States.
Voice 1
Shamsoun’s family had escaped the war. But, like many refugee families, they still had many problems. They had very little money. They had to learn a new language. And many people in their community did not accept them. Other students in Shamsoun’s class said terrible things to him.
Voice 2
But Shamsoun’s mother encouraged him. She told him to be strong, and to continue studying. She dreamed that he would be the first member of their family to go to college.
Voice 1
So he kept studying. For two years, Shamsoun did well in school. He worked very hard. He hoped to make his family proud.
Voice 2
But on November 27 2002, everything changed. Shamsoun’s family drove to a holiday party. On the way, their car went off the road. They were driving very fast.
Voice 3
“The car moved very fast. And then it turned over many times. After that I could not see anything for a short time.”
Voice 1
Finally, Shamsoun opened his eyes. He heard his father’s voice calling to him. He reached out his hand, and his father pulled him from the car. Shamsoun saw that something bad had happened.
Voice 3
“When I looked in his eyes, he was trying to tell me something. His face was the saddest I have ever seen.”
Voice 2
Shamsoun’s mother, two of his brothers and his sister all died in the crash. He felt helpless and alone.
Voice 1
So Shamsoun began doing the one thing that had always made him happy - he played football. The game helped him forget about all the sadness.
Voice 2
Soon, a friend told him about a football team made of refugee children, just like him. The coach, Luma Mufleh called the team the Fugees. When she saw Shamsoun play, she felt excited.
Voice 4
“The minute he stepped on that field, I saw his huge smile. And I knew he loved it.”
Voice 1
For Luma Mefleh the Fugees were like a family. Luma grew up in Jordan, in the Middle East. She came to the United States for school. After she finished university, Luma did not know what she wanted. She tried many jobs, and moved to many different places. Finally, she moved to Georgia. But she still felt unsatisfied. Until one day, she saw a group of children playing football on the street. It reminded her of her brothers and cousins in Jordan. She began playing with them. And she discovered that they were all refugees. She loved playing with the group. So soon after, she decided to form a football team. But she needed more players. She invited other refugee children to join. Soon, she had a team of more than thirty children!
Voice 2
For a short time, the Fugees were only a football team. They met every week to play games and have fun. But Luma noticed that many of the children did not have enough to eat. Their families were very poor.
Voice 1
So Luma began to think about new ways to help them. She started a cleaning business, and hired the parents of her team members. These jobs provided a step out of poverty for the families.
Voice 2
Over the next several years, the Fugees football team kept growing. Soon it became two teams, and then three teams. They played real football games against other teams from the city.
Voice 1
Luma felt more and more love for the children on the team. She treated them like they were her own children. Today, the Fugees gives many refugee children a safe place to play, grow and learn.
Voice 2
When Shamsoun joined the Fugees, Coach Luma had a strange request for him. She told him to bring his school work when he came to play football. She wanted to help him do well in school. And she knew that he needed encouragement. Shamsoun also knew that this was very important.
Voice 3
“It was my mother’s dream for me to do well. Coach Luma became like a mother to me.”
Voice 1
With the coach’s help, Shamsoun worked hard at school and at football. In 2007 he finished high school.
Voice 3
“It took some time to understand that my mother was gone. There is nothing I can do about that. So I try to work hard. I try every day to work hard in school so I can make her happy.”
Voice 2
Life is still difficult for Shamsoun, but he has a lot to be happy about. Next year, he will be attending university. He received a football scholarship, for his hard work in school and in football. He will not have to pay any money for his education.
Voice 3
“I am very excited. I am the most blessed person in the world. But I am going to keep working, so that when I finish some day I can say, ‘See? I made it. I am still standing.’”
Voice 1
Luma Mufleh made a big difference in Shamsoun’s life. She gave him a safe place to play, and learn. When people ask her why she wants to help children like Shamsoun, she answers,
Voice 4
“The truth is that I love helping these children, and I cannot imagine doing anything else.”
