Fugees Soccer

I don't have time for a long post on this, but I'd like to point people to a great article on Clarkston's refugee community and a soccer team:

Refugees Find Hostility and Hope on Soccer Field

[...]

The Fugees are indeed all refugees, from the most troubled corners — Afghanistan, Bosnia, Burundi, Congo, Gambia, Iraq, Kosovo, Liberia, Somalia and Sudan. Some have endured unimaginable hardship to get here: squalor in refugee camps, separation from siblings and parents. One saw his father killed in their home.

The Fugees, 9 to 17 years old, play on three teams divided by age. Their story is about children with miserable pasts trying to make good with strangers in a very different and sometimes hostile place. But as a season with the youngest of the three teams revealed, it is also a story about the challenges facing resettled refugees in this country. More than 900,000 have been admitted to the United States since 1993, and their presence seems to bring out the best in some people and the worst in others.

Clarkston is very close to where I live. In fact, we seriously considered moving there last year. We've also done some work with the International Refugee Committee, which is not actually in Clarkston but right next door. The NY Times Magazine article was a great presentation of Clarkston, and also touches on how the traditional Atlanta white/African-American dynamic is getting more complicated as Atlanta becomes a diverse, international city. I recommend the above article highly. In fact, it's such a compelling story that there'll probably be a movie about it next year.

Universal buys soccer story: Studio ponies up $3 million

[...]

The article detailed the unlikely success story of the Fugees, a team of refugees from global hotspots including Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo, Burundi, Congo, Liberia, Somalia and Sudan. Placed by resettlement agencies, the kids were banned from playing on a grassy field in the local town park.

Part of the pic deal calls for Universal to pay $500,000 to build a soccer field for the kids. Part of the money will fund a foundation to benefit the team, and the dealmakers cut their fees so more of the coin would go to the teens.

The core of the story is the determined, Jordan-born female coach who recognized the need in these displaced kids and created a team for them. She also became active in helping their families find work and break through bureaucratic red tape as they tried to assimilate.

Odds are that the movie will turn out to be a horrible piece of mush, especially if they replace the Jordanian coach with someone more ethnically audience-friendly... hey, I have to say it, I'm a cynic. But who knows, maybe it will get made and end up being great. And even if it isn't, it'll do some good to have a big-budget, child-friendly, positive story about immigrants.