FEATURE: Children Born in Refugee Camps Represent Adopted Nations at WC

Paul Schmidt-Troschke & Jon Bonfiglio look at the remarkable stories of many footballers at the tournament who were born in refugee camps and now represent adopted nations at the WC finals with pride. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Hello and welcome to World Cup Football, etc., with me, Paul Schmetroschka. With an increasing number of conflicts all over the world, the number of refugees is also rising sharply, currently standing at around 117 million people worldwide, including 49 million children, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Therefore, as a logical consequence, nine players taking part in this World Cup are refugees themselves or carry a refugee story of their parents. Today, my co-host John Bonfilio and I are going to speak about these players and the issue at hand. John, first, were you surprised by some names on the list with the life stories you did not know of?

SPEAKER_02 1:10

Yeah, I guess so, because a lot of these figures we we've heard of, Alfonso Davies, for example, um, a Canadian player, well well known, but his story, uh less well known. I certainly didn't know it until I started looking into it, and um, and the significant numbers of refugees that are representing so their countries of um of settlement. And um Davies uh was born in a refugee camp in in Ghana after his parents uh fled Liberia's civil war, and then Canada received them. They resettled in Edmonton, um, and then uh the the rest, I guess, is is history to s to some extent, but um, but definitely a sort of an indivisible experience for him. And then um, yeah, there was a in in the Australian side, there's actually three that that were born in refugee camps, Mohammed Touray, uh, who was born in a in a camp there in Guinea in 2004 after his family fled um civil war, civil strife in uh in Liberia, their home country, and they spent 14 years waiting to be resettled. I think a lot of the time as well, we we when we think about um refugees, and especially in the context in which we're seeing them now, right? Because we're seeing it at the sort of the apex of their powers at the World Cup and then the in the world's shop window. It's difficult for us to conceive the um the incredible difficulties that they've gone through. And it's 14 years, imagine waiting to be resettled. Um, also for Australia, our Mabel uh is also he was also born in Kakuma refugee camp in in Kenya after the civil war in in South Sudan, and Nestri Hirankunda, uh, who was also born in in one in Kogomo, Tanzania, after his parents fled Burundi's civil war. So, yeah, I mean it's um I I guess the other way we can look at it is that it's at this point, it's a good news story, right? That um because uh there's been a fair bit of I guess sort of questioning slash criticism of this World Cup about the number of players being born outside of their home country. At one point, Morocco, of course, the 11 players on the pitch were born outside of of Morocco. But I think looking at it this way, I think the um the fact that um uh these players have not only resettled, but they have come to shine for their for their adopted countries is a really good news story, and into my mind, kind of at least to some extent, what the World Cup should be about.

SPEAKER_00 3:45

Yes, um absolutely. I mean, I think um for to me it is it is more um yeah, more two-sided, I would say, um, because all of these stories um yeah went on over the or played out over the last 30 years, more or less, and uh in times with uh with much less conflicts, of course. Um I mean there was um especially in the 90s, 2000s, um lots of civil wars going on in in Africa, um basically all all over the continent. And uh yeah, and the players um there very interestingly three players um on this list of nine players with a with a refugee story, um, yeah, all fled from African civil wars and were born in refugee camps and went to Australia of all places. Um that is just a very uh very interesting climb the pipeline to me. Um I did not know about um yeah, this role of Australia in um in taking in uh in refugees. And um also I must say, um, as I said in my introduction, that we have an increasing number of conflicts, of course, worldwide, with a record number by now of uh currently displaced people since the second world war, um, as as I know of. And this is of course a foreshadowing what we can expect in 10, 20, 30 years, that the number of um of players or this list will just extend and extend and extend and extend. And um while this of course is is not a not an far far from from a nice thing, um, I I still think, and to your point, um absolutely right, to see then that these people um in their no in their new home country um yeah are are able to to still get the best out of themselves and um and also yeah uh due to their due to their elevated um exposure, I would say, or due to their fame, basically, um shining light on these stories. And um, yeah, to my knowledge, uh this is the first time that um um that that I hear about the stories, and one name was uh was very surprising uh on that list. I I did not know that also the parents of um German defender Antonio Rüdiger uh actually came from or fled from the civil war in Sierra Leone. Um so that was um that was quite quite surprising uh to me, I must say.

SPEAKER_02 6:25

Yeah, and the and and I think the the the again what one of the really good news stories about this, I think, is because you know a lot of the narrative, especially in sort of international media, is about um being swamped, you know, the usual sort of migration narratives being swamped by people who are different, uh uh whether that's skin colour, different religion, uh whatever it might be, different cultural backgrounds. But I think seeing a lot of these um representations of this World Cup, uh I mean celebrations too, but specifically the pride with which these individuals are wearing these shirts, um, in some ways I would argue, which might be a controversial point, but even more pride than people who were born in a country and wear a shirt just by default, because it's a country which has to some extent come to their rescue and they've adopted, and it's that much more meaningful for them as a result. Um I think again it's it's a representation, which I think is you know brings us to at least some aspect of the best um best sort of notions of inclusivity that uh that we're capable of.

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Yeah, absolutely. Um and also, of course, this brings a um uh I mean it it is a very central focus, um, not too much talked about, um, way too less, in my opinion, that the in in so many football teams um by now you can really see world history in play. Um, I mean, if you if you look at the at the French national team, for example, that's of course a um stark example with um yeah the majority of players not being white, and that is called of course due to France's very extensive colonial history. And so you have many teams in which you can see um yeah, basically the the outcomes of um of quite horrible policies um and under which millions of people died and got enslaved, etc. Um, yeah, and then turned into uh yeah the complete opposite. Um today, of course, or yesterday, we uh we had uh Usman Dembele scoring another hat trick. Um yeah, and all basically all of these players have probably refugee stories, uh not all of them, but many of them have refugee stories uh just more uh way back in their families we don't uh we don't know of. Um yeah, so to shine light on on this issue, I think is uh is very important. And as you said, this flips the script in in the current uh migration debate in in many countries. So I mean in my home country, Germany, this is going on right now, um very extreme, of course, with the with the AFD, the far right party arising in popularity and applying this exact rhetoric, while you have uh players where you can visibly see that their parents or that their descendants uh at least were not coming um from Germany. Um, that that these players are just without them we we wouldn't be able to um to have this team we have right now or we we had in the past. Um so yeah, that is um that is kind of my my take on the issue.

SPEAKER_02 9:35

Yeah, I think you're you're absolutely right to say that what we're seeing here is history unfolding, is a reflection of history. And of course, we've we've spoken many times about the fact that and implicit in who we are, in the etc. bit of the World Cup football, etc., is that we discuss these things and that we we shine a light on the fact that um the all sport and uh football being a key example of this is is you know you can't divorce it from human, social, political um history and and events, and that it's um it's of course a highly visible um endpoint um or series of moments in which so much other stuff is is a place uh yeah I completely agree with that. I thought it was a really nice way of describing it, Paul. Um can I just also bring up uh Eduardo Comavinga, a French, yes, a French player. He was born in uh refugee camp in Angola uh after his parents fled war in the Democratic Republic of of Congo. And there's just a really nice line that um something he said ahead of the just in advance of the 22 uh 22 Champions League final. He said, and this is also important because it was a statement he didn't release, he it was released through the um through the UNHCR, and he said, and I quote, I was born in a refugee camp in Angola after my family fled war. I'm grateful to play and proud to do so as a former refugee, unquote.

SPEAKER_00 11:05

Yeah, just uh um I mean there is definitely a beauty in in that statement, and um I mean I I admit that I did not know of um of this history of him, and uh therefore, of course, his achievements are um yeah, are only more extraordinary, I would say. And I also think that um to connect this issue to um yeah kind of um we I mean you you brought up the issue with um with Vinnie Jr. To understand him as a character, as a player, you have to know where he comes from. And he comes from from the favelas in uh in Brazil. Um and of course this this leaves a very big mark in uh in people um uh because this um how how this this uh especially when you when you grow up as a child, um as a child, everything influences you much more than than later in life. Um so I think to to also understand the people, or I think that to understand a Kamavinga, for example, um how he how he behaves on the pitch, uh in interviews, what he says, etc. Um, there is no way around of knowing his life story to understand him as a um yeah, as a full person or as a full player, um, similar to um yeah to the likes of uh of Vinnie Jr. If you don't know where he comes from, you have you run into the same issue.

SPEAKER_02 12:33

Yeah, it's easy, it's easy to dislike. Look, and I I admit it, Vinnie Jr. is not my favorite, you know, he's not my favorite footballing figure, but equally I do try and cut him some slack because as you absolutely correctly say, I think it's important to understand why he reacts in the way he does, why he is, he feels that the world is against him. And um, and you know, that's a central part of who he is, and arguably it's um it's a it's one of the main drivers that has taken him to the successes to the sort of high levels of global success that he has that he has reached. But um, yeah, no, I think I'm I'm glad that we've done this little piece. I think it's important. I think these these little stories, um, especially sort of uncovering, scratching underneath the surface of the usual narratives is is key. And uh yeah, that's uh we're happy to celebrate that um the World Cup can bring uh so many of these these figures in and that it is a real tangible uh narrative. Uh and of course, one of you know, one of hope, because if you are a child in a refugee camp at the moment, um these narratives, these stories are not going to be lost on you. It's gonna be what is spoken about most as you wait for whatever indeterminate future it is that lies ahead of you.

SPEAKER_00 13:48

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much, John. Um, and uh then uh yeah, have a good day. And we speak each other at this evening's daily summary.

SPEAKER_02 13:59

We're speaking all the time. It's crazy. It's almost like we're friends.

SPEAKER_00 14:04

Almost, almost.

SPEAKER_02 14:05

All right, take it.

SPEAKER_00 14:06

Bye bye.