Refugee Girls' Team's Hoops and Dreams |
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April 13th, 2007 - 02:15PM |
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Photo: Emily Holland/The IRC 2:30 P.M. FRIDAY, COLINA PARK GYMNASIUM, SAN DIEGO 32 members of the International Rescue Committee San Diego Students’ Plus Girls Basketball Team are learning to pivot. At the sound of the whistle, they dribble down the court, stop, look for a teammate, turn and pass. Most wear sneakers. Some prefer to play barefoot. About half have draped jerseys over their long dresses and skirts and tucked their headscarves behind their backs for greater freedom of movement. When a basket is made, the gym erupts with cheers in different languages. Habibo, the unofficial spirit captain, snaps wildly with Henna-ed hands. Sudanese, Ethiopian, Congolese, Somali and Burmese, many of these girls are refugees who fled persecution and war to resettle in the United States with their families. For them, basketball practice isn’t just an after-school activity: it’s a way of learning about U.S. culture and exercising their new freedoms. I sat courtside with some of the players to find out more… FADUMO, 17, Somalia, founding member and captain Do girls play basketball in Somalia? No! They don’t play any sports. Only the boys do. Some girls go to school but most just stay at home. Was it strange to discover that girls play sports in America? Yes. My family came here in 2004. We didn’t speak any English. And when we saw girls playing sports we were like, ‘how can they play? They’re girls.’ Then we learned a lot of things: like how it’s healthy to play sports and exercise. What did your family say when you started playing sports? Some Somalis we know said, ‘she’s a girl, she shouldn’t be playing basketball.’ But my mom was supportive. I notice you wear a headscarf when you play. Yeah, I can’t take it off because it’s part of my religion. Is it hard to play in? No, I’m used to it. Tell me how this team got started. At first, we were just 6 girls. Then we put up fliers and invited everyone to join us. We told them ‘it’s fun to play basketball!’ Now we have a lot of girls: 32. Are you playing games yet or mainly doing drills? Mainly drills. Our first game’s coming up, though. We’ll probably play our first full game this summer. I understand something else is coming up…prom. I know! I’m so excited. I don’t know who I’m going with yet, though. ISHRAGA, 14, Sudan Tell me about the Students Plus team. Every Friday, we come to the gym and play. At first when I came here, I didn’t know how to play very well. But Miss Lily from the IRC taught us how to play and now I like it very much. I understand the girls on this team come from many different countries. Does everyone get along? Yeah, this team is a good team. We work together. There are girls from Somalia, Burma, Congo, Sudan... Do you learn about each other’s cultures? Yes. At every practice, a different girl talks about her country. She tells us about the food she eats. She shows us her dances. Today we’re learning about Somalia. Last Friday was Sudan and Burma. The week before it was – I forget the country’s name. What was it like coming to America? We lived in Egypt for 5 years before coming to America. At first, it was difficult. I cried when I had to leave my friends. But now I have a lot of friends here in the United States. What do you want to be someday? I want to be a doctor or a basketball player. My mom told me if I want to be a basketball player, I have to play a lot! So maybe I’ll be both. HABIBO, 15, Somalia, founding member I noticed your hands are beautifully decorated. Can you tell me about them? I went to Oregon last week for my cousin’s wedding. She’s from Somalia, too. We call this henna painting. See, these are flowers and traditional designs. How long has your family lived in America? We’ve been here for three years. The first day I came to America, I was a sixth-grader and didn’t know how to speak English. Now I’m in ninth grade and I can. Do you like learning about where your teammates came from? Yeah, we respect each other. We play together. We learn a little bit about each other’s languages. Like how to say hi. And how to do each other’s dances. What are your goals for the team? I want us to grow bigger. If you had a message to people back in Somalia what would it be? I think I would take a picture of us playing basketball and write a letter. I would say ‘we’re having fun playing basketball. Come join us.’ I would tell them here in America, there is peace, no war, there is freedom -- your life is yours to live. Posted By: Emily Holland | Children & Youth, Refugees in the U.S. Permalink |
