Be like Luka Modrić
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First published in Polish by Krzysztof Jarymowicz
For millions of people worldwide, sports stars are role models who are perceived as superheroes. Their images are a powerful tool in education, and we are just starting to learn how to use them.
In several previous articles, I have looked at how sports change the quality of life for refugees. Regular physical or simple leisure activities can promote a sense of well-being and a connection with the local community. This time, I will focus on professionals who have trained hard and succeeded. Does this kind of long-term effort to achieve a sporting result translate into skills useful in a limited situation?
Although I am unaware of any studies (which may not exist due to the paucity of documented stories of refugee athletes), my intuition led me to believe that professional athletes are more resilient and tenacious and, therefore, more likely to overcome hardship in general, particularly forced migration. I decided to look at several professional athletes who had been forced to leave their hometowns because of war. This subjective review should not be used to draw any far-reaching conclusions. However, as different as these stories are, their protagonists seem somewhat similar. It would be a truism to say that they all showed strength and the will to win. What is more interesting is the educational perspective: whether and how their stories can inspire other refugees.
Persevering towards the goal
While his parents spent most of the day at work, the boy would go to the mountains with his grandfather to graze the goats. In his village, the war was a brutal outbreak of violence. His beloved grandfather was shot dead in front of the eyes of the five-year-old boy, the family home was burned to the ground, and the family fled to the city to live in a hotel. "He was a quiet and tired little boy, I remember. He had big blue eyes, and I don't remember him ever laughing or making a joke," said his former teacher. He was thin and weak but loved football and had a knack for it. After school, he would tirelessly kick a football in the hotel car park. He even took it to the air raid shelter. After the war, he joined a local club, and although the coaches had no hopes of a career for him because of his small stature, he was determined to develop his talent.
His name is Luka Modrić. He's been a key midfielder for Real Madrid for the past decade, captained Croatia to the World Cup podium twice and won the Golden Ball, football's most prestigious individual award. Modrić is reluctant to speak in public, but his attitude on and off the pitch has won him fans worldwide. Many see in his remarkable modesty and the respect he has always shown to those competing with him the stigma of the past.
From Africa to Canada
Nyang Chiengjiek is originally from Bentiu in Southern Sudan. As a young boy, he herded cattle. His father was a soldier. He was killed in the war in 1999. Nyang fled to the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya for fear that he, too, would be forcibly conscripted into the army. It was there that he began to go to school and run. Somebody spotted his talent and encouraged him to train regularly. Nyang competed in the 400 metres for the Refugee Olympic Team (ROC) in Rio de Janeiro. He lives and studies in Canada, preparing for the next Games in Paris.
Alphonso Davies also has ties to Canada. He was born in the Buduburam refugee camp in Ghana, where his parents were living after fleeing from Liberia, torn apart by civil war. By the time he was five, the family had made their way overseas. He started playing football at a local academy in Edmonton. He then moved to Vancouver. He scored his first goal for the Canadian national team before age 17. He has been with Bayern Munich for three years and recently played in the World Cup in Qatar.
Swimming towards freedom
Yusra Mardini grew up on the outskirts of Damascus. She and her sister Sara have been trained as swimmers since childhood. At 14, she represented Syria at the World Swimming Championship in the short-course format. In 2015, the two girls decided to flee to Europe. They made a dramatic crossing from the coast of Turkey to the island of Lesbos. When the overloaded dinghy began to take on water, the sisters jumped into the sea and swam the rest of the way. They saved themselves and their fellow passengers. Then, mostly on foot, they followed the so-called Balkan route to Berlin. Yusra was determined. She found a club, met the standard and joined the ROC national team in Rio. She also became a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. Netflix recently made a film about her. "I am telling my story because I want people to understand that sport saved my life," she says.
Such spectacular stories are, of course, few and far between. Their protagonists, however, have millions of followers. The search for role models is a natural part of our lives, especially when we are young. Sometimes, it is a family member or teacher, but in the age of social media, more and more, the role has been taken over by a celebrity. Celebrity image is a powerful tool for education. This is why it is so important to have athletes amongst us, especially people like Modrić and Davies, who have been through the hell of war. They are living proof that great goals can be reached against all odds with commitment, discipline and self-control.
Role models
Some athletes choose to use their stories to help refugees. For example, Khalida Popal and her Girl Power Organisation, which I described earlier, focuses on the education of girls and women. Ali Noghandoost, an Iranian taekwondo champion, arrived in Europe in similarly dramatic circumstances to Yusra Mardini. He now works with migrants in Croatia. "As a refugee, I can support them in adapting to their new life. I know how they're feeling and how angry they might be with their situation. When you're living in a refugee camp, it's a really hard situation, but when you play sport, you can release any negative energy and feel free", he explained in an interview with the Olympic website last year.
"When I first came to Croatia, I had a mentor who helped me. Wherever you are, the three most important things are to learn the language, learn the culture, and have a mentor who can help you to find your way and your talent", explained Noghandoos. "I'm trying to help the young refugees I coach to be a part of society. I want to see them grow, learn more and make new friends. As refugees, we arrive in a new culture and are put into a small box – we're told who we are and who we should be – but I want them to know they can decide their lives for themselves," he concluded.
Krzysztof Jarymowicz is the project manager and board member of the Foundation for Freedom, a Polish NGO. He is a psychologist and anthropologist by profession. Krzysztof is one of the few people in Poland who systematically implements and promotes the social inclusion of migrants through sport. In 2017, his flagship project, Etnoliga, was shortlisted for the Beyond Sport Global Awards.
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