World Refugee Day Football 2009 in Syria
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UNHCR and FC Barcelona support Iraqi and Somali refugee football match in Damascus.
DAMASCUS (UNHCR) – Iraqis, Somalis and UNHCR staff competed in a football tournament on Friday (June 19), after which the refugees were awarded FC Barcelona uniforms and posters.
Marking World Refugee Day on Saturday (June 20), the tournament brought together two Iraqi teams from the Sayyida Zeinab and Jaramana neighbourhoods of Damascus, a team of Somalis from Masaken Barzeh and UNHCR staff of various nationalities.
The European football champion—known as Barça to its fans—forged a global partnership with the UN Refugee Agency last January to help refugee children develop necessary life skills through sport. According to Haid Haid from the Community Services Unit, the event is part of ongoing efforts by UNHCR Syria to support young refugees.
“In collaboration with the Danish Refugee Council, we provide the teams with regular weekly training with professional coaches. The Iraqi and Somali refugees in Sayyida Zeinab, Jaramana and Masaken Barzeh practice about 3 times a week. Soccer is a very important outlet for young people’s energies, especially since the refugees are not allowed to work and have no other way to pass the time,” he said.
21-year-old Ahmad Kamel from Baghdad has been living in Yarmuk for almost three years. Like many young Iraqis, he is barred from legal employment and unable to afford university fees.
“I’ve finished school but haven’t been able to go to university although I would have liked to. So I spend most of my time hanging out with friends or playing sports,” he said.
Somali team captain Hersi Abdi, 25, has been living in Syria for ten years. “World Refugee Day is very important to me. Knowing that we are remembered helps alleviate our suffering and gives us hope. My best wishes go out to all refugees and I hope that by the next WRD, circumstances will be better than they are today,” he said.
Iraqi team Lions of the Two Rivers from Sayyida Zainab defeated UNHCR’s Solidarity 3-1 in the first match. The second game pit Somalia’s Hope against Iraq’s Steadfast, ending in a 2-1 win for Steadfast. The finale was intense, with the two neighbours from Jaramana and Sayyida Zeinab neck-and-neck throughout the first half, with the Lions snatching a goal just before half-time. Steadfast took a hammering in the second half as the Lions roared on with another three goals, only managing to prevent a rout with a single goal before the final whistle. The final score was 4:1, a comfortable win for the Lions of the Two Rivers from Sayyida Zeinab. All three refugee teams went home in FC Barcelona kit.
The UN Refugee Agency assists over 216,000 registered Iraqi and non-Iraq refugees in Syria, of whom 84,486 are minors. This year’s World Refugee Day theme is “Real People, Real Needs” and activities are being held around the world to raise awareness about 42 million people forcibly uprooted by conflict and persecution. This includes 15.2 million refugees, 827,000 asylum-seekers (pending cases) and 26 million internally displaced persons (IDPs).
For more information contact dakhlalf@unhcr.org
DAMASCUS (UNHCR) – Iraqis, Somalis and UNHCR staff competed in a football tournament on Friday (June 19), after which the refugees were awarded FC Barcelona uniforms and posters.
Marking World Refugee Day on Saturday (June 20), the tournament brought together two Iraqi teams from the Sayyida Zeinab and Jaramana neighbourhoods of Damascus, a team of Somalis from Masaken Barzeh and UNHCR staff of various nationalities.
The European football champion—known as Barça to its fans—forged a global partnership with the UN Refugee Agency last January to help refugee children develop necessary life skills through sport. According to Haid Haid from the Community Services Unit, the event is part of ongoing efforts by UNHCR Syria to support young refugees.
“In collaboration with the Danish Refugee Council, we provide the teams with regular weekly training with professional coaches. The Iraqi and Somali refugees in Sayyida Zeinab, Jaramana and Masaken Barzeh practice about 3 times a week. Soccer is a very important outlet for young people’s energies, especially since the refugees are not allowed to work and have no other way to pass the time,” he said.
21-year-old Ahmad Kamel from Baghdad has been living in Yarmuk for almost three years. Like many young Iraqis, he is barred from legal employment and unable to afford university fees.
“I’ve finished school but haven’t been able to go to university although I would have liked to. So I spend most of my time hanging out with friends or playing sports,” he said.
Somali team captain Hersi Abdi, 25, has been living in Syria for ten years. “World Refugee Day is very important to me. Knowing that we are remembered helps alleviate our suffering and gives us hope. My best wishes go out to all refugees and I hope that by the next WRD, circumstances will be better than they are today,” he said.
Iraqi team Lions of the Two Rivers from Sayyida Zainab defeated UNHCR’s Solidarity 3-1 in the first match. The second game pit Somalia’s Hope against Iraq’s Steadfast, ending in a 2-1 win for Steadfast. The finale was intense, with the two neighbours from Jaramana and Sayyida Zeinab neck-and-neck throughout the first half, with the Lions snatching a goal just before half-time. Steadfast took a hammering in the second half as the Lions roared on with another three goals, only managing to prevent a rout with a single goal before the final whistle. The final score was 4:1, a comfortable win for the Lions of the Two Rivers from Sayyida Zeinab. All three refugee teams went home in FC Barcelona kit.
The UN Refugee Agency assists over 216,000 registered Iraqi and non-Iraq refugees in Syria, of whom 84,486 are minors. This year’s World Refugee Day theme is “Real People, Real Needs” and activities are being held around the world to raise awareness about 42 million people forcibly uprooted by conflict and persecution. This includes 15.2 million refugees, 827,000 asylum-seekers (pending cases) and 26 million internally displaced persons (IDPs).
For more information contact dakhlalf@unhcr.org
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