Soccer club gives Sahrawi kids a workout — and hope

Refugee camps have little to offer children, but dozens of kids are taking advantage of a new soccer club that provides training and helps them hone other skills as well.
Saharawi school children chant as they leave their school at Samra's refugee camp, near Tindouf in southwestern Algeria, November 22, 2003. The Saharawi Polisario, the Algerian-backed movement is campaigning for independence for the mineral-rich territory controlled by Morocco. Morocco and Algeria, Polisario's main backer in its armed conflict with Morocco from 1975 to 1991, are under increasing international pressure to settle a dispute which has slowed regional integration. PP03110087 REUTERS/Andrea C
Sahrawi school children chant as they leave their school at Samra's refugee camp, near Tindouf, Algeria, Nov. 22, 2003. - REUTERS/Andrea Comas
habibulah Mohamed Lamin%5B2%5D.JPG
Habibulah Mohamed Lamin
Read in 

TINDOUF, Algeria — Amid exceptionally difficult conditions, children in the Sahrawi refugee camps turn to sports to overcome the suffering of everyday life, pinning their hopes on a better tomorrow.

For decades, Sahrawi children have adored soccer. As they play barefoot in streets full of dust, their love of the magical game gives them a chance to forget a world that seems to have forgotten them.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.

Videos

See more