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.
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.
Sahrawi children were born in exile and have never been home. Their disputed homeland, Western Sahara, is on the other side of a desert. Their parents were promised a referendum a quarter century ago by MINURSO, the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara. Under that referendum, the people of Western Sahara would choose whether to become independent or integrate into Morocco. However, they still live in tents, stranded in Algerian desert camps.
Despite these bitter facts, the Esalam soccer club is bringing hope to dozens of children who dream of one day becoming professional players.
