Soccer refugees: Where is the justice? Where is the democracy?
On Wednesday night, Luka Modric and Eduardo Camavinga played together in the midfield for Real Madrid. They are 17 years apart but bonded as old friends and quietly knocked Liverpool out of the Champions League.
Still, even though they’ve only been playing together for just over 18 months, they’re bound by other ties. There are two refugees in the center of the midfield of Real Madrid, the club of the European order…
The plight of refugees was the only item on the agenda last weekend, after ‘Match of the Day’ presenter Gary Lineker criticized the UK government’s new Illegal Immigration Bill. Other presenters and reporters on the channel who wanted to support Lineker, whose role at the BBC was suspended, also decided to boycott.
With discussions centered on Lineker, the content of the bill was forgotten. The legislation would authorize the government to return migrants arriving by small boat “as soon as reasonably possible” and set a limit on the total number of refugees, including those who arrive legally.
UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman says the current level of immigration is “unsustainable” but agrees the law is likely to breach human rights laws by “more than 50 per cent” and is equivalent to to an “asylum ban” for the United Nations.
FOOTBALL, POLITICS AND REFUGEES
Lineker’s comments on this topic were meant to be blocked. But professional soccer is one of the most diverse workforces in the world and a meritocracy that highlights refugee talent. Just this week, the FIFA congress met in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Soccer, politics and refugees are already intertwined.
Everton goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, whose family fled the Bosnian War to Germany at the age of four, thanked Lineker for “speaking up for the quiet people”.
@GaryLineker thank you for speaking up for the voiceless and most vulnerable people out there. your support for @Refugees it is always appreciated. The solidarity of the football community is a beautiful thing.
—Asmir Begovic (@asmir1) March 11, 2023
The Athletic wrote that more than two dozen refugees played in the Premier League and many more took part in the EFL. How different would English football have looked if the illegal immigration law had been enacted 30 years ago?
Footballers have a say in this, and The Athletic editor Jacob Whitehead hands them the microphone…
“NOBODY WANTS TO BE A REFUGEE”
“No one chooses to be an illegal immigrant, no one wants to enter a country in this dangerous way. And sometimes going back is not an option.
Saido Berahino speaks slowly and thoughtfully, but his seriousness is evident. The 29-year-old footballer, who now plays for AEL Limassol in southern Cyprus, arrived in England legally as a 10-year-old Burundian refugee. He competed in the Premier League with teams like West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City and was invited by the England National Team in 2014, but preferred Burundi.
“Most athletes aren’t allowed to speak their minds,” Berahino said. “But it’s very hard to have that opinion. If someone is dissatisfied with the way society is going, he should be able to express how he feels. People think that our life is different because we make more money than the average person. But remember, some of us start at the bottom.”
The name of Saido Berahino was once associated with Fenerbahçe.
“IF I DID NOT HAVE A SECOND CHANCE…”
The Burindian Civil War began in 1993, the year Berahino was born. Like the conflict in neighboring Rwanda, it was a conflict between two ethnic groups. The Tutsi ruler and the Hutu majority. An estimated 300,000 people died in 12 years. Berahino’s father, who died in 1997, was one of them.
“I was a Hutu,” explains Berahino, and continues: “My family had to travel through Africa. It was not safe to lead a normal life in Burundi. Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania… I was very young when my father died. I am one of the millions of children who have had to go through this. Imagine never getting that second chance. Where would I be now?
IT CAN BE SENT TO THE COUNTRY WITH THE NEW DESIGN
Berahino came to England alone. Unable to find her mother, who initially worked as a cleaner in Birmingham, she was placed in a nursing home. When they found her mother, authorities ran DNA tests to confirm they were related. Having arrived in the UK legally, Berahino would not be affected by the first part of the new Illegal Immigration Act, which targets refugees arriving on small boats. But with the second part of the bill, which sought to limit the total number of refugees, Berahino could leave her family behind.
The UK ranks 16th in terms of the number of refugees received per capita compared to 27 EU countries.
Former footballer Rudi Vata.
RUDI VATA’S SEARCH FOR FREEDOM
In the UK, around 16 per cent of asylum claims come from Albanian citizens, who number just over 22,000.
Rudi Vata, now 54, became the first Albanian to play for a UK team and played more than 50 games for Celtic between 1993 and 1996. “Albania is a beautiful country with good-hearted people,” he said. Go to The Athletic. But we had no opportunity to be ruled by Enver Hoxha, the worst dictator in Europe. Life gets very complicated sometimes. You cannot find opportunities, you cannot build your future”. he uses expressions.
REFUGEE 24 HOURS AFTER THE FRANCE MATCH
Vata’s only chance of escape was to ask for political asylum in France in March 1991, after a national match in Paris…
“We played against France in Paris on March 27. I played against Michael Platini, Eric Cantona, Didier Deschamps and Laurent Blanc… 24 hours later I woke up in the refugee camp. I was one of the refugees from every country you can name. It was difficult. You had to fight and sacrifice for your rights. I left my family behind and I was only 22 years old. But I had to go through this to earn my freedom. Freedom is everything in life.
Rudi Vata and his footballer son Rocco.
“WHERE IS JUSTICE? WHERE IS DEMOCRACY?”
Vata has now settled in Scotland as his son Rocco plays for Celtic and represents the Republic of Ireland at youth national team level. Vata with resident status can now return to Albania. Speaking to The Athletic, Vata explained what the new law in England means to him:
“I applied for political asylum. I know the procedure, I know exactly what it means. If you are British, you have the right to visit Albania without a visa. But Albanians have no right to this. Where is the justice here? Where is the democracy? I do not understand this. It seems that freedom is not something that everyone is privileged to live in.”
LAW PASSED BY THE HOUSE OF COMMONS
On Monday, the Illegal Immigration Act passed the House of Commons. Once it has been passed by the House of Lords, it will actually become law.
(Source: The Athletic – Jacob Whitehead)