We will take a break from all the bad news, particularly from the political front, to talk about soccer today.
The best news recently has been the rescue of the 12 Thai soccer boys and their coach last week. It is a great human story marred only by the death of one of the rescuers. This rescue effort shows what can happen when countries come together to help each other.
The soccer boys are from a poor area of Thailand on the Myanmar border. Some of them are stateless, meaning they have no Thai or Burmese citizenship. The head coach (not the one in the cave) was at one time studying to be a Buddhist monk. He formed this team to give opportunity for boys who are turned away from school teams. They had always lost till winning a tournament in May. Basically they are like unwanted immigrants or refugees. I think the hardship they had experienced help them to survive this crisis. Also helpful was the meditation they had learned from the former monk student.
France defeated Croatia to win the World cup today. Of the 23 French players, 16 are from recent immigrant families. Belgium and England also had many immigrants on the their teams. Many of the Croatia players experienced the civil war from 1991 to 1995 that gained Croatia independence from the former Yugoslavia. As a result of the war, many of the players were refugees at one time. So again even in the biggest stage of soccer, the contributions of immigrants and refugees are obvious among the strongest countries. Even our own U.S. team is full of players from immigrant families.
I think the pattern is clear. Success in soccer, as in many aspect of life, is accomplished frequently by those who had gone through hardship. Immigrants and refugees are among those who face the most hardships. So as we celebrate the rescue of the Thai boys and one of the best World Cup in history, we should remember that the game of soccer showcases those who are often shunned by people in the country they represent. I believe that we should embrace rather than shun more of these immigrants and refugees.
Sunday, July 15, 2018
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You do realize that you ended up talking about politics, right? Haha! I don't have much to add here, but if it means having a soccer team that wins the World Cup, I am all for having immigrants! I wonder if this would be part of the plan that POTUS has for only the elite of immigrants are allowed in.
ReplyDeleteI read over the weekend that there are still many tensions still with immigrants in France. I think where ever you go. You will always get people that don't want immigrants and refugees. I think it's more palatable for some, if said immigrants and refugees have something to offer (like cheap labor?-oops).
Back to the World Cup. In a way, I was pulling for Croatia. They were quite scrappy but you could tell that the skill level wasn't quite as good. But you had to love them. They were a true underdog and overcame many odds to get to the final.
I didn't realize the President of Croatia went to school in the United States. I read that she is a polarizing figure. I haven't dug deep into Croat politics, but you would think that she would bring some western democracy ideas to Croatia.
Well, enough with the soccer talk for another 4 years. I am assuming you'll be ranting about the summit between Trump and Putin soon, though I have an idea what you're already going to say!
-LBOAYM
This blog was about soccer only. Any similarity to a political commentary is pure coincidental!
ReplyDeleteI will not talk about the summit as it makes me boil. I will talk about being accused by my wife of being controlled by my neighbor who she say have something on me. She accused my neighbor of stealing from us. She claims to have evidence that my children agree with. But my neighbor strongly and powerfully deny this. In fact he is gracious enough to offer to come over to investigate how we have lost money. I am sure going to open my bank account and credit card so that he can find the real perpetrator. After all, my wife's investigation is the real problem here. So you see, I have nothing to hide and am going to make my family great again!