2010 Pmu Foals For Sale

The other side of football! I

blue shirts and white shorts. It is not the Italian national team. They are the Liberi Nantes Football Club (sponsored by the High Commissioner for Refugees), a team composed entirely of players who are victims of forced migration. Eleven children, eleven stories, eleven hearts, eleven smiles. Pending a green field in the hills, banners and fans. But not in South Africa. I am in Macerata, in the heart of the Marche. There are four cups for the awards, but it is the final of the 2010 World Cup. And 'the tenth day of the world political refugee.

While I look for the words to tell this story I can not help but think of the soundtrack of Gladiator and in particular the song "Now We Are Free." The author of the text, Lisa Gerrard, has created a language according to the music and this has drawn its universal power of communication. The title is limited only to the initial idea. The only word is translated "Shalom" in Hebrew means peace. The rest of the words remain as suspended, allowing in this way, the listener, the images according to their sensitivity. Following the notes I can see their eyes and their stories, I see them run, run, run away. With one finger, I follow the lines on their young faces, hear their words and see the bombs falling. I hear their breathing and the beating of their hearts. I see their families, the tears and the long journey that took them far from home, away from everything. Uprooted, exiled, alone.

are as "rare in nantes Gurgi vast" of Book I of Virgil and the Aeneid. They are the refugees from Troy, the survivors who are fleeing from their burning city in the waves of the sea have found the strength to start again on a 'more land. But they are not rare, because this term belongs to the military and aristocratic elites, they are the Liberi Nantes. They were born in 2007 from an idea by a small group of friends who have given birth to Free Nantes ASD. The objective is to disseminate, promote and ensure freedom of access to sports men and women who for different reasons had to leave their country and their suffering, to escape from the wars, dictatorships and lack of rights. "We decided to launch this challenge - Gianluca says Jerome, president of the association - in our name because there are ideas and strong bonds with a concept of universal sport, whether from the egalitarian and libertarian. For us, this remains the only really good for inspiration. In this name, however, there also recall the story of a group of men fleeing from a war, a journey by sea - the Mediterranean - and a new port from which to start. With one difference: changing the original word "rare" with "free", you are given more strength to the idea that the security of a free port and a new beginning, must be a universal principle, able to cross the centuries and to begin always new stories. Lives are lived in a perennial state of emergency continues, Gianluca - Worm everyday life, where every piece, every shard of normality can contribute to that life of dignity and freedom to which each of us must be right and that in their countries, however, is denied. This is where we decided to go to remember, first of all to ourselves, that every people, at least once in their history, you had to escape from something or someone and give refuge to those who asks is a gesture that no one should escape, because it marks the difference between civilization and barbarism. For our part, we firmly believe that sport in its original essence, have the strength and the ability to close the gap and break down barriers. Free Nantes was born to give asylum, therefore, through sport, we are convinced that we can accommodate those who need it even on a football field, in a gym or between lanes of a swimming pool, because it is back to playing, in some ways, to return to live, really. "

From the first moment I saw them I realized that are a sea of \u200b\u200blanguages, colors and events. All individually but on the football field are intertwined and can give rise to new stories and new hopes. You do not understand each other when they speak, but when faced with the ball and suddenly everything takes on a different nuance there are no more misunderstandings. They are shy and reserved as I try to know something more about their lives, but on the pitch by pulling out a grim lions and succumb to the power of the game.
The symbol of the team is a little turtle named Dudu (acronym for "statement Universal Declaration of Human Rights). The sea turtle is an animal by nature and definition of migrant in Italy and lays its eggs only on the island of Lampedusa. The same island where land every day men, women and children who bring with them the anxiety of the escape and the tragedy of no return. A nation of refugees, asylum-seekers. In other words, forced migrants who were forced to leave and never to return home.

The largest of them is Koffi, comes from Togo, and only 28 years. Its history is completely tied to the political situation in his country. In 1963, Togo was the scene of the first military coup in Africa. Sylanus Olympio, who was elected president in 1960, was overthrown by a group of Togolese veterans of the French army January 13, 1963. These veterans Olympio had previously denied entry into the regular army of Togo. The day after the coup, Olympio was killed, and instead took over the prime minister, Nicolas Grunitzky. In 1967, Grunitzky was deposed by Sergeant Etienne Eyadema, who controlled the army, and established a one-party regime. Eyadema nationalized the country's main economic resources (from phosphate mines), expropriating foreign companies that were acquired during the colonial period. In a sign of emancipation by the Europeans, he ordered all the Togolese who had a first name to change it with the European a local name, since he himself had called Gnassingbe Eyadema. Despite these efforts, anti-colonial, Eyadema has continued to maintain political and commercial relations with Europe, especially France.

years of Eyadema's regime, many international organizations (including Amnesty International), often denounced human rights violations by the military and the Togolese government, also criticized the support provided by France to Eyadéma . In the early nineties, under heavy international pressure, Eyadema resigned as head of government. Just after the election of the interim prime minister, However, the army began to implement a series of terrorist attacks including the bombing of the house of Prime Minister and a series of bombings and political assassinations against the press, trade unions and other organizations opposed to Eyadema. The Togo appeared on the brink of civil war, many refugees fled to Benin and Ghana. In 1993 he formally held the first multiparty elections, which saw the victory of Eyadema almost unanimous (96% of the vote). During his rule, Eyadema guilty of many other anti-democratic actions that led to a progressive isolation of Togo on the international scene. Among other things, he repeatedly amend the constitution to remain in office for life.

On 5 February 2005, Eyadema died of a heart attack. According the constitution at the time, to succeed him at the helm of a transitional government (no longer than 60 days) should have been Fambaré Ouattara Natchaba, Speaker of the Parliament. At that time, however, Natchaba was out of the country. The Togolese army, controlled by Faure Gnassingbe (Eyadema's son), closed borders, the Air France plane on which Natchaba was returning to the country was forced to land in Benin. The next day, the parliament proceeded to remove Natchaba from his duties and replaced by Gnassingbe, who then became interim president. In addition, the parliament changed the constitution removing the constraint of a maximum of 60 days as interim President, in this way, the end of the mandate of Gnassingbe was to coincide with the end of the mandate of his father, set for 2008.

These maneuvers were performed, at least formally , within the law, but in many places (including the African Union and the United Nations) denounced the incident as a new military coup, as the actions of Parliament obviously driven by the army, loyal to Eyadema family. The popular demonstrations against Gnassingbe was smothered in blood, several episodes, like the massacre of civilians in retaliation Army to Aného, \u200b\u200bwere silenced by the Togolese media. A few days later, in response to growing international pressure, Gnassingbe agreed to hold new elections, resigned Feb. 25. The elections, which were held on 24 April, confirmed that Gnassinbé as president of Togo, were the object of much suspicion and allegations of irregularities and fraud, partly because of the lack of international observers during the election process.

Koffi is in Italy for two years, can no longer return to his country because his father was one of the dissidents and fought to try to end the dictatorship. He studied economics and is now the bartender and studying Italian in order to integrate better into our country.

Muhamed and Feizi are from Afghanistan. have less than 25 years and arrived in Italy thanks to a truck. After a journey that lasted months were able to board a ship that took them from Patras in the Bel Paese. Muhamed has been in Italy four years, lives in a community and no longer sees his family from the day he left his country. Feizi has left Afghanistan when he was only 16 years. The his journey took more than a few months. He worked for a couple of years in Iran, then moved to Turkey and now Italy. To live delivery leaflets for 25 € per day, which he can pay the rent of a room in a shared apartment with other guys and eating. Do not know where he finds his family, they lost to Iran six years ago. Upon arriving in Italy he lived for several months in a shelter, from which he was expelled. He had no money and did not have a job and a station has become his home.

Fabrice is the oldest of the team. Italy is in the 8-ann and joined the Liberi Nantes FC is newly established in 2007. It comes from the Central African Republic. To experience working as a pony express and makes cleaning. She studied nursing, but had to leave: the university costs too much and for a while 'his dream to return to his country to be helpful and help those who suffer will have to postpone.

As turtles carry a shell to protect themselves from enemies , so do Muhamed, Koffi, Feizi, Fabrice and all the other boys. They have a tough skin, but underneath hides a heart ready to open. And so as we stroll through the center of Macerata one of them is lost in front of a window of a clothing store for girls. He smiles and thinks about how his girlfriend would be fine with that beautiful flowered dress. They are guys like us with dreams and desires, perhaps not too far from us or perhaps completely different. They have an infinite sadness in his eyes and manage to get excited like children when they enter the Lauro Rossi Theatre or wander through the chairs of the fronton.

In this tenth day for political refugee have demonstrated the power of sport, the joy of a game too often linked to scandals and billion, up there among the hills of the Marche has become, showing the unknown side, that far from and gossip magazines, one made of hard work, sweat, satisfaction, solidarity, humanity and freedom. A football different, intense and clean. A kick unfussy and unpretentious, without first prizes, no winners and no losers. A kick of sacrifice, friendship and stories that have found their happy ending here in Rome, in a pitch in the suburbs.

Ilaria Biancacci