AFCON road trip helps Nigerian refugees believe in dreams

For
Saratu
Yakubu,
Lucy
Bitrus
and
the
other
members
of
their
all-girls
football
team,
their
five-hour
trip
to
Garoua
to
see
Nigeria
play
in
the
Africa
Cup
of
Nations
(AFCON)
was
the
adventure
of
a
lifetime.

The
girls
screamed
as
they
saw
the
Nigerian
players
enter
the
field.
They
could
not
believe
their
eyes.
They
cheered
every
possession
and
every
goal
as
Nigeria
cruised
to
a
big
win
against
Sudan.

Football
joy

Saratu,
19,
was
only
10
when
her
village
of
Barawa,
near
Gwoza
in
Nigeria’s
restive
Borno
State,
was
attacked
by
Boko
Haram.
The
radical
Islamic
terrorist
group
has
been
fighting
a
war
in
northern
Nigeria
since
2009.

Saratu
and
her
family
hid
in
caves
for
days
before
fleeing
and
finding
refuge
in
Minawao,
a
camp
for
displaced
Nigerians
set
up
in
the
north
of
Cameroon
by
the
United
Nations
Refugee
Agency
(UNHCR).
Here,
Saratu
has
grown
from
a
girl
into
a
teenager
who
sees
football
as
an
outlet
for
her
bubbling
energy.

“The
boys
in
the
camp
do
not
allow
us
to
play
with
them,”
Saratu
told
DW.
“So
we
formed
a
girls’ team
where
we
play
against
each
other.
We
wear
boys’
jerseys
and
old
torn
shoes.
We
play
amongst
ourselves,
and
winners
get
trophies.”

Saratu’s
teammate,
Lucy,
18,
was
born
in
Kunde,
a
village
in
the
Gwoza
area.
She
lost
her
father
in
a
Boko
Haram
raid
in
2013,
and
her
family
fled
into
neighbouring
Cameroon
before
they
found
their
way
to
the
Minawao
camp.
There,
she
too
found
football.

“In
the
camp,
only
the
men
can
watch
football
in
the
TV
centre.
But
now
that
we
have
an
opportunity
to
see
the
game,
we
will
go
back
and
tell
them
that
we
were
inside
the
stadium,” an
excited
Lucy
told
DW.

A
place
of
refuge

Located
in
the
north
of
Cameroon,Minawao
was
set
up
as
a
camp
for
10,000
people
after
the
influx
of
Nigerian
refugees
in
2013
due
to
Boko
Haram.

Its
population
grew
to
almost
70,000
residents
in
2021,
stretching
its
facilities.
Saratu
and
Lucy
attend
the
only
secondary
school
in
the
entire
community.

Saratu
wants
to
become
a
medical
doctor
to
help
her
community.
But
football
is
helping
her
see
the
world
in
a
different
light.
“Our
people
need
help,
and
I
hope
to
support
them
one
day,”
she
said.

Football
for
inclusion

When
the
UNHCR
found
out
that
Nigeria
would
be
playing
their
group
matches
in
Garoua,
a
five-hour
drive
from
Minawao,
they
got
in
touch
with
the
Confederation
of
African
Football
(CAF)
and
organized
tickets
for
the
girls.

“The
girls
were
all
excited,
and
they
got
vaccinated
and
tested.
The
road
trip
was
quite
interesting
for
them,”
Helen
Ngoh,
UNHCR
communications
manager,
told
DW.

After
the
game,
Patrice
Motsepe,
the
president
of
CAF,
made
sure
the
girls
got
a
group
photo
on
the
pitch.

The
moment
the

#Nigerian
????????

#refugee
girls’
football
team
from

#Minawao
walked
on
to
the
pitch
in

#RoumdeAdjia
#Garoua
after
cheering

@NGSuperEagles
to
victory
against
Sudan
????????.

What
a
moment
for
these
young
footballers
????!@CAF_Online
#NGASUD
#AFCON2021
pic.twitter.com/BmYRNmhVI9

—
Helen
Ngoh
(@Helenngoh)

January
16,
2022

“It
was
a
surreal
moment
for
all
of
us,
it
wasn’t
planned
or
expected.
There
was
something
special
about
getting
on
the
turf
as
the
girls
were
cheered
on
by
many
people
in
the
stadium,” Ngoh
said.

For
many
of
the
refugees
the
decade
spent
in
the
Minawao
refugee
camp
has
kept
them
away
from
their
homeland,
where
they
farmed
rice
and
millet
and
took
care
of
themselves.

But
for
Saratu
and
Lucy
and
the
other
members
of
the
Minawao
camp
girls’
football
team,
watching
Nigeria
live
at
the
African
Cup
of
Nations
has
given
them
a
glimpse
of
a
better
future.

“The
trip
was
important
because
it
is
what
a
teenager
would
want.
It
is
a
basic
thing
in
life.
It
made
them
feel
that
their
dreams
are
valid
and
that
they
are
greater
than
the
horrors
of
their
past.
This
trip
helped
to
reinforce
that
they
can
chase
their
dreams
and
anything
is
possible,”
said
Ngoh.

Edited
by
Jonathan
Harding

Source:

DW