在足球場上找知音

“Hey， listen up. We’re going to win this game！ Right？”

“Yes！”

“We’re going to play hard！”

“Yes！”

Miguel Vázquez is shy about his English accent， but when it comes to being a soccer coach he is never at a loss for words. His players are refugee children， ages 11 to 13， from Burma， Congo， Iraq， Thailand and Afghanistan. They call themselves Team Milan， after Italy’s famous club.

Miguel： （via translator） They’ve never touched a soccer ball before， so when they come here， as you can see right now， they’re having a lot of fun.

The enthusiastic players remind Vázquez of his first years in America. His family brought him across the US-Mexican border by foot when he was seven. But he also says that these young refugees’ stories can be harsher than his own.

Miguel： （via translator） They suffer more than immigrants， because they come from poverty and violence and many times they have to hide themselves from soldiers that can kill them if they feel like it.

Vázquez and his wife， Alondra， are the team’s volunteer coaches， and both are undocumented immigrants from Mexico. When these groups get together， the focus is on helping these kids fit into their new home.

Rafea Kareem： We’re doing car washes so we could go to the tournament and get funds for $175.

Rafea Kareem is 12-year-old and arrived from Iraq with his family four years ago. He is a 1）goalkeeper for Team Milan.

A local Christian group helps with some of the team’s expenses， but the car wash helps pay for other costs like tournament fees， uniforms and shoes， things the kids’ parents can’t afford.

Alondra： Helping with the soccer， it’s like a relief for us， you know， it’s like freedom in a way because it makes us feel like we’re living normal.

Vázquez says she feels valued working with the team. And when she thinks about the challenges these young refugees have faced， it makes her own troubles， about paying rent by cleaning houses， seem small.

Alondra： There is one kid here. He shares one pair of shoes with all his brothers. And my husband’s like，“We’ve gotta buy the kid shoes.” And here we are struggling to make our bills and my husband wants to go buy shoes for a kid.

Sometimes Vázquez is the only one cheering on the players during their matches， because their parents are working. She also supports the players off the field. Every evening， Vázquez stops by the home of one of

the players. His name is Pleh Reh. His family， his sisters， his parents， are all in Phoenix now after fleeing Burma. Vázquez often helps one of Pleh Reh’s sisters， Poe， with her homework. Poe： …and I have to turn it in by tomorrow， so I have to finish by today.

Poe is 16 years old and Vázquez has become her mentor.

Poe： She teach[sic] everything and she teach[sic] how to behave， how to be good.

Vázquez has taken Poe to tour a nearby university， help her enroll in a 2）charter school. And Vázquez is working with Poe with her English. It’s important， since Poe often translates for her father， who only speaks Karenni.

On a recent evening， Poe asks her dad， Tau Reh， what he thought about the legal differences between him as a refugee and Coach Vázquez， who could be deported at any time. Tau Reh told his daughter that it’s people like Vázquez who’ve helped his family feel at home in America. He also said that he didn’t fault the immigrants like Vázquez for crossing the border illegally. They’ve all migrated to improve their lives.

“嗨，大家聽好，我們會贏這次比賽，對嗎？”

“對！”

“我們要努力踢好這場球！”

“是！”

米蓋爾·瓦茲奎茲對自己的英語口音頗覺尷尬，但當他以一個足球教練的身份說話時，他從不語塞。他的球員是年齡從11歲到13歲的難民兒童，來自緬甸、剛果、伊拉克、泰國、阿富汗等國。他們效仿意大利的著名足球俱樂部，稱自己為米蘭隊。

米蓋爾：（通過翻譯）他們以前從未碰過足球，所以，他們來到這里，就像你現在看到的那樣，他們玩得很開心。

這些滿腔熱情的球員使瓦茲奎茲想起他剛到美國頭幾年的日子。在他7歲時，他的家人帶著他徒步跨過美國與墨西哥邊界。不過他說，這些小難民的經歷比他自己的更艱辛。

米格爾：（通過翻譯）他們比移民受的苦更多，因為他們來自貧困且充滿暴力的地方，很多時候他們還要躲避那些心血來潮時會殺他們的士兵。

瓦茲奎茲和妻子阿蘭德拉是這個球隊的義務教練，兩人都是來自墨西哥的非法移民。當和球隊在一起的時候，他們的目的是要幫助孩子們適應他們的新家。

拉費·卡里姆：我們幫人洗車，掙到錢可以去參加比賽，獲得175美元經費。

拉費·卡里姆12歲，四年前與家人一起從伊拉克來到這里，他現在是米蘭隊的守門員。

這個隊的部分經費由當地一個基督教團體贊助，而洗車所得可以用來支付比賽、隊服、鞋子等費用，這些都是孩子們的父母負擔不起的。

阿蘭德拉：幫助這些球員使我們感到寬慰，你知道，某種程度上這是一種解脫，因為它讓我們感到自己過著正常的生活。……