Football – The Dark Side of Hope

If you haven’t been living in a cave for the past 3 years, you’ll know full well about the terror and trauma that Syria and its people have suffered. But you probably haven’t heard what it is for a child to live in the war-ravaged country. UNICEF posted this haunting video about Saja, a 12-year-old girl, who lives in Aleppo, Syria.

In the video, Saja talks about how she has lost friends and a leg to the war. She speaks about her difficulty in making the long walk to school everyday, how she has no one to explain her schoolwork to her when she doesn’t understand things too well and her love for football. She says:

“I love playing football. When I play football, I don’t feel like I’ve lost anything at all.”

All Saja wants is something the majority of us have the privilege of enjoying for most of our lives – a bit of peace so that she doesn’t have to worry about family and friends coming back whenever they step out of their homes, a relaxed game of football to forget her worries, and a job as a gymnastics coach when she’s older.

“My wish for Syria’s future is that it goes back to the way it was. No more war. I hope that we can go out and know that we will come back safely, not go out and never return home, to live like we used to.”

We hope so too, Saja.

 

The video is 1 minute and 52 seconds long, but it’s heart-wrenching, tragic and haunting. All we could remember was a 12-year-old child’s innocent smile caught in the cross-fire of political ambition, greed, misguided fanaticism, hatred borne of ignorance, a filthy weapons trade and everything else that is wrong with our world.

Wherever you are, whatever you do, spare a moment every day to think and wish well for blameless, innocent children all over the world who are caught at the wrong place at the wrong time. A prayer, a quiet good word – anything you can find in your heart to share.

Here’s the video:

 
Makes you wonder what the world could have been without our obsessions with race, creed, colour, religion, nationality…