Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, an American Town (2009)

I strongly recommend this book -- it really changed my perspective on the United States, immigration, and refugees. It's a remarkable story -- the author, a NY Times journalist, uses an all-refugee youth soccer team and its coach to examine the effects of refugee immigration on an American town. I learned a lot about how challenging it is to be a refugee, both practically and psychologically, plus I definitely was exposed to countries of the world -- like Congo, Bosnia, Liberia, and Burundi -- where there are terrible conflicts.

Although I read this on my own initiative, I may recommend it to my book club -- it would be a great book to discuss. ( )

I am not a fan of soccer, but I picked this book up based solely on my fondness for Warren St. John (author of Rammer JammerYellow Hammer). This story of Luma Mufleh, a native of Jordan, and the Fugees, her soccer teams comprised of boys whose families fled to the United States from across the war-tattered globe, transcends any sport that might have served as the catalyst for their coming together.

Clarkston, Georgia is one of several US cities in which refugees are relocated, and Outcasts United is as much about the difficulties faced by these communities as they are forced into assimilation of disparate cultures as it is about the Fugees, but the heart and soul of the book lies in the transformation not only of the boys from vastly different places but of Luma Mufleh as well.

This is a big, complicated world, but in Clarkston, Georgia, Mufleh and her Fugees have found a way to build relationship between and around every possible cultural difference: politics, religion, and race. The answer is so simple: changes don't come through policies, they come through people working together, playing together.

Since this was an advance reading copy, a promised epilogue is not included, and I will be waiting anxiously for the completed book to come to market to have answers to the heartbreaking turn of events at the end.

I share with you this link to a youtube video about this remarkable woman, and her inspirational Fugees.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lslOsUorAD4 ( )

This is the story of many newcomers—refugees from many different countries—Liberia, Sudan, Iraq and Afghanistn-- all relocated to one small Midwest city of Clarkeston, Georgia- where they suffer from discrimination, lack of education and jobs. Fortunately one woman-Luma also an immigrant who had chosen the freedom of USA over the more restrictive life in her home country, Jordan decides to champion their cause. She forms the Clarkston refugee children into a soccer team. The book tells their tale- the Fugees- over one extraordinary season. The story is a fascinating look at resiliency, survival and courage—and the importance of a team- a home- a purpose. ( )

I read this for my book club, and as part of this year’s Roanoke Valley Reads program. The program is designed to increase reading and foster a sense of community, and is supplemented with several discussion programs across the valley. This book was a particularly good pick, because like Clarkston, Roanoke is a refugee resettlement community. I had no idea until I read this book.

Overall, I thought this book was interesting and well-done. St. John shares with us a variety of refugee experiences, ranging from African civil and tribal wars to the war in Bosnia. Along the way, we learn a little about what started these conflicts, and how the refugees ended up that way. We also learn about a side of small-town politics that I’m sure the town of Clarkston wishes they didn’t have.

But it’s not all about taking the side of the refugees over the "natives" of Clarkston. It’s obvious that the refugee resettlement program has a lot of problems, and many of the problems in Clarkston could have been eliminated if the program was better managed. Other problems are cultural, and are harder to overcome.

There’s a lot of soccer talk in the book, but it’s easy to understand even for the uninitiated. Several of the people in the book club who didn’t know anything about soccer said they had no problem following what was going on.

The only thing I thought the book was missing was a more well-rounded depiction of Luma. We get a good idea of her background, but eventually she becomes rather one-dimensional. She’s just "Coach". I can’t pinpoint exactly what else I would have liked to know, just that there was something missing.

Several blog posts about this book and the Roanoke Valley Reads events can be found on the Roanoke Valley Reads web site. ( )

I was drawn to this book for two reasons: the plight of refugees in the U.S. and soccer. I found this book to be an eye opener as well as heartwarming. The author did a good job of putting the book together and presenting the individual stories. ( )