I found this book while looking for books about soccer for my daughter. It tells the story of Lewiston, Maine in the 2010s, where the depressed town was handling an influx of Somalian refugees.
The refugees were dealing (and probably continue to deal with) the racism of that the previous generations of French-Canadians ancestors dealt with when they first moved to Lewiston.
Similar to how my parents ended up in Boston, it takes one to build a community. Fleeing from refugee camps in Kenya, Somalians settled throughout the U.S. but soon heard through friends and family of a place in Maine where there were people who like them who could support them.
Although cold (one Somalian thought snow was salt when he saw it on the ground), Somalians preferred staying in Maine where they had a community rather than being isolated in other part of the U.S.
For the boys who grew up (some born) in refugee camps, soccer was the one escape. Even in Lewiston, the boys play soccer non-stop. Soon, the Lewiston High School boys soccer team became a top team in the state of Maine.
The book chronicles the team's state championship run, with deep back stories about the the conflict in Somalia, how they settled in Lewiston and the revitalizing impact they have had on the town.
Being majority white, not all of Maine was not welcoming to Somalians. The community had to deal with overt racism, even the young boys experiencing taunting from opponents and crowds during soccer games.
We also meet legendary soccer coach Mike McGraw, who brought the team together, and players such as Abdi Shariff-Hassan (who would go onto to play Division I soccer), Moe Khalid, Maulid Abdow (master of the front handspring flip through in), and Austin Wing (whose parents were the ultimate Boosters supporting the team).
This is a heartwarming story how McGraw created a team that embraced and incorporated Somalian culture. Missing practice to help parents became an acceptable reason, practices were modified in attempts to take into account Ramadan fasting, and the team cheer of 'Pamoja Ndugu' (Swahili for Together Brotherhood) became the war cry.
Although sports can divide, it is magical in how it can bring people together. It is also magical how much the human spirit can endure. The Somalians are driven from their homes - physically, emotionally and culturally - by a brutal civil war to end up in a cardboard or carp home in the dessert where there is no running water or electricity.
They come to a freezing cold climate where nothing is familiar and where slurs are yelled at them and reported about them in the media. Yet, they carry on and thrive.
I'm embarrassed to admit that I could not find Somalia on a map, or could picture the Horn of Africa, before reading this book... I have studied the map though and plan to working on improving my geographic ignorance...
