Luma Mufleh: Don't feel sorry for refugees -- believe in them
Luma Mufleh: No sientas lástima por los refugiados, cree en ellos
Luma Mufleh does something revolutionary: she coaches soccer. A Jordanian immigrant and Muslim of Syrian descent, Mufleh is determined to empower refugee children everywhere. Full bio
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en una conferencia de TED.
to one of my classrooms
you made us watch on grit?
mirar sobre el coraje?
this really awesome thing with robots?"
esa cosa genial con robots?"
are really important and smart."
son importantes e inteligentes".
You hate public speaking."
Us. odia hablar en público".
that I speak about your journeys,
que hable de sus viajes,
school that I founded
para refugiados que fundé
palabras de aliento.
words of encouragement.
who have been forcibly displaced
han sido desplazadas de sus hogares
of war or persecution.
o persecución.
11 million, are from Syria.
huyen de sus hogares a diario.
en campos de refugiados,
as humane under anyone's definition.
de ser humanas.
in the degradation of humans.
en la degradación de humanos.
desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
of refugees since World War II.
is so important to me.
es tan importante para mí.
of my life working with refugees.
trabajando con refugiados.
during the first Assad regime.
durante el primer régimen de Asad.
when she packed up a suitcase,
cuando preparó una maleta,
and drove to neighboring Jordan,
y condujo el auto hasta Jordán,
for her and her family.
a ella y a su familia.
not believing it was that bad.
porque creyó que no era para tanto.
after his brothers were tortured
sus hermanos fueran torturados
by the government.
starting from scratch
wealthy Jordanian citizens.
independientes y adinerados.
for us to know our history
que supiéramos nuestra historia
to visit my first refugee camp.
un campo de refugiados por primera vez.
it was so important to her
tan importante para ella
holding her hand,
agarrada de su mano,
"Ve a jugar con los niños"
with the women in the camp.
a las mujeres en el campo.
and firmly said, "Go.
y me dijo con firmeza:
por encima de otros
to learn from others."
que aprender de ellos".
my grandmother.
with the kids in the camp.
con los niños del campo.
what a great time I had
que me había divertido
using the word's different meaning,
con otro significado de la palabra,
believe in them."
cree en ellos".
of origin for the United States
mi país de origen y fui a EE. UU.
and was granted political asylum,
solicité y se me concedió asilo político,
in some countries for being gay.
en algunos países por ser gay.
a mi ciudadanía jordana.
I've ever had to make,
between home and survival,
entre tu hogar y sobrevivir,
becomes very loaded.
cobra una carga.
at a refugee camp in Greece
en un campo en Grecia
she realized she had to flee Aleppo.
en que decidió huir de Alepo.
and there was nothing.
no schools. Everything was gone.
No quedaba nada.
and watching people die.
y viendo gente morir.
but when I looked outside,
pero cuando miré hacia afuera,
my three young children would die.
mis tres niños pequeños morirían.
not because we wanted to.
no porque quisiéramos.
that you belong
because of fear or persecution,
por miedo o persecución,
is completely destroyed.
está completamente destruida.
to put into words today.
to find a place to call home.
necesité encontrar un hogar.
en Carolina del Norte.
for my new interview.
o un traje para mi nueva entrevista.
more isolated and incapable.
más aislada e incapaz.
at my lowest and gave me a job,
en mi peor estado y me dio empleo,
in the mountains of North Carolina.
en las montañas de Carolina del Norte.
of my privileged upbringing
to manage the restaurant.
administrara el restaurante.
me mostraron el valor del trabajo duro.
the value of hard work.
I felt valued and embraced.
valorada y aceptada.
Ramadan with me.
durante el Ramadán.
about coming out to her --
contarle que era lesbiana.
you know that I'm gay."
que soy lesbiana, ¿no?"
that I will never forget.
Just don't be a slut."
Tan solo no seas una zorra".
still trying to find my home.
aún intentando encontrar un hogar.
mi viaje tomó un giro inesperado
three years later,
playing soccer outside.
de niños refugiados jugando al fútbol.
into this apartment complex,
a un complejo de departamentos,
outside playing soccer.
jugando al fútbol.
with a raggedy soccer ball
con una pelota de trapo
I grew up playing soccer
que crecí jugando al fútbol
with my brothers and cousins.
con mis hermanos y primos.
about letting me join it,
girls don't know how to play.
las chicas no saben jugar.
ever played on a team.
habían jugado en un equipo.
but that they would love to.
and we formed our first team.
y formamos nuestro primer equipo.
a crash course in refugees, poverty
sobre los refugiados, la pobreza
Roohullah, Noorullah and Zabiullah --
Roohullah, Noorullah y Zabiullah,
to find the field completely deserted.
y encontré la cancha totalmente vacía.
ran out from behind a dumpster,
de detrás de un contenedor
What do you mean he got beat up?"
and beat him up, Coach.
and drove over to Rooh's apartment.
y fuimos al departamento de Rooh.
to talk to him, see if he's OK."
Necesito hablar y ver si está bien".
He's refusing to come out."
or if we need to go to the hospital."
o si tenemos que ir al hospital".
a split lip,
y el labio partido,
to call for their mom,
que llamaran a su madre,
to the hospital with him.
and she started screaming in Farsi.
y comenzó a gritar en persa.
funny about this.
was a Muslim and a woman."
era una mujer musulmana".
to be either to her.
ninguna de las dos cosas.
shorts-wearing, non-veiled woman,
sin velo, con pantalones cortos,
a shell of the man he once was.
ya no era el mismo.
age eight and 10 at the time,
to provide for their family.
para mantener a su familia.
that they had been approved
cuando le concedieron
who get to do that.
que lo logra.
has had some version of this.
tenían una versión similar.
their fathers' fingers sliced off.
cómo cortaban los dedos a sus padres.
put in his grandmother's head,
a su abuela en la cabeza
take him to be a child soldier.
se lo lleven para ser soldado.
is hope, resilience, determination,
es esperanza, resistencia, determinación,
to rebuild their lives.
reconstruir sus vidas.
after cleaning 18 hotel rooms in one day.
18 habitaciones de hotel en un día.
of her once he graduated.
después de graduarse.
We are lucky to be here."
Tenemos suerte de estar aquí".
an escalating anti-refugee sentiment.
el sentimiento antirefugiados.
because we do nothing to prevent it
porque no hacemos nada para impedirlo
from coming into our countries.
refugiados a nuestros países.
not forcing them to leave their own.
a dejar los suyos.
forced out of their homes
deben ser expulsadas de sus hogares
blame and reject them
culpamos y rechazamos
absolutely nothing to do with,
nada que ver con ellos,
them into our countries.
en nuestros países.
and treat them like criminals.
y los tratamos como criminales.
a couple of weeks ago.
because we are refugees,
porque somos refugiados,
to reassure my students
does not hate refugees.
no odia a los refugiados.
tried to rip off her mother's hijab
intentó sacarle el hiyab a su madre
team called her a terrorist
la llamó terrorista
where she came from.
military as an interpreter
para los militares de EE. UU.,
as an American citizen.
como ciudadana estadounidense.
more than them.
que a ellos.
is considered something to be dirty,
haga referencia a algo sucio,
in every aspect of our lives --
los aspectos de nuestras vidas,
who have been forced out of their homes
han tenido que abandonar sus hogares
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Luma Mufleh - Refugee activistLuma Mufleh does something revolutionary: she coaches soccer. A Jordanian immigrant and Muslim of Syrian descent, Mufleh is determined to empower refugee children everywhere.
Why you should listen
Luma Mufleh is the CEO and Founding Director of Fugees Family, Inc., a nonprofit organization that uses the power of soccer, education and community to empower refugee children to successfully integrate into the United States. Now, she's part principal, part tutor, the head of the first accredited private school dedicated to refugee education in the country, which encompases a summer camp and a college prep program -- and she’s building a community and support network that could be the national model the United States needs.
The Fugees' story began in 2004, when Luma took a wrong turn while driving through the town of Clarkston, Georgia and noticed a group of boys playing soccer in the street. She learned that these children were refugees from war-town countries including Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Burma, Somalia and Sudan. That summer, Luma made fliers announcing tryouts for the Fugees soccer team. In the years that followed, the soccer team grew into something much larger -- a school, a tutoring program, a summer camp, a college prep program, and, most importantly, a community and support network.
A lifelong social entrepreneur, Luma has created several programs and initiatives that have gainfully employed, educated and empowered refugees and immigrants in her community and beyond, with the Fugees Academy serving as a national model for refugee education. While only 20 percent of refugee students graduate from high school in Georgia's DeKalb County, the Fugees Academy has a 90 percent graduation rate. These types of results helped earn Luma the 2016 Cournelle Award for Social Entrepreneurship from the Manhattan Institute.
A Jordanian immigrant and Muslim of Syrian descent, Luma received her U.S. citizenship in 2011. Her story -- and the story of the Fugees -- illustrates both the American dream and the very real challenges of integration and discrimination that so many face today. Luma received her B.A. in Anthropology from Smith College and recently completed the Executive Program in Social Entrepreneurship at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Luma Mufleh | Speaker | TED.com