Luma Mufleh: Don't feel sorry for refugees -- believe in them
Luma Mufleh: Nelitujte uprchlíky: věřte v ně
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
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
to one of my classrooms
jakou jsem čekala.
you made us watch on grit?
o pevné vůli, co jste nám pouštěla?
this really awesome thing with robots?"
tu super věc s roboty?"
are really important and smart."
jsou fakt důležití a chytří."
You hate public speaking."
Nesnášíte mluvení na veřejnosti."
that I speak about your journeys,
o nás, o vašich cestách,
school that I founded
kterou jsem založila,
words of encouragement.
pár povzbudivých slov.
tak ať je to dobré!"
who have been forcibly displaced
opustit své domovy
of war or persecution.
11 million, are from Syria.
v uprchlických táborech,
as humane under anyone's definition.
definice nemůže označit za lidské.
in the degradation of humans.
lidských bytostí.
of refugees since World War II.
od druhé světové války.
proč mi na té věci tolik záleží.
is so important to me.
of my life working with refugees.
jsem strávila prací s uprchlíky.
during the first Assad regime.
za vlády Háfize Asada.
when she packed up a suitcase,
když si sbalila kufr,
and drove to neighboring Jordan,
a odjela do sousedního Jordánu,
for her and her family.
čeká ji a její rodinu.
not believing it was that bad.
podle něj to nebylo tak zlé.
after his brothers were tortured
když jeho bratři byli mučeni
by the government.
starting from scratch
wealthy Jordanian citizens.
bohatí jordánští občané.
o 11 let později.
for us to know our history
abychom znali náš příběh
to visit my first refugee camp.
mého prvního uprchlického tábora.
it was so important to her
holding her hand,
držíc ji při tom za ruku,
with the women in the camp.
and firmly said, "Go.
jsou pod tvoji úroveň
to learn from others."
my grandmother.
with the kids in the camp.
what a great time I had
jaký to byl skvělý zážitek
"Nebožáci."
using the word's different meaning,
totéž slovo v jiném významu,
believe in them."
of origin for the United States
a vydala se do USA,
and was granted political asylum,
o politický azyl a dostala ho,
společenské skupiny.
in some countries for being gay.
trest smrti za homosexualitu.
I've ever had to make,
between home and survival,
mezi domovem a přežitím,
becomes very loaded.
je najednou značně sugestivní.
at a refugee camp in Greece
v uprchlickém táboře v Řecku,
she realized she had to flee Aleppo.
kdy musela utéct z Aleppa.
and there was nothing.
a venku nebylo nic.
no schools. Everything was gone.
Všechno bylo pryč.
and watching people die.
a viděla umírat lidi.
že bude líp,
but when I looked outside,
když jsem se dívala ven,
my three young children would die.
mé tři děti zemřou.
not because we wanted to.
ne protože jsme chtěli.
that you belong
because of fear or persecution,
strach nebo pronásledování,
is completely destroyed.
ve kterém jste vyrůstali.
to put into words today.
popsat slovy.
to find a place to call home.
najít místo, kde bych byla doma.
for my new interview.
more isolated and incapable.
osamělá a neschopná.
at my lowest and gave me a job,
a zaměstnala mě, když mi bylo nejhůř,
in the mountains of North Carolina.
na horách v Severní Karolíně.
of my privileged upbringing
že díky své dobré výchově
to manage the restaurant.
the value of hard work.
hodnotu tvrdé práce.
I felt valued and embraced.
uznání a přijetí.
Ramadan with me.
držet Ramadán.
about coming out to her --
přiznat jí svou orientaci;
you know that I'm gay."
vy víte, že jsem lesba."
that I will never forget.
Just don't be a slut."
Hlavně nebuď děvka."
still trying to find my home.
a stále jsem hledala domov.
three years later,
o tři roky později,
playing soccer outside.
uprchlických dětí, jak hrají fotbal.
into this apartment complex,
outside playing soccer.
with a raggedy soccer ball
I grew up playing soccer
vyrůstala u fotbalu
with my brothers and cousins.
s bratry a bratranci.
about letting me join it,
girls don't know how to play.
ever played on a team.
but that they would love to.
and we formed our first team.
a vytvořili jsme první tým.
a crash course in refugees, poverty
o uprchlících, o chudobě
Roohullah, Noorullah and Zabiullah --
Roohullah, Noorullah a Zabiullah -
to find the field completely deserted.
a hřiště bylo úplně prázdné.
ran out from behind a dumpster,
vylezly z poza popelnice
What do you mean he got beat up?"
Kdo ho zmlátil?"
and beat him up, Coach.
and drove over to Rooh's apartment.
to talk to him, see if he's OK."
jestli je v pořádku."
He's refusing to come out."
Nechce ven."
or if we need to go to the hospital."
nebo musíme do nemocnice."
a split lip,
to call for their mom,
to the hospital with him.
and she started screaming in Farsi.
a slyšela, jak začala křičet v perštině.
funny about this.
was a Muslim and a woman."
je žena a muslimka."
to be either to her.
jako ani jedno.
shorts-wearing, non-veiled woman,
nezahalená žena v šortkách,
a shell of the man he once was.
skořápka muže, kterým kdysi byl.
age eight and 10 at the time,
kterým tehdy bylo 8 a 10,
to provide for their family.
aby obstarali rodinu.
that they had been approved
who get to do that.
desetinu procenta šťastlivců.
has had some version of this.
podobnou verzi příběhu.
their fathers' fingers sliced off.
otcům uřízli prsty.
put in his grandmother's head,
jak babičce prostřelili hlavu,
take him to be a child soldier.
aby ho vzali za mladého vojáka.
is hope, resilience, determination,
je naděje, odolnost, odhodlání,
to rebuild their lives.
začít nový život.
after cleaning 18 hotel rooms in one day.
hotelových pokojů za jediný den.
of her once he graduated.
po studiích postará.
We are lucky to be here."
Máme štěstí, že jsme tady."
an escalating anti-refugee sentiment.
stoupající vlny nevole proti uprchlíkům.
because we do nothing to prevent it
protože neděláme nic, abychom
from coming into our countries.
v příchodu do našich zemí.
not forcing them to leave their own.
opouštět ty své.
forced out of their homes
opustit své domovy,
blame and reject them
viníme a odmítáme
absolutely nothing to do with,
absolutně nemohou,
další traumata,
them into our countries.
and treat them like criminals.
a jednáme s nimi jako se zločinci.
a couple of weeks ago.
ke mně přišla studentka.
because we are refugees,
protože jsme uprchlíci,
to reassure my students
dokázala uklidnit,
does not hate refugees.
nechová nenávist.
tried to rip off her mother's hijab
chtěl servat její matce hidžáb,
team called her a terrorist
nazval teroristkou
where she came from.
odkud přišla.
military as an interpreter
as an American citizen.
více ceněná.
tak málo uprchlíků.
more than them.
is considered something to be dirty,
za cosi špinavého,
in every aspect of our lives --
who have been forced out of their homes
opustit domovy
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