Luma Mufleh: Don't feel sorry for refugees -- believe in them
Luma Mufleh: Non provate dispiacere per i rifugiati -- credete in loro
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
ed entrai in classe
a un evento TED."
you made us watch on grit?
ci ha fatto vedere sulla grinta?
this really awesome thing with robots?"
faceva cose strabilianti con i robot?"
are really important and smart."
davvero importante e intelligente."
You hate public speaking."
Odi parlare in pubblico."
that I speak about your journeys,
che racconti dei vostri viaggi,
school that I founded
per rifugiati che ho fondato
parola di incoraggiamento.
words of encouragement.
who have been forcibly displaced
che hanno dovuto abbandonare
o della persecuzione.
of war or persecution.
11 million, are from Syria.
proviene dalla Siria.
dalle loro case ogni giorno.
nei campi per rifugiati,
as humane under anyone's definition.
in alcun modo definirsi umane.
in the degradation of humans.
degradazione degli esseri umani.
of refugees since World War II.
dalla Seconda Guerra Mondiale.
is so important to me.
per me è così importante.
of my life working with refugees.
della mia vita lavorando con rifugiati.
during the first Assad regime.
durante il primo regime di Assad.
when she packed up a suitcase,
quando fece i bagagli,
and drove to neighboring Jordan,
fino alla confinante Giordania,
in serbo per lei e la sua famiglia.
for her and her family.
not believing it was that bad.
pensando che non fosse così grave.
after his brothers were tortured
dopo che i suoi fratelli furono torturati
by the government.
fu espropriata dal governo.
starting from scratch
ricominciando daccapo
wealthy Jordanian citizens.
giordani, liberi e benestanti.
for us to know our history
che conoscessimo la nostra storia
to visit my first refugee camp.
a visitare il mio primo campo profughi.
così importante per lei
it was so important to her
holding her hand,
tenendole la mano,
"Vai, gioca con i bambini,"
with the women in the camp.
ad alcune donne del campo.
and firmly said, "Go.
e mi disse con fermezza, "Vai.
non avrai giocato.
sia inferiore a te
to learn from others."
dagli altri."
my grandmother.
with the kids in the camp.
a calcio con i bambini del campo.
what a great time I had
usando l'altro significato della parola,
using the word's different meaning,
believe in them."
of origin for the United States
di origine per gli Stati Uniti
and was granted political asylum,
e ottenni l'asilo politico,
a un gruppo sociale.
in some countries for being gay.
condannati a morte per essere gay.
alla cittadinanza giordana.
I've ever had to make,
che abbia mai preso,
between home and survival,
tra casa e sopravvivenza,
becomes very loaded.
diventa tendenziosa.
poco tempo fa in un campo in Grecia
at a refugee camp in Greece
she realized she had to flee Aleppo.
in cui capì che doveva lasciare Aleppo.
e non c'era più niente.
and there was nothing.
no schools. Everything was gone.
Tutto era sparito.
appartamento per mesi,
and watching people die.
e guardando la gente morire.
obbligarmi ad andar via,
portato via la casa.
but when I looked outside,
ma quando guardai fuori,
i miei 3 figli sarebbero morti.
my three young children would die.
not because we wanted to.
non perché lo volessimo.
that you belong
un senso di appartenenza
because of fear or persecution,
ti rifiuta per paura o persecuzione,
is completely destroyed.
è stata rasa al suolo.
to put into words today.
to find a place to call home.
bisogno di un luogo da chiamare casa.
nella Carolina del Nord.
provarono dispiacere per me
for my new interview.
per un colloquio di lavoro.
more isolated and incapable.
at my lowest and gave me a job,
che mi ospitò e mi diede un lavoro,
in the mountains of North Carolina.
sulle montagne della Carolina del Nord.
infanzia privilegiata
of my privileged upbringing
College Sette Sorelle
to manage the restaurant.
di gestire il ristorante.
the value of hard work.
e il valore del duro lavoro.
I felt valued and embraced.
valorizzata e accolta.
Ramadan with me.
il Ramadan con me.
about coming out to her --
quando feci coming out con lei--
you know that I'm gay."
sai che sono gay."
that I will never forget.
la sua risposta.
Ma non diventare una sgualdrina."
Just don't be a slut."
still trying to find my home.
ancora in cerca di una casa.
prese una strana piega
three years later,
playing soccer outside.
che giocavano a calcio all'aperto.
into this apartment complex,
a questo condominio
outside playing soccer.
giocare a calcio.
with a raggedy soccer ball
con una palla raffazzonata
I grew up playing soccer
giocando a calcio
con i miei fratelli e cugini.
with my brothers and cousins.
about letting me join it,
scettici sul farmi giocare.
girls don't know how to play.
le ragazze non lo sanno fare.
ever played on a team.
giocato in una squadra.
but that they would love to.
and we formed our first team.
e formammo la nostra prima squadra.
a crash course in refugees, poverty
un corso intensivo in rifugiati, povertà
Roohullah, Noorullah and Zabiullah --
Roohullah, Noorullah and Zabiullah --
to find the field completely deserted.
e non trovai nessuno.
ran out from behind a dumpster,
corsero fuori da dietro un cassonetto
Che significa che è stato picchiato?"
What do you mean he got beat up?"
and beat him up, Coach.
and drove over to Rooh's apartment.
e andammo all'appartamento di Rooh.
di parlargli e vedere se sta bene."
to talk to him, see if he's OK."
He's refusing to come out."
Si rifiuta di uscire."
o se devo portarti all'ospedale."
or if we need to go to the hospital."
a split lip,
alla testa, un labbro rotto,
to call for their mom,
di cercare la loro mamma
to the hospital with him.
and she started screaming in Farsi.
e cominciò a gridare in Farsi.
funny about this.
è una donna musulmana."
was a Muslim and a woman."
to be either to her.
proclamazione di fede.
shorts-wearing, non-veiled woman,
senza velo e con i pantaloncini corti
a shell of the man he once was.
era solo l'ombra dell'uomo che era stato.
age eight and 10 at the time,
di 8 e 10 anni all'epoca,
to provide for their family.
per sostentare la famiglia.
that they had been approved
che avevano ottenuto il permesso
who get to do that.
0,1 percento che ce la fa.
has had some version of this.
ho lavorato ha una storia simile.
their fathers' fingers sliced off.
tagliare le dita dei padri.
sparare a sua nonna in testa
put in his grandmother's head,
take him to be a child soldier.
lo usassero come bambino soldato.
is hope, resilience, determination,
è speranza, resilienza, determinazione,
to rebuild their lives.
le loro vite.
after cleaning 18 hotel rooms in one day.
18 camere di hotel in un solo giorno.
of her once he graduated.
preso cura di lei finiti gli studi.
We are lucky to be here."
Siamo fortunati ad essere qui."
an escalating anti-refugee sentiment.
a un crescente sentimento anti-rifugiati.
because we do nothing to prevent it
non facciamo nulla per prevenirlo
ai rifugiati di venire nei nostri paesi.
from coming into our countries.
not forcing them to leave their own.
ad abbandonare le loro terre.
ancora sostenere?
forced out of their homes
essere forzate a fuggire
blame and reject them
li ciritichiamo e li rifiutiamo
absolutely nothing to do with,
assolutamente responsabili,
them into our countries.
nei nostri paesi.
and treat them like criminals.
e li trattiamo come dei criminali.
a couple of weeks ago.
nel mio ufficio una studentessa.
because we are refugees,
perché siamo rifugiati,
to reassure my students
a rassicurare i miei studenti
does not hate refugees.
non odia i rifugiati.
cercò di strappare lo hijab della madre
tried to rip off her mother's hijab
team called her a terrorist
avversaria la definì terrorista
where she came from.
era venuta.
sacrificio di suo padre
military as an interpreter
statunitense come traduttore
as an American citizen.
come cittadina americana.
meno dello 0,1 percento.
more than them.
is considered something to be dirty,
sia considerata qualcosa di sporco,
in ogni aspetto delle nostre vite --
in every aspect of our lives --
who have been forced out of their homes
sono state costrette a lasciare casa
dovrebbero vergognarsi.
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