Luma Mufleh: Don't feel sorry for refugees -- believe in them
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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to one of my classrooms
you made us watch on grit?
this really awesome thing with robots?"
are really important and smart."
You hate public speaking."
that I speak about your journeys,
school that I founded
words of encouragement.
who have been forcibly displaced
of war or persecution.
11 million, are from Syria.
as humane under anyone's definition.
in the degradation of humans.
of refugees since World War II.
is so important to me.
of my life working with refugees.
during the first Assad regime.
when she packed up a suitcase,
and drove to neighboring Jordan,
for her and her family.
not believing it was that bad.
after his brothers were tortured
by the government.
starting from scratch
wealthy Jordanian citizens.
for us to know our history
to visit my first refugee camp.
it was so important to her
holding her hand,
with the women in the camp.
and firmly said, "Go.
to learn from others."
my grandmother.
with the kids in the camp.
what a great time I had
using the word's different meaning,
believe in them."
of origin for the United States
and was granted political asylum,
in some countries for being gay.
I've ever had to make,
between home and survival,
becomes very loaded.
at a refugee camp in Greece
she realized she had to flee Aleppo.
and there was nothing.
no schools. Everything was gone.
and watching people die.
but when I looked outside,
my three young children would die.
not because we wanted to.
that you belong
because of fear or persecution,
is completely destroyed.
to put into words today.
to find a place to call home.
for my new interview.
more isolated and incapable.
at my lowest and gave me a job,
in the mountains of North Carolina.
of my privileged upbringing
to manage the restaurant.
the value of hard work.
I felt valued and embraced.
Ramadan with me.
about coming out to her --
you know that I'm gay."
that I will never forget.
Just don't be a slut."
still trying to find my home.
three years later,
playing soccer outside.
into this apartment complex,
outside playing soccer.
with a raggedy soccer ball
I grew up playing soccer
with my brothers and cousins.
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 crash course in refugees, poverty
Roohullah, Noorullah and Zabiullah --
to find the field completely deserted.
ran out from behind a dumpster,
What do you mean he got beat up?"
and beat him up, Coach.
and drove over to Rooh's apartment.
to talk to him, see if he's OK."
He's refusing to come out."
or if we need to go to the hospital."
a split lip,
to call for their mom,
to the hospital with him.
and she started screaming in Farsi.
funny about this.
was a Muslim and a woman."
to be either to her.
shorts-wearing, non-veiled woman,
a shell of the man he once was.
age eight and 10 at the time,
to provide for their family.
that they had been approved
who get to do that.
has had some version of this.
their fathers' fingers sliced off.
put in his grandmother's head,
take him to be a child soldier.
is hope, resilience, determination,
to rebuild their lives.
after cleaning 18 hotel rooms in one day.
of her once he graduated.
We are lucky to be here."
an escalating anti-refugee sentiment.
because we do nothing to prevent it
from coming into our countries.
not forcing them to leave their own.
forced out of their homes
blame and reject them
absolutely nothing to do with,
them into our countries.
and treat them like criminals.
a couple of weeks ago.
because we are refugees,
to reassure my students
does not hate refugees.
tried to rip off her mother's hijab
team called her a terrorist
where she came from.
military as an interpreter
as an American citizen.
more than them.
is considered something to be dirty,
in every aspect of our lives --
who have been forced out of their homes
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