Luma Mufleh: Don't feel sorry for refugees -- believe in them
Luma Mufleh: Não sintam pena dos refugiados. Acreditem neles.
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
you made us watch on grit?
que nos fez assistir sobre a coragem?
this really awesome thing with robots?"
fazia coisas muito giras com robôs?"
are really important and smart."
são muito importantes e espertas".
You hate public speaking."
Você detesta falar em público."
that I speak about your journeys,
sobre o vosso percurso,
school that I founded
de refugiados que eu fundei
words of encouragement.
palavras de incentivo.
who have been forcibly displaced
que foram expulsas das suas casas
of war or persecution.
11 million, are from Syria.
33 952 pessoas por dia.
em campos de refugiados
as humane under anyone's definition.
como humanas, por nenhuma definição.
in the degradation of humans.
na degradação de seres humanos.
of refugees since World War II.
desde a II Guerra Mundial.
is so important to me.
que isso é tão importante para mim.
of my life working with refugees.
vida a trabalhar com refugiados.
during the first Assad regime.
durante o primeiro regime de Assad.
when she packed up a suitcase,
quando arrumou as malas,
e partiu para a vizinha Jordânia,
and drove to neighboring Jordan,
for her and her family.
lhe reservava, a ela e à sua família.
not believing it was that bad.
acreditar que as coisas estavam tão más.
after his brothers were tortured
quando torturaram os irmãos dele
by the government.
starting from scratch
wealthy Jordanian citizens.
independentes e abastados.
for us to know our history
contar-nos a nossa história
to visit my first refugee camp.
a visitar um campo de refugiados.
it was so important to her
que nós lá fôssemos.
holding her hand,
segurando na mão dela e ela dizer:
with the women in the camp.
as mulheres no acampamento.
and firmly said, "Go.
e disse com firmeza:
menos importante que tu
to learn from others."
algo com os outros".
my grandmother.
with the kids in the camp.
a jogar futebol com as crianças.
what a great time I had
como tinha sido divertido
"Pobrezinhos".
using the word's different meaning,
dando outro significado à palavra,
believe in them."
acredita neles."
of origin for the United States
e me mudei para os EUA
das suas palavras.
and was granted political asylum,
solicitei e recebi asilo político,
in some countries for being gay.
ser condenados à morte por sermos "gays".
I've ever had to make,
mais difíceis da minha vida,
between home and survival,
entre a nossa terra e a sobrevivência,
becomes very loaded.
torna-se complicada.
at a refugee camp in Greece
num campo de refugiados na Grécia
she realized she had to flee Aleppo.
percebeu que precisava de sair de Aleppo.
and there was nothing.
no schools. Everything was gone.
nem escolas. Estava tudo destruído.
durante meses,
and watching people die.
e a ver gente morrer.
but when I looked outside,
quando olhei lá para fora,
os meus três filhos iriam morrer.
my three young children would die.
not because we wanted to.
não porque escolhemos.
pertencemos a qualquer coisa
that you belong
because of fear or persecution,
nos rejeita, por medo ou perseguição,
is completely destroyed.
está totalmente destruída.
to put into words today.
de explicar em palavras.
to find a place to call home.
de um lugar a que chamasse a minha terra.
que tiveram pena de mim
for my new interview.
para a minha nova entrevista.
more isolated and incapable.
mais isolada e incapaz.
at my lowest and gave me a job,
que me ofereceu um emprego,
in the mountains of North Carolina.
nas montanhas da Carolina do Norte.
a minha educação privilegiada
of my privileged upbringing
to manage the restaurant.
gerente do restaurante.
e cozinhar os grelhados.
the value of hard work.
o valor do trabalho difícil.
I felt valued and embraced.
senti-me valorizada e acolhida.
Ramadan with me.
about coming out to her --
quando me abri com ela,
ao lado dela e disse:
you know that I'm gay."
that I will never forget.
da resposta dela:
Just don't be a slut."
Só não seja prostituta."
still trying to find my home.
sempre a tentar encontrar a minha terra.
três anos mais tarde,
three years later,
playing soccer outside.
refugiadas a jogar futebol na rua.
into this apartment complex,
e entrara naquele condomínio,
outside playing soccer.
a jogar futebol na rua.
with a raggedy soccer ball
com uma velha bola esfarrapada.
lembrar a minha terra.
I grew up playing soccer
eu cresci a jogar futebol
with my brothers and cousins.
com os meus irmãos e primos.
about letting me join it,
em deixar-me jogar,
girls don't know how to play.
as raparigas não sabem jogar.
ever played on a team.
jogado numa equipa.
but that they would love to.
mas que adorariam jogar.
and we formed our first team.
e formámos a nossa primeira equipa.
a crash course in refugees, poverty
foi um curso intensivo
Roohullah, Noorullah and Zabiullah --
— Roohullah, Noorullah e Zabiullah —
to find the field completely deserted.
e o campo estava completamente vazio.
ran out from behind a dumpster,
saíram de detrás de uma lixeira,
uma tareia, foi espezinhado.
What do you mean he got beat up?"
Foi espancado?"
e deram-lhe uma tareia
and beat him up, Coach.
Estavam todos com medo".
and drove over to Rooh's apartment.
e fomos ao apartamento do Rooh.
to talk to him, see if he's OK."
de falar com ele, saber se está ok".
He's refusing to come out."
Ele não quer sair."
Preciso de falar contigo.
ou se precisamos de ir ao hospital."
or if we need to go to the hospital."
a split lip,
e outro nos lábios,
to call for their mom,
que chamassem a mãe dele,
to the hospital with him.
de levá-lo ao hospital.
and she started screaming in Farsi.
e ela começou a gritar em farsi.
funny about this.
de engraçado naquilo.
was a Muslim and a woman."
era uma mulher muçulmana."
to be either to her.
nem uma coisa nem outra.
disse eu, e virei-me para ela.
shorts-wearing, non-veiled woman,
usando calções e sem véu,
tinham sido assassinadas.
a shell of the man he once was.
uma sombra do homem que fora um dia.
age eight and 10 at the time,
com 8 e 10 anos naquela época,
to provide for their family.
para sustentar a família.
that they had been approved
receberam a notícia da aprovação
who get to do that.
das pessoas com sorte.
has had some version of this.
trabalhei têm uma história semelhante.
their fathers' fingers sliced off.
e os pais ficarem com os dedos cortados.
put in his grandmother's head,
levar um tiro na cabeça,
take him to be a child soldier.
o levassem para ser um soldado-criança.
is hope, resilience, determination,
é esperança, persistência, determinação,
to rebuild their lives.
reconstruir as suas vidas.
dos rapazes uma noite,
after cleaning 18 hotel rooms in one day.
limpado 18 quartos de hotel num dia.
uma massagem aos pés,
of her once he graduated.
quando se formasse.
We are lucky to be here."
Temos sorte de estar aqui."
an escalating anti-refugee sentiment.
ao aumento do sentimento antirrefugiados.
because we do nothing to prevent it
porque não fazemos nada para o evitar
from coming into our countries.
de virem para os nossos países.
not forcing them to leave their own.
não os forçar a deixar o seu país.
podemos aguentar?
forced out of their homes
expulsas das suas casas
blame and reject them
culpamos e rejeitamos
absolutely nothing to do with,
quais elas não são responsáveis,
them into our countries.
as boas-vindas nos nossos países.
and treat them like criminals.
e tratamo-las como criminosas.
a couple of weeks ago.
escritório há duas semanas.
because we are refugees,
porque somos refugiados,
to reassure my students
garantir aos meus alunos
does not hate refugees.
não odeia refugiados.
tentou arrancar o "hijab" da mãe dela,
tried to rip off her mother's hijab
team called her a terrorist
da equipa adversária
where she came from.
para a terra de onde viera.
da vida do pai dela
military as an interpreter
nas forças armadas dos EUA,
as an American citizen.
como cidadã americana.
refugiados a nível do mundo.
more than them.
is considered something to be dirty,
é considerada uma coisa suja,
in every aspect of our lives --
os aspetos da nossa vida,
who have been forced out of their homes
que foram expulsas de casa
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