Cricket is being used as a way to help Syrian and Palestinian teenagers overcome their traumatic past experiences in a refugee camp in Lebanon. With the sport not being widely played in their home countries, it provides a way for the young people to find joy and opportunity.
Two of the teenagers, Wissal al-Jaber (16) and Ola al-Khalaf (17), are from Deir ez-Zor in Syria, which was taken over by ISIS when they were children. The violence they witnessed still haunts them, with Wissal describing “seeing the worst things you’ll ever see in your entire life… Body parts right there on the street, lots of heads”. Both girls are now refugees living in the Shatila camp, home to around 40,000 refugees.
The camp has become a haven for the teenagers, who play cricket on scraps of waste ground. The sport helps teach teamwork and co-operation, with matches between teams in the Shatila, Bourj el-Barajneh and Beqaa Valley cricket hubs being keenly contested. There are even talks of international games, but the impact on the young women themselves has been profound.
Founder of Alsama, the NGO that works with the teenagers, said that cricket is something new, different and “crucially… something at which girls can excel alongside boys”. The schools that Alsama run aim to provide schooling and empowerment to refugee kids who are often left untouched by other charities. The schools are open 44 weeks of the year with the aim of speeding up the often slow education system in Lebanon.
Cricket is a non-contact sport, which means that both male and female teenagers can play together, something that is unusual in the region. The popularity of the sport among the young women has been remarkable, with the sport helping Wissal and Ola speak up and become more confident. The girls have dreams of playing for their country one day
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