在足球场上找知音

“Hey， listen up. Were going to win this game！Right？”

“Yes！”

“Were going to play hard！”

“Yes！”

Miguel Vázquez is shy about his English accent， but when it comes to being a soccer coach he is never at a loss for words. His players are refugee children， ages 11 to 13， from Burma， Congo， Iraq， Thailand and Afghanistan. They call themselves Team Milan， after Italys famous club.

Miguel：（via translator） Theyve never touched a soccer ball before， so when they come here， as you can see right now， theyre having a lot of fun.

The enthusiastic players remind Vázquez of his first years in America. His family brought him across the US-Mexican border by foot when he was seven. But he also says that these young refugees stories can be harsher than his own.

Miguel：（via translator） They suffer more than immigrants， because they come from poverty and violence and many times they have to hide themselves from soldiers that can kill them if they feel like it.

Vázquez and his wife， Alondra， are the teams volunteer coaches， and both are undocumented immigrants from Mexico. When these groups get together， the focus is on helping these kids fit into their new home.

Rafea Kareem： Were doing car washes so we could go to the tournament and get funds for $175.

Rafea Kareem is 12-year-old and arrived from Iraq with his family four years ago. He is a goalkeeper for Team Milan.

A local Christian group helps with some of the teams expenses， but the car wash helps pay for other costs like tournament fees， uniforms and shoes， things the kids parents cant afford.

Alondra： Helping with the soccer， its like a relief for us， you know， its like freedom in a way because it makes us feel like were living normal.

Vázquez says she feels valued working with the team. And when she thinks about the challenges these young refugees have faced， it makes her own troubles， about paying rent by cleaning houses， seem small.

Alondra： There is one kid here. He shares one pair of shoes with all his brothers. And my husbands like，“Weve gotta buy the kid shoes.” And here we are struggling to make our bills and my husband wants to go buy shoes for a kid.

Sometimes Vázquez is the only one cheering on the players during their matches， because their parents are working. She also supports the players off the field. Every evening， Vázquez stops by the home of one of the players. His name is Pleh Reh. His family， his sisters， his parents， are all in Phoenix now after fleeing Burma. Vázquez often helps one of Pleh Rehs sisters， Poe， with her homework.

Poe： …and I have to turn it in by tomorrow， so I have to finish by today.

Poe is 16 years old and Vázquez has become her mentor.

Poe：She teach[sic] everything and she teach[sic] how to behave， how to be good.

Vázquez has taken Poe to tour a nearby university， help her enroll in a charter school. And Vázquez is working with Poe with her English. Its important， since Poe often translates for her father， who only speaks Karenni.

On a recent evening， Poe asks her dad， Tau Reh， what he thought about the legal differences between him as a refugee and Coach Vázquez， who could be deported at any time. Tau Reh told his daughter that its people like Vázquez whove helped his family feel at home in America. He also said that he didnt fault the immigrants like Vázquez for crossing the border illegally. Theyve all migrated to improve their lives.

“嗨，大家聽好，我们会赢这次比赛，对吗？”

“对！”

“我们要努力踢好这场球！”

“是！”

米盖尔·瓦兹奎兹对自己的英语口音颇觉尴尬，但当他以一个足球教练的身份说话时，他从不语塞。他的球员是年龄从11岁到13岁的难民儿童，来自缅甸、刚果、伊拉克、泰国、阿富汗等国。他们效仿意大利的著名足球俱乐部，称自己为米兰队。

米盖尔：（通过翻译）他们以前从未碰过足球，所以，他们来到这里，就像你现在看到的那样，他们玩得很开心。

这些满腔热情的球员使瓦兹奎兹想起他刚到美国头几年的日子。在他7岁时，他的家人带着他徒步跨过美国与墨西哥边界。不过他说，这些小难民的经历比他自己的更艰辛。

米格尔：（通过翻译）他们比移民受的苦更多，因为他们来自贫困且充满暴力的地方，很多时候他们还要躲避那些心血来潮时会杀他们的士兵。

瓦兹奎兹和妻子阿兰德拉是这个球队的义务教练，两人都是来自墨西哥的非法移民。当和球队在一起的时候，他们的目的是要帮助孩子们适应他们的新家。

拉费·卡里姆：我们帮人洗车，挣到钱可以去参加比赛，获得175美元经费。

拉费·卡里姆12岁，四年前与家人一起从伊拉克来到这里，他现在是米兰队的守门员。

这个队的部分经费由当地一个基督教团体赞助，而洗车所得可以用来支付比赛、队服、鞋子等费用，这些都是孩子们的父母负担不起的。

阿兰德拉：帮助这些球员使我们感到宽慰，你知道，某种程度上这是一种解脱，因为它让我们感到自己过着正常的生活。

瓦兹奎兹太太说为球队工作让自己的价值得到体现，当她想到这些小难民面临的各种艰难挑战，对比起来，自己去帮人清洁房子挣钱交租的烦恼只是小事。

阿兰德拉：这里有一个小孩与他的兄弟们共用一双鞋子，我丈夫就说，“我们必须给他买一双鞋。”现实是我们正想尽办法支付各种账单，可我丈夫还想去给那孩子买双鞋。

在他们比赛时，有时候只有瓦兹奎兹太太在为球员欢呼加油，因为他们的父母都要工作。在球场外，她也会向球员提供帮助。每个傍晚，瓦兹奎兹太太会到球员皮里·雷的家，他的家人，包括他的姐妹及父母，在逃离缅甸后，现在都住在亚利桑那州的凤凰城。瓦兹奎兹太太经常来帮助皮里·雷的姐姐做功课，她名叫波。

波：……这作业明天必须交，所以我今天一定要完成。

波今年16岁，瓦兹奎兹太太成了她的导师。

波：她教给我一切，教我行为举止，如何做个好人。

瓦兹奎兹太太带波参观了附近的一所大学，帮她报名入读一所特许学校。瓦兹奎兹太太还帮波学习英语。这一点很重要，因为波常常要为她那只会说克伦尼语的父亲做翻译。

不久前的一个晚上，波问了父亲拓·雷一个问题。她父亲的身份是难民，而瓦兹奎兹教练则随时会被驱逐出境，他怎样看这两者之间在法律上的不同？拓·雷告诉女儿，是瓦兹奎兹这样的人帮助他们一家人在美国找到了家的感觉，他还说，他不觉得像瓦兹奎兹这样的非法入境移民有什么错，他们都是为了改善生活而迁移的。