I belatedly read an advance copy of Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, an American Town by Warren St. John, which was published in April. The book is the true story of the Fugees, a youth soccer team in Clarkston, Georgia, comprised of refugee boys from Africa, the Middle East, and the Balkans, and coached by Luma Mufleh, a young Jordanian woman who settled in the U.S., against her family's wishes, after college.The boys, many of whom had family members killed or imprisoned in their war-torn countries, play soccer for the sheer love of the game. They have no money, no equipment, no transportation, and no fans on the sidelines, because the adult members of their families are at work. Luma imposes a system of tough love and discipline to foster responsibility and form a cohesive team, to help the boys adjust to the country and succeed in school, and to counteract the allure of American gang culture.
Luma also fights a constant battle with the town officials to find a safe place for the boys to practice. I always wondered how large groups of refugees end up in such unlikely places, like Clarkston, and how those places adjust. The author explains it all.
Derived from a series of newspaper articles written by St. John, the book reads like a series of newspaper articles. That was disappointing. I kept wishing this compelling story had been written by someone more skillful at crafting a book.
Read it anyway. Outcasts United is not about soccer; it's about passion, determination, and hope.
