Sandra Yeaman's 365 Project: Day 352

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Day 352 - Final Game

Habtom Tekea, the coach

The boys knew I would be leaving soon, so they made one last request. They wanted new uniforms again. They really wanted uniforms that matched those of Manchester United, the favorite team of boys of all ages outside of England. But we had to settle for a more generic style. This time I went with the boys to buy the uniforms.

For the last game, I invited people from the embassy to come to watch the game and then to join me afterwards for refreshments at my house. Paula, the foreign service nurse practioner, agreed to make a cake for the boys in the shape of, and decorated as, a soccer ball. I wasn't sure just who would come. On the earlier occasion that I invited the Americans to join me for brunch, only Jewel and Paula came. But I tried again, hoping the purpose would be more appealing this time. I also invited Jane and Lisa.

Daniel Ghirmay

When the boys and I arrived at the Expo center for their game against Team Germany, several of the embassy staff
were there, including Melissa, the Community Liaison Office
Coordinator. Melissa had included an article about my adventures with the boys in the embassy newsletter. She had also asked me to speak to the American Women's Club. She hoped these efforts would encourage someone to step forward to continue supporting the boys or better yet supporting more teams.

While we watched the boys, one of the men who walked through the area that Sunday saw Jane and stopped. They worked together for the UN program. As they talked, an idea formed. They looked around the field and realized they could bring in equipment to level the field. They continued chatting away as the boys played.

Dawit Ababe, the translator

When we returned to my house, Jewel and Paula had everything arranged. The cake was there along with cupcakes that were easier for the boys to pick up and eat. There were sandwiches, chips, soft drinks, everything for a successful children's party. Daniel, the Human Relations Specialist, was also there, serving as translator, relieving Dawit of the responsibility. The ambassador and his wife as well as the deputy chief of mission and his wife also came by for a few minutes. I think the boys had been told to be on their best behavior by someone. I didn't emphasize the importance of the visitors, but someone must have. The boys were very subdued, although the sheer numbers of other visitors might have had something to do with their reactions, too.

Dawit Eyob

I took one last photo of each of the boys in their new uniforms and asked them all to write down their full names for me. I also asked them to include their mailing addresses, but Dawit told me I should just send anything I had for the boys to Nasser. It was clear that Nasser was a leader among the parents.

I have kept in touch with Nasser since I left Eritrea. He told me the boys decided they needed to change the name of the team from Team USA to Team Eritro-America, to acknowledge their Eritrean connection. I wasn't able to do much to continue supporting the boys, although I did send some English language books to Nasser for them - all children's books, many of them picture books that introduced words that start with the same letter as in A is for Apple, B is for Ball.

Ermias Habte

Through that correspondence, I know that Tekelu was unable to join Nasser and his family when they were settled in Syracuse, NY, as refugees because he had to spend his final year of school at the military training camp that precedes the period of national service all Eritreans must complete. Nasser asked me to write a letter on behalf of his claim to be Tekelu's adoptive father, but I don't know if that would have done the trick, especially since Tekelu's father's status was essentially that of a traitor. All of the boys have reached the age of national service by now, if they continued with their education and weren't forced to quit. Without Nasser in Eritrea, I have no way of knowing anything more about the boys. I imagine how tall they have all grown.

Henok Estifanos

Of the boys, Yohanna was the most talented on the soccer field. When he was in possession of the ball, I knew it would only go where he wanted it to go. I hoped he would find the opportunity to play with others as talented as he, perhaps on the national team.

I wonder now and then how much good the four months I spent with the boys did for them. There were at just the right age to be able to ask for help without appearing to be demanding or cynical. Had all the boys been Habtom's age, I may not have felt so comfortable holding that first conversation. I discovered in Yemen that what seems appropriate and even cute in pre-teen boys provokes a negative reaction in me from boys just a few years old. Maybe it is the innocence the younger boys conveyed. I was lucky the boys weren't older. But I wonder if they considered themselves lucky after I left.