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Some are gifted, some are natural, some have the financial backing to make it big. But there others who dream of great things but are caught in environments or countries which make achieving their dreams an impossibility. There are few people who are able to escape the atrocities and enter countries which might provide them a chance to turn their lives around. There have been quite few instances where these refugees have managed to turn adversity into their strenghts and achieve greatness.The recent events involving Syrian refugees seeking asylum in European countries has invoked an array of sentiments and approvals worldwide. These people are been given a chance to redeem their lives again and quite possibly Germany or France might be able to unearth a sporting jewel amongst them. There have been quite some instances of refugees who have achieved success in various sports. We look at 6 such famous refugees who managed to turn their lives around and become sporting heroes for their adopted countries.
#6 Mario Stanic - Football
Croatian international Mario Stanic joined Chelsea in 2000, after achieving considerable success for Parma where he scored 25 times in 109 appearances. He also had a stellar World Cup tournament in France which prompted Gianluca Vialli to bring the talented forward to Stamford Bridge.
Stanic’s rise to football glory was nothing short of dramatic. He fled his home county of Croatia in 1992, during the Bosnian War due to racial persecution. This forced him to seek refuge in another European country. He first entered Italy, where he represented Parma, and then entered the UK with his Chelsea transfer.
His stint at the Premier League started with a big bang, quite literally. He ended up scoring a brace on his debut against West Ham United. One of the goals was a thunderbolt as he picked up the ball around 40 yards from goal, and launched a thundering volley over the head of the stranded Shaka Hislop in the West Ham goal.
His career was however disrupted due to injury and he went on to have only 38 starts for Chelsea in the next 4 seasons. Even though he retired at the age of 32, he still achieved a lot in front of the goal, considering he had such a troubled start to life.
#5 Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine - Chess
Born to aristocratic parents in Russia, Alekhine was taught how to play chess by his mother at a very early age, and it soon transformed into his biggest passion. He was the fourth World Chess Champion and was widely regarded as one of the greatest chess players ever.
By the age of 10, Alekhine was plying his skills in the correspondence chess tournaments in Russia. He won the All-Russian Amateur tournament in 1909, aged only 15. He achieved moderate successes in the tournaments he participated outside of Russia but had slowly established himself as one of the best players in the country.
The First World War saw Russia ravaged completely, yet Alekhine continued representing his country in major tournaments. By the early 1920’s he was one of the best players in the world and had won most of the tournaments he participated in. With conditions not being favourable in communist Russia, he applied for citizenship in France to improve his prospects at competitive chess.
Alekhine became the World Chess Champion for the first time in 1927 against the then greatest Capablanca, post his French citizenship. It was quite someway to announce his arrival to an adopted country.
#4 Joel Casamayor - Boxing
Cuba’s Joel Casamayor is fondly called “Cepillo”, which literally translates to “brush” in English. This nickname is not a derivative from his bristly hair but the southpaw’s uppercuts that runs through an opponent’s face in a flash.
Despite being one of the most stellar amateur boxers Cuba had ever seen, Casamayor was pressured to join the communist Party and to declare his loyalty to the revolution and Fidel Castro. The government threatened to disrupt his house in Guantanamo when he resisted their overtures.
Casamayor while training for the 1996 Olympics, became aware of a rumor that he might not be allowed to perform at Atlanta, as the team officials thought he might defect. One of his teammates had slipped away and gone into hiding, Casamayor citing that he wanted to buy a loaf of bread walked away. He eventually managed to cross over into USA near Tijuana and was granted political asylum.
At the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Casamayor was part of a Cuban contingent that landed seven gold and two silver medals in 12 weight divisions. Cuba’s exploits were the most ruthless boxing performances ever seen in the Olympics. Casamayor the bantamweight champion was only rewarded with a bicycle as compared to the other gold medalists who were rewarded with cars.
"The hard part was leaving behind my girlfriend and five-year-old daughter in Guantanamo," says Casamayor, who has married another woman and has an infant son. He talks to his daughter by phone every week but says, "I'm resigned to the fact that I may never see her again."
Cepillo won the WBA crown in May 2000 and successfully managed to defend it four times after he turned pro once he settled in Miami.
#3 Fabrice Muamba - Football
One of the most capped English players in the U-21 level wouldn’t have been an English player at all if not for his escape from the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Muamba’s father was an adviser to the prime minister when the Democratic Republic of Congo was still known as Zaire, and this endangered his life when rebels tried to overthrow the government. His uncle, friends and neighbors were all killed by rebels. Muamba recalls, “I remember going to sleep at night amid the backdrop of gunfire. When it was safe, I and my friends would play football but more often than not we would be called back inside.”
His father somehow managed to escape to England where after spending several years in detention centers, they were granted asylum. Muamba and his mother joined him in 1999. "He just came in to see me one morning and told me he was going out," Muamba said. "I asked him where but he just said he had to go. I said, 'OK, see you when I see you.' I didn't realize he was going to the airport and leaving."
Muamba spoke no English when he entered the country, yet he managed to achieve success through football. A defensive midfielder he joined Arsenal in 2003 when he was 15, and was bought by Birmingham City in 2007 for £4 million. A year later, he joined Bolton for £5 million where he became a first-team regular.
The whole footballing community came together and yearned for the revival of a young, supremely fit footballer who collapsed suddenly on the turf of the White Hart Lane. That FA cup clash between Bolton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur brings back eerie images of players reacting, crying, and signaling frantically towards the bench surrounding Muamba who had mysteriously fallen to the grass, his eyes closed.
Muamba had a cardiac arrest on the pitch, but like always, he fought his way back. His life has always been plagued by adversity, but despite this he has found a way to fight and excel in whatever he does.
#2 Saido Berahino - Football
This summer’s last day transfer saga revolved around England’s promising young forwards. No, not Harry Kane. Saido Berahino is equally talented and has been a consistent Premier League performer over the past 2 seasons. Tottenham Hotspur was the one involved in the saga probably trying to terrorize defenses with an all talented English attack.
The young forward has been instrumental in West Bromich Albion performing considerably well in the Premier League. His story to headline-catching performances has not been so straight forward though. Berahino was forced to flee Burundi in 2003 as young boy due to a violent attack between ethnic Hutus and Tutsis that tore the country apart. The 12 year conflict killed approximately 300,000 people that included unfortunately Berahino’s father.
His mother fled and arrived in United Kingdom by herself. Berahino had to make the grueling 6,000 mile journey to the UK with the help of a family friend. He traveled through Tanzania and Kenya mostly on foot or whatever mode of transport that he could afford. He finally managed to catch a plane that promised a reunion with his mother.
Unable to speak a word in English after his arrival in the UK, Berahino had to wait for a DNA test to confirm his relationship with his mother.
“It was really tough,” he said, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. “I didn’t really understand what was going on because I was too young, but certain things, they’ve scarred me.” “I remember the first time I actually got to see her,” he said. “I was at a police station, we were allowed to see each other for like an hour, just before they did the DNA, and that was the hardest thing ever. Seeing her after a long time and not being able to be with her was really hard for me.” Saido was just 10 years old at the time.
WBA have developed Berahino both as a player and a person and maybe the club deserves some amount of loyalty from him this season.
#1 Luol Deng - Basketball
Luol Deng, one of basketball’s biggest talents has achieved tremendous things since his inception into the NBA in 2004. Before his move to Miami Heat, the small forward was pivotal part of the Chicago Bulls unit in 2014. Although it was Derrick Rose who was the face of the Bulls, it was Deng’s workman-like abilities and his uncanny ability of guarding opposition's best wing and being an outlet offensively that was a stimulant to Rose’s exploits.
Being a two-time NBA All-Star in a decade of his game has brought unparalleled success, wealth, status and security. However, an exposure to such riches is a downfall for most of promising stars but not in the case of Sudan-born Deng.
Deng had a challenging and traumatic childhood which is the biggest reason for his simplicity. Born in 1985, Deng and his eight siblings fled without their parents to escape the civil war that was being waged between their native Sudan’s Muslim north and Christian south in the early 1990’s. According to several media reports in the United Kingdom, Deng’s father, a Sudanese government official, was a prisoner in 1989 during a violent rebellion by extremist Muslims who were trying to impose Sharia law.
The parents escaped to UK seeking asylum after Deng’s father was released from prison, and were reunited with their children a few years later. Early life struggles and racism he faced as a youngster allowed Deng to overcome hardships and become a successful sportsperson and humanitarian.
"It's the life I've been through," said Deng, 29 and the second-youngest among five sisters and four brothers. "A lot of people experience racism at different times on different terms. It's helped me from a young age to have a tough skin. I've been through a lot where I just look at it and say, ‘It's another chapter. We've come out of much worse than this.’”
