At a time of record deficits, a new soccer field for detainees at Camp 6 in Guantanamo Bay is just getting the finishing touches -- at a cost of $750,000 to taxpayers.
The project was the highlight of a tour Tuesday of the detention camp for reporters at the facility covering the arraignment in a military court of Majid Khan, a former Baltimore resident and the the only legal U.S. resident on trial at Guantanamo. ...
See the whole story from Fox here.
Kicking Back Comments: Political commentary (genuinely) aside for a moment ... This may one of the purest forms of soccer to be played ... for fun, for sport, for hope. Prison soccer is not to be trifled with, not because of the players, but because, I believe it means, and can provide, much more to inmates than to many who show up on a given Sunday because they feel they have to.
Another good story is Soccer Behind Bars from ABC describing a prison soccer league in South Africa and the very complex relationships the players and league have behind prison walls. The article also references some guy from Africa named Mandela (Nelson Mandela anyone?), and how a prison soccer league transformed the anti-apartheid movement.
One thing that has always struck me when I think about this is it is funny to be that these folks don't need referees at all. They figure it out all on their own. Why can't others that are far more "privileged" in what they have, figure that one out?
I think there is a lesson or two in there somewhere for some of us on the "outside."
No comments:
Post a Comment