In Malaysia, Rohingya find freedom on the pitch
KUALA LUMPUR: They may lack the glitz and glamour of the World Cup, but football clubs for stateless Rohingya in Malaysia offer something more — a 90minute reprieve from a grinding existence on the fringes of society.
Malaysia is home to more than 70,000 Rohingya, who often endured horrific journeys at sea to escape persecution in Myanmar.
While many struggle to eke out a living and are scarred by the traumas of their past, football offers a welcome respite from cold, hard reality.
On a scruffy patch of ground on the outskirts of here, those painful memories seem a world away as players pass the ball and take shots before a small crowd.
“Football takes away my stress for 90 minutes,” Mohamad Ishak, a 17-year-old team member, said.
“It helps you forget some of your problems.”
Nine teams took part in a recent tournament to mark Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
There was a particular buzz as the tournament coincided with the World Cup. Play was punctuated by excited chatter about the latest matches in Russia.
Some expressed hope that a Rohingya team might one day compete in the world’s most prestigious football tournament, an unlikely dream for an ethnic group that doesn’t even have a country to call home.
Despite not officially being allowed to work in Malaysia, they are a cheap source of labour in menial jobs, from cleaning to labouring on building sites.
While life is better than in Myanmar, getting by in Malaysia can still be tough when you have no access to basic services, such as education and healthcare.
In 2015, the Rohingya Football Club (RFC) was set up to give members something constructive to do in their free time.
Other Rohingya clubs have since sprung up in the country, playing against each other or local Malaysian sides.
The three-day Aidilfitri tournament gave participants something positive to focus on at a time when they might be missing family members back home, organisers said.
RFC secretary Mohammed Faruk, 23, said: “There are many who lost their parents, their siblings, their homes.”
Faruk wants to take a Rohingya squad to the CONIFA World Football Cup, a biennial competition for teams sidelined by the official competition, which includes sides representing minorities, isolated dependencies and cultural regions.
Beyond easing day-to-day frustration, football has helped to tackle prejudice and break down barriers between Rohingya and Malaysians.
Mohamad Younus, a 44-yearold Rohingya watching the tournament, was philosophical about the lack of opportunities in Malaysia.
“Our country is finished. Here in Malaysia, young people don’t have proper work either,” he said, welcoming the power of football to help younger refugees.
“When they play, at least they have something positive in their minds.”