Football, a temporary distraction for prisoners in paradise

FOR THE first time since July last year, this group of 10 from Jammu & Kashmir is breathing easy. They’re in Mumbai, competing at the Slum Soccer nationals at the Andheri Sports Complex. For these few days, they can enjoy theirfootballwithouthavingtolookovertheir shouldersforfearoffindingsecuritypersonnel cocking back a lathi, ready to strike – the standard sign that the curfew has begun.

It’s what life has become now, at Pampore – the saffron town of Kashmir – 11 km from Srinagar.

Most of the players belong to families that earn their keep by toiling the saffron fields of Pampore. It’s an expensive business that produces the famous Kashmiri kesar, yet one that lasts just half a year given the weather conditions. In 2016, it didn’t even last that long.

In October, the town was the epicentre of militant activity. Two terrorists had stormed the EDI Building, starting a 60-hour gunbattle with the Army. Additional curfew was imposed,bringingdailylifetoastandstill.“jopaise bachaye the, usi se sab ka ghar abhi chal raha hai,” says the team’s player-coach Zahid Shafi.

It’s what’s been inspiring their inclusion, for the past few years, in the slum soccer programme which invites state teams involving players who come from rural settings, or are homeless or underprivileged.

Duetothecurfew,theboysfromtheborder state have no access to education. Schools and collegeshaveshutdown,andtilldate,residents are allowed only a two-hour window to leave home. With no scope for education, there are no thoughts of future careers for the boys – most of whom are in their late teens. But in all that chaos, football is the only escape for the boys. “You don’t need a degree to play football now,orevenlaterasaprofessional,”saysshafi.

Practice sessions at home are scheduled based on the ever-changing curfew timings. The approach itself to the Etihad Football Academyismeticulouslyplannedoverphone. Players have grown used to standing by their windows,studyingarmymovementpatterns – waiting for the moment they can get a clear run to the football ground to enjoy a quick game. “They keep coordinating with each other. So first they go to the player’s house that has the best path to the stadium,” Shafi adds.

Before violence escalated in July, around 400 boys used to flock to the seven-year-old academy. The number has now dwindled to around 60. “Every boy here has been beaten up with lathis while coming to the ground at some point or the other. But football is all they know. So it keeps them coming," the coach says.

Theirfamiliestoohavebeenreluctanttolet the boys out of the house, so they sneak out saying they’re going to visit friends. But when the invitation to travel to Mumbai arrived, the parents were happy to permit them a week of freedom.

It took the group 33 hours to get to Mumbai, after a treacherous nine-hour bus journey from Pampore to Jammu – a road trip that dangerously snakes along the Himalayas, onaroutepronetolandslidesandlitteredwith Army checkpoints.

But it was a journey worth making. “With every kilometre we crossed, we could feel the tension decrease. We were going away from all this. Even if it was only for a while,” Shafi says. Football will continue even when they get back. For it has been their ticket out of the state, and as it stands, their only occupation since businesses and education have come to a standstill. Families still work the fields, but are only allowed to on a smaller scale.

The sport, though, is thriving, especially since Lonestar Kashmir FC became the first teamfromthestatetocompeteinthei-league, albeit in the second division. Mir Tajan and Raqib Laway, who are part of Jammu & Kashmir’s slum soccer team, are currently training with the U-18 Lonestar Kashmir FC team.theybrimwithoptimismaboutacareer in the sport.

But Shafi, who at 23 is the eldest in the groupinmumbai,isapprehensiveaboutthinking too far ahead, especially since life has become a daily struggle against violence and uncertainty.

“Parson duur ki baat hai. Hume to kal ka bhipatanahikyahai.livingthereisnowabout surviving every day,” he says.

Most of the players belong to families of saffron cultivators of Pampore.