Iraqis find common ground – on a soccer field
In a match pitting Iraq against Iran, our reporter wades into the stands to find Sunnis and Shiites united.
from the June 19, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
Indeed, the ongoing tournament here is a rare and welcome source of entertainment for the exiled Iraqis. And while they fought a ruinous war with Iran for most of the 1980s, and many Iraqis believe Iran is responsible for at least some violence inside their country, there were no signs of the violent nationalism sometimes seen during matches between European football powers.
Here in Jordan, the Iraqis increasingly feel like unwanted guests, not allowed to work, unable to move on. Returning home would be a death sentence for many, and being accepted as a refugee by the rich countries of the West is an uncertain lottery; the United States will accept only 7,000 Iraqi refugees this year.
But on nights like Saturday, the exiles' shared common plight allows them to set aside whatever sectarian animosities that might linger below the surface and just be Iraqis. "Shiite, Sunni, no one cares here tonight," says Mohammed, who asked that his full name not be used. He is from just outside Baqubah, Iraq, which has been the scene of major sectarian cleansing in the past few years.
But Iraq's next match here is against the Palestinian team on Monday, a game which promises to have strong support for both sides, given the nearly 2 million Palestinian refugees who live here.
The Palestinian players are mostly based in Gaza, 100 miles east as the crow flies from Amman, but also a world away when it comes to peace and security. They couldn't drive to the tournament. Instead, they drove 200 miles west to Cairo, then flew back east to Amman.
But at least they got out of Gaza; the teeming strip has been sealed off by Israel since the Islamist movement Hamas routed the Fatah party in a violent struggle to control Gaza last week. With the Palestinians divided effectively for the moment into two fragments – the Gaza Strip of Hamas and the West Bank of Fatah – they will share similar distractions as their Iraqi opponents on Monday night.
But teams and fans face yet another test of whether they can put aside political and sectarian animosity.
Shortly before the Lebanese team departed for Amman, a car bomb that killed anti-Syrian member of parliament Walid Eido also claimed the lives of two professional soccer players heading home after a club match on June 13. Many Lebanese have since blamed Syria for the murders.
Lebanon's first- round opponent? Syria, of course.
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