As dozens of adolescent boys kicked a soccer ball around the Mullauna College oval in Mitcham last Tuesday, it was hard to ignore the exuberant cheers- in Arabic, Farsi, Tamil and English- from the sidelines.
But for the 130 unaccompanied asylum seeker youth competing in the Anglicare Victoria’s Soccer With No Barriers tournament, the day was about more than winning.
Many of the participants, from countries as diverse as Afghanistan, Iran, Sri Lanka and Iraq, reconnected with old friends from detention facilities or made new friends from their home communities on the day, Anglicare caseworker Deng Riak says.
