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Commentary By Luma Mufleh

Playing Soccer Is One of the Most Important Things Refugee Children Can Do

Culture Civil Society

The Trump administration ended recreational programs for unaccompanied refugee children in shelters.

This summer, soccer united our nation. For a few hours over the course of a few weeks, the sport brought us together. People from different backgrounds, from different political parties, from different parts of the country — we all cheered for the red, white and blue. And when the U.S. Women's National Team took home the World Cup, we were all so proud.

Of course, that hard-earned victory was a testament to the power of the team's players. It was also a testament to something more: the power of soccer, of sports, to make us feel a bit happier, a bit more alive, a bit more American.

But as we celebrated this power, the Trump administration took it away from unaccompanied refugee children living in shelters at our border. They decided to end recreational programs, including soccer.

Continue reading the entire piece here at The Dallas Morning News

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Luma Mufleh is a 2019 Civil Society Fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Mufleh is the inspirational founder and CEO of Fugees Family, Inc., the nation’s only school network dedicated to educating and empowering child survivors of war.

This piece originally appeared in The Dallas Morning News