BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Travel back to northern Ghana, in the year 2005. Two rival tribes, Mamprusi and the Kusasi, caused hostility everywhere. At the time, a boy named Bayan Mahmud lived here with his mother, father, and a older brother. In 2005, when Mahmud was 11 years old, his parents were killed in a tribal dispute. Mahmud and his brother were sent to an orphanage, and later separated.
Mahmud was determined to escape the brutality. He held a positive outlook that he would escape. At age 15, he made the decision to flee— no matter what. He was fortunate in catching a ride with a truck driver heading to Cape Coast. Upon arrival, he found out a boat was leaving for Europe and snuck on board. He was a stowaway who had nothing but some cassava flour, or “gari”, and water.
On board, he was discovered by a good-hearted crewmember, who snuck him food and water. Surprisingly for Mahmud, the boat docked in Argentina. Spotted on the streets, a generous family sent Mahmud on a bus to Buenos Aires. At the capital, he was again met with kindness. Two Senegalese men, one fluent in English, directed him to refugee services where he was sent to a refugee shelter in Flores.
Over the next few years, Mahmud made friends with other refugees. One day, friends invited him to play soccer. Mahmud’s team won the game. Months later, talent scout Ruben Garcia, immediately impressed by his raw talent and drive, sent Mahmud to trials for the Boca Club Soccer Team.
Mahmud made the B Team, accepted a contract with Boca (earning him £200 a month), as well as a contract with Nike (earning him £2,700 a year.) Boca provides Mahmud with room, board and education. He hopes to someday play for Boca’s first team in the La Bombonera Stadium. Today, Mahmud has met many of his soccer idols. Former star Hugo Perotti, player for Boca in the 1970s and 1980s, mentors him. “Time will tell if destiny leads him to the first team. But after what he has endured in life, thank God, he has found football and Boca.”
Culturally, Mahmud is open to Argentinean life. He has likened to local “asados”, or barbeques, but still prefers Ghanaian “High Life” pop music to the Tango. Despite teasing from his teammates, Mahmud is a devout Muslim, and prays five times a day. Mahmud recalled a conversation with the man on the boat, “I remember he asked me, ‘Do you know what you are doing? You don’t know anyone. How will you even cope?’ I looked at him and said, ‘So far as God is everywhere I will survive’.”
Despite his good fortune and fulfilling career, Mahmud misses his brother. Recently however, the brothers were re-united via Facebook. “We have been chatting thankfully. He’s also playing football. I’m planning to come to Ghana by the end of the year to visit him, and my friends too.”
– Laura Reinacher
Sources: UNHCR, Goal: South America, Goal, Yahoo News