Johannesburg - Not far from the Methodist Church community centre in Jabavu, Soweto, teenagers run around a patchy soccer field, breathing heavily and kicking up dust in a temperamental neighbourhood.
It’s a familiar scene in the township, but for these youngsters their practice game is part of an ambitious attempt by the Tirisano Football Club to help young migrants become integrated into the community.
But reports last week about some residents making threats against migrants from the Central Methodist Church in Joburg, who were invited by Bishop Paul Verryn to move to the Christian Connection Resource Centre in Jabavu, have left the teenagers apprehensive.
Verryn said this week he’d had “an acrimonious meeting” with a group of residents who asked him to consult them before moving migrants into Jabavu.
“We haven’t moved people into the centre and I don’t think we are going to get any more coming here after the three who relocated here some time ago,” he said.
“One or two of the people said there would be bloodshed. But some of the people you see here have been living in this centre since 1997.
“I think with all the press coverage of the closure of the Central Methodist Church, this community suddenly thought there would be thousands of people living here.”
Verryn said he wasn’t too distressed by what had been said at the meeting, but some people at the centre were “vulnerable and traumatised and listened to things through the loudspeaker”.
“Nobody has ever been restricted from using this centre, locals or not. This community centre remains a place to build bridges.”
In this tense climate, Tirisano Football club coach Jomo Mokoena is doing what few have tried: helping the young migrants to become integrated and feel welcome.
“Some of them were often afraid to go out alone because of xenophobia – they fear someone could beat them up or rob them,” he said.
“But here they can play and see it’s not so scary.
“Soccer has been psychologically helpful for the boys. The vast majority of the boys in the team are from the community centre and they are migrants, but here on the pitch they are like anyone else.”
The football club has its roots in the early 2000s, when Mokoena said it began with under-12s, 15s and 17s, with the support of the Methodist Church, to help migrants adapt to the community.
The club was registered with the township’s football association and has been competing with other clubs.
“These boys are highly competitive and focused and – trust me – they are unbelievable to watch on the field,” Mokoena said.
“They have adapted well with their local teammates. They speak one language and they are well received here.”
But last year the team were dealt a major blow during the local cup tournament.
They had reached the semi-finals when a rival team complained about Tirisano players – forcing the organisers to rule that only players with South African identity documents, and not those with asylum-seeker’s permits, could take part in the tournament.
“It was heartbreaking because, to reach that stage of the tournament, all these boys had been accepted with their asylum permits – and it had been the same for all these other years,” Mokoena said.
“But these boys are tough and they haven’t allowed this to dampen their spirits.
“They have often been abused by match spectators who call them makwerekwere (foreigners). I often tell them never to fight anyone physically, but to beat such people on the pitch by winning games.”
Mokoena said the animosity towards his players had subsided in recent years.
He had been taken by surprise when the closure of the Central Methodist Church appeared to fuel “malicious rumours” about migrants not being wanted in the community.
“Some of these boys don’t have parents here and they came up to me apprehensively, after reading newspaper reports, telling me they were considering leaving the centre in case they were attacked.
“They are really panicking, but I have assured them that nothing will happen.”
One such player is a 21-year-old Unisa third-year law student nicknamed “Sox” by Mokoena who asked the Saturday Star not to publish his name.
He said: “Since my arrival here in 2010, I have never felt threatened or worried.
“I found this to be a welcoming environment for me to continue studying – and playing football allowed me to make a lot of friends in the neighbourhood.”
However, the reports had left feeling little “anxious”, Sox said.
Oscar Nomqolo, a resident of Jabavu and a guard at the community centre, said the claims that some residents had made to newspapers about migrants were “unfounded”.
“I live and work here every day,” he said.
“In December, Pikitup failed to collect rubbish bins here and that left the place reeking, but that can’t be blamed on the migrants,” he said.
“If this place was so filthy, then why would so many important functions in the community – like church services and weddings – continue to be held here?
“It’s plain falsehoods spread by people who are seeking attention in the community for political gain.”
Saturday Star