girls plays handball

identifying discriminatory behaviors

details of the interview

Role of the Interviewed: gymnastics coach/ PE teacher

Age: 47

Gender: female

Nationality: Bulgarian

Type of radicalization: ethnic discrimination

Historical period collocation: 2016

Date/Country of the Interview: 05/09/2018, Bulgaria

Interviewer: Sdruzhenie “Shans i zakrila” – Opportunity and Protection Association (OPA)

OPA

Have you witnessed or experienced personal situations of radicalization during your activity in sport organizations? What kind of radicalizations have you detected? (Gender, politics, religion, racism, crime, homophobia…)

coach

I do not know if it was radicalization in the case I think of, but I will tell you a story in which there were extreme manifestations of violence among children.
Telling your story. What has happened? How has the story started?
It happened a few years ago. I was then a teacher in physical education in a primary school. We had a school handball team for girls. The team participated in a regional tournament and ranked first. We had to play in another city with the other regional winners.
On the day of the competition we went to the sports hall. The match started. The girls were playing well. Before the end of the first half of the match one of my girls – Vanya was fouled by a player from the other team, but the foul was not registered by the referees. The tension in the match apparently had an impact on Vanya, and she pushed the other girl roughly. There was a penalty and Vanya had to leave the game for 2 minutes. She did not agree with the referee’s decision and started shouting that they did not considered the foul against her but only her behavior was punished because she was Roma. The match was stopped.  I had to do something because I saw that things would go out of control. It was hard for me to get Vanya out, as she continued screaming and did not want to come out of the handball field.
How did you realize what was going on? What kind of signals could you detect? How do you explain radicalization, referring to your experience?
Vanya’s words that she was a Roma, and therefore she was treated unfairly  made me think that she had probably been discriminated before, and this triggered this aggression in her.
Have you tried to cope with this situation? What was possible to do? What have you done? Have you involved other people/organizations? Who was involved?
I was trying to calm her, but she did not want to hear me. After the match was over, the other girls also wanted to talk to her but she did not want to listen. The crisis lasted a long time.
The next day I talked to her about what had happened. She said that many times she was treated unfairly only because she was of Roma origin and was even insulted. In the handball team she felt she was well accepted and did not expect a discriminatory attitude. She herself was confused.
Did you feel you had the skills to manage this kind of situations? Which was the most difficult part of it? Have you had any form of support?
At the given moment I felt frightened that I did not know how to deal with the situation or why it happened. Only after the conversation with Vanya I realized that I had not noticed that she had been more vulnerable and that she had been harassed because of her Roma origin. There might have been signs of this, but I had no skills to see them.
End of the story. How did the story end up? What have you learned from this personal experience? What would you say to people who are living similar situations?
There was no other such situation while Vanya was in the team. It made me more alert to the children with whom I work and to observe their behavior more thoroughly. This careful observation is helping me stop intolerant or discriminative attitude at the very beginning.
women play football

against gender-based violence

details of the interview

Role of the Interviewed: football coach/ PE teacher

Age: 36

Gender: male

Nationality: Bulgarian

Type of radicalization: gender based violence

Historical period collocation: may 2018

Date/Country of the Interview: 14/09/2018, Bulgaria

Interviewer: Sdruzhenie “Shans i zakrila” – Opportunity and Protection Association (OPA)

OPA

Have you witnessed or experienced personal situations of radicalization during your activity in sport organizations? What kind of radicalizations have you detected? (Gender, politics, religion, racism, crime, homophobia…)

coach

I’m a coach of a school football team of girls. I will tell you a story I experienced during the last tournament a few months ago. It is related to causing of psychological violence to my players by boys from the audience.
Telling your story. What has happened? How has the story started?
As you know, football is perceived as a game for men but more women are starting to play as well. Every year there is an inter-school football tournament in our town. In the last two years we have also included girls’ teams. Both boys’ and girs’ matches were running at the same time. My team qualified for the final.  During our final match, boys from another team in the tournament started to insult rudely the players on the field. They were shouting, “You are very funny, you cannot do anything, football is not a female game, shame and disgrace for football, go taking pictures for Instagram and do not deal with men’s things.” Their coach did not react. The tension on the field was great, after all it was the final. These insults further exasperated the girls. I tried to calm them down, but the boys did not stop offending them. Then one of my players kicked the ball strongly against these guys and hit them. The boys jumped, ready to respond with violence. The referee showed the player a red card and she was out of the match.
How did you realize what was going on? What kind of signals could you detect? How do you explain radicalization, referring to your experience?
Since the beginning of the match the boys laughed loudly and then started to offend the girls roughly. If we, the coaches, had not intervened the situation might have escalated to a fight.
Have you tried to cope with this situation? What was possible to do? What have you done? Have you involved other people/organizations? Who was involved?
I was angry with this offensive behavior of the boys. I think that sport should unite, not discriminate. Unfortunately, many people think that football is for men and women are not good enough in this sport.
I talked to my colleague, the coach of these guys, that we should not allow such behavior and aggression, but to teach them to be tolerant and good-natured to the rivals. He, of course, agreed with me, gathered the boys into the dressing room and went to talk to them.
I also spoke with my team and told them that although they were provoked they should not resolve their conflicts with violence.
Did you feel you had the skills to manage this kind of situations? Which was the most difficult part of it? Have you had any form of support?
I have always tried to teach the children that I train that the athletic achievements are as much important as the character of the athlete and his/her behaviour to others. I teach them to be tolerant and responsible people. I think that attitude is most important. If you are good to people and show respect they will respond in the same way. This is the way to cope with violent incidents in sport and in life as well.
End of the story. How did the story end up? What have you learned from this personal experience? What would you say to people who are living similar situations?
We won the match and got the cup. All the girls were happy. I hope the girls’ tournaments will get more popular and having the chance to play the girls will become better and will be considered as equal to the boys in this sport.

tournaments against separation

details of the interview

Role of the Interviewed: teacher

Age: 50

Gender: female

Nationality: Bulgarian

Type of radicalization: ethnic discrimination

Historical period collocation: 2017/2018 school year

Date/Country of the Interview: 03/07/2018, Bulgaria

Interviewer: Sdruzhenie “Shans i zakrila” – Opportunity and Protection Association (OPA)

OPA

Have you witnessed or experienced personal situations of radicalization during your activity in sport organizations? What kind of radicalizations have you detected? (Gender, politics, religion, racism, crime, homophobia…)

teacher

So far I have not thought that the case I’m going to tell you is a radical event. Now that you have explained to me more about radicalization, I think that it is actually a serious case. I think the problem is on a religious basis.
Telling your story. What has happened? How has the story started?
I am a teacher in a school where there are children of Roma origin only. The students love football very much and prefer it in the lessons in physical education. They once asked whether they could play another game. I allowed them to play the game and only watched them. I was even glad that the initiative was theirs. I was surprised at what happened. They split into two groups. The boys in the first group were pretending to shoot against the others who were falling on the ground – “killed.” Those who shot were shouting loudly “Allahu Akbar” (meaning Allah (God) is the greatest). At that moment I was startled and remembered something I had noticed before, but I did not pay attention to it. I had seen the same guys wrap checked scarves like turbans on their heads. At that time I thought it was fashion. I stopped the game and called the children to sit around me. I asked them from where they knew this game and who told it to them. They said they play this game because they are Muslims, Islam is the only right religion, and Christians are unbelievers. They also added that it’s an honour for everybody to defend his faith. We have talked for a long time. I tried to explain to them that the world is diverse and there are people of different races, religions and ethnicities. They are all important and equal. I told them that I am a Christian and asked them if this makes me worse than them. They looked at me in astonishment – until now they had not thought what my religion was, and were confused that we got along well although I am a Christian.
How did you realize what was going on? What kind of signals could you detect? How do you explain radicalization, referring to your experience?
I have been working in the school for many years, and I notice that this community is becoming more and more closed and living in isolation. In the recent years, the mothers of some children have started to come to school veiled and this had not happened before. Some of the students say that in the neighborhood there are places where people gather and talk about Islam.
Have you tried to cope with this situation? What was possible to do? What have you done? Have you involved other people/organizations? Who was involved?/em>
The case disturbed me and I shared it with my colleagues. It became clear that they had noticed similar signs. We decided that it is good to let our students communicate with peers from other schools and ethnicities with the aim of getting to know each other and understand that religion is not a reason for separation. We involved our students in school-run football tournaments organized in the city.
Did you feel you had the skills to manage this kind of situations? Which was the most difficult part of it? Have you had any form of support?
I definitely have not got enough skills to deal with such situations. So far I have not been trained on this topic and I have reacted by intuition. I’m not sure if this is the right way, and I think the result is temporary, limited to the specific case. All colleagues have been involved in the case, but they also do not feel confident about this.
End of the story. How did the story end up? What have you learned from this personal experience? What would you say to people who are living similar situations?
Over the time, the interest in this game has subsided, but I do not think we have fully coped with the problem. It is not enough just to work on this topic at school as children are in school for only some time and in the environment they live they are subject to various influences.

building tolerance relationships

details of the interview

Role of the Interviewed: football/coach

Age: 42

Gender: male

Nationality: Bulgarian

Type of radicalization: ethnic discrimination

Historical period collocation: 2017

Date/Country of the Interview: 06/07/2018, Bulgaria

Interviewer: Sdruzhenie “Shans i zakrila” – Opportunity and Protection Association (OPA)

OPA

Have you witnessed or experienced personal situations of radicalization during your activity in sport organizations? What kind of radicalizations have you detected? (Gender, politics, religion, racism, crime, homophobia…)

coach

I’m a football coach and an ex-football player. Last year I trained children in the Registration and Acceptance Centre for refugees in the town of Harmanli, Bulgaria. I was a volunteer in the project “Football and Fun: HEPA for Refugees to Bulgaria”, implemented by “Sports management Bulgaria”. The aims of the project were:  improving the health status of the participants, developing personal qualities and establishing tolerant relations between different nationalities and ethnicities. The activities of the project were implemented in the four Registration and Acceptance centres for refugees in Bulgaria and more than 300 children and youth were involved. The centre in Harmanli is the biggest in our country.

I do not think I noticed radicalization, but between the people of different nationalities in the centre there was intolerance and hostility.

Telling your story. What has happened? How has the story started?
When I went to the centre there were about three thousand people there from several nationalities – Syrians, Afghans, Iraqi, Iranians, Kurds. It was difficult to communicate with them because they did not speak other than their mother tongue. I had to get the consent of the parents to train the kids. At first they did not trust me. With the help of a translator, they finally agreed to let their children play football with me.
How did you realize what was going on? What kind of signals could you detect? How do you explain radicalization, referring to your experience?
I noticed that the people from the different nationalities did not communicate with each other, especially the Syrians and the Afghans and I understood that they had often come into conflicts and violence. They were divided into separate groups and even the children did not play together. The team I was gathering was with children aged 10-12, but gradually I involved smaller children because they also wanted to play and finally all the boys were playing football. I stayed up late to be able to play with all of them.
Have you tried to cope with this situation? What was possible to do? What have you done? Have you involved other people/organizations? Who was involved?
My communication with the children was difficult, but from the very beginning I managed to impose strict rules and showed them that they had to be disciplined and that I did not allow conflicts in the team. I was very impressed by the fact that the children of these communities were very respectful of adults and teachers. I understood that the children were not bad, and they just perceived the behavior of the community in which they lived. Then it came to my mind to include the fathers in the game as well. I trained them in the evening. The children I worked with were progressing very fast. There were no conflicts during the game. The children started to achieve success. After just three months of work, we went to the European Street Football Championship for children at risk and we reached the third place. I contacted the coach of the football team in the town Harmanli and with him we decided to organize a town football tournament with the participation of the children from the centre.  We wanted to show the community in the town, who were not tolerant to the immigrants, that they are children like everyone else and must be accepted regardless of their nationality or religion. We were pleased to see that during the tournament there were no racist insults and remarks that we had been  worried about. Even on the contrary, everyone was having fun. Two of my boys continue to train football in the team of Harmanli.

In addition to the football training, we tried to help children learn Bulgarian in order to communicate with us and even with each other. My colleagues and I provided a Suggestopedia course to them, which is a way of learning through games. I can say that children advanced in learning Bulgarian and we could help them progress not only in sport but in communication as well.

Did you feel you had the skills to manage this kind of situations? Which was the most difficult part of it? Have you had any form of support?
As a coach I have the skills to work with children, to unite them and to teach them to work together and be a team. Now that we’ve talked about radicalization, I think I’m not well aware of it and maybe I need to get more information on how to recognize the signs and work with children at risk. It would be good if I have the opportunity to participate in a training course on the topic.
End of the story. How did the story end up? What have you learned from this personal experience? What would you say to people who are living similar situations?
I am very happy to say that through sport for nine months of work in the camp, we succeeded in bringing together people from different ethnic groups and making them more tolerant to each other.
corplay

accepting diversity

details of the interview

Role of the Interviewed: handball/coach

Age: 40

Gender: female

Nationality: Bulgarian

Type of radicalization: racism/ethnic discrimination

Historical period collocation: a year ago

Date/Country of the Interview: 12/06/2018, Bulgaria

Interviewer: Sdruzhenie “Shans i zakrila” – Opportunity and Protection Association (OPA)

OPA

Have you witnessed or experienced personal situations of radicalization during your activity in sport organizations? What kind of radicalizations have you detected? (Gender, politics, religion, racism, crime, homophobia…)

coach

I’m a handball coach. I work with girls aged 9-16 years old. I remember one case in which I have faced radical racism or rather ethnic discrimination. In fact I do not know how to define it and which is the proper definition.
Telling your story. What has happened? How has the story started?
Handball is a team sport where there are many athletes of different age, different religions and different ethnic groups. A girl came to the team – Iva, who I later learned was brought up to hate Roma people, to escape contact with them, and believed that all Roma are bad. Four-five Roma girls trained in the same team. In the beginning, Iva was silent and avoided these girls, but then she began to express hostility towards them. If someone had to give her the ball or touch her, she was getting angry and called them “dirty gypsies,” “do not touch me, I do not want to be in a team with you”. The Roma girls did not cause these reactions, but she started to get worse with them and even hit and beat them.
How did you realize what was going on? What kind of signals could you detect? How do you explain radicalization, referring to your experience?
The first thing I noticed was that Iva avoided the Roma girls, staring at them with hatred, then started to harshly offend them and even attack them.
I talked with her that they were a team and that they had to play together, but she maintained her opinion that she was irreconcilable with the representatives of this ethnic group. She explained that her parents had told her so and did not want to listen to anyone else. Probably, since she was a child her parents have told her to hate people of this ethnicity and that they have been bad and criminals.
Have you tried to cope with this situation? What was possible to do? What have you done? Have you involved other people/organizations? Who was involved?
My colleagues and I have told her many times that Roma are part of society, that there are good and bad people from every ethnicit, being Roma does not make you a bad person and she has to judge people according to their actions. While practicing sport and also in life, she will meet with different people whom she has to accept and respect. We have explained to her that no one can choose their family and where to be born and Roma children do nothing to provoke her.

Roma girls began to complain about her attitude. They shared with me that they were afraid of her as she was rough and quarreled with them in the dressing room. The other Bulgarian girls, following her, began to isolate them as well. I talked a lot with Iva and the other girls explaining to them that they are a team and should get used to rely on and to support each other and that we as coaches will not allow such rude attitude. Iva shared our conversation with her parents and they advised her to stop training. She came and returned the team outfit. I talked to her again and told her she was very good at this sport and asked her not to take such extreme decision. I suggested that she rest for a while, consider her behavior, and told her that I would be very happy if she decided to return to the team again.

Did you feel you had the skills to manage this kind of situations? Which was the most difficult part of it? Have you had any form of support?
We, as coaches, feel that we are not prepared to deal with such situations. It was difficult for me to cope with  it. It will be nice to see how other coaches overcome such problems. In our society there are people of different ethnic groups and religions. Children are becoming increasingly aggressive and provoking conflicts. I think we need to learn how to work with them.

Handball is a team sport, in which many different children play and we have to teach them to respect and accept each other, to become a team. They can succeed only together.

End of the story. How did the story end up? What have you learned from this personal experience? What would you say to people who are living similar situations?
The team continued to prepare for the competitions. Roma girls did not understand why Iva was gone. In her absence, the team united. One day Iva came to the sports hall and said she wanted to train again. I agreed, provided she changed her attitude towards Roma girls. I warned her that if she allowed herself to offend them again, we would remove her from the team. At first she was staying away from them, but she no longer insulted them. She gradually became acquainted with them and got used to play with them. The atmosphere in the team improved.

Iva is still training and she does not have a bad attitude towards the girls of Roma origin. Most likely, her parents have overcome their attitude towards this ethnicity as well.

I could advise my colleagues in such cases not to accept such racist behavior, to talk to the children about equality regardless of their ethnicity, to try to teach children to work together and accept  diversity.