Syria: Aleppo, young “Al Yarmouk” basketball players shoot hoops against the war

Laughter, shouts and the sound of bouncing balls reach the trafficked, rush-hour streets, almost competing with the constant din of horns honking, as is customary around here. Inside the new gym ten boys are playing basketball, dribbling, and practising attack and offense  schemes. It’s a round of shots, with many balls in the basket.  Some shots hit the iron rim or the backboard. We’re in Aleppo, in the Al-Zizieh district, not far from the historic centre, now reduced to heaps of rubble, just like a large part of the city, the industrial capital of Syria before the war. The neighbourhood was mostly inhabited by Christians. With the outbreak of the conflict, many families left or fled and are unlikely to return. But in the land of Saint Paul hope lives on and efforts are being made to ensure their return.

In the youth sports centre “Al-Yarmouk” – a historical club of Aleppo, created as a football club which later included basketball and athletics – these are days of hope. The club was founded in 1925 by a group of Armenians who survived the genocide of 1915. Having fled to Aleppo, from that moment on they engaged in a major effort of social awareness and apostolate through sport. Everyone is looking forward to the inauguration of the new hardwood flooring of the basketball court, financed entirely by the Pontifical Foundation “Aiuto alla Chiesa che soffre” (Aid to the Church in Need), that just recently, with the director of ACS-Italy, Alessandro Monteduro, accompanied by the Archbishop of Milan, Monsignor Mario Delpini, visited the sports centre. It was hit by bombs just over three years ago during the siege of the city, reduced to a pile of rubble. Thanks to ACS, the Armenian Orthodox community managed to rebuild it for the young people who returned to play and practice sports. The sports centre was used by more than 800 young people from all Christian Churches before the war. Today it is coming back to life and the coaches hope that the new basketball court will attract many more youths. “Rise and raise” is the motto of the club that sums up its history: “stand up & get moving.”

Shant, Garo, Asadour, Garbis, Gogo, Mirela, Nareg, are tiring themselves out in the court. They’ re 11 to 14 years old. Virtually all of them have grown up during the war, ongoing for almost nine years. A playmate that no one here would ever want again. “The gym is beautiful – they jointly exclaim -. We come here almost every day but only after finishing our homework” they add with a laugh.

“We used to play in the streets and whenever possible in a small playing field not far from here. When the war broke out it became very dangerous to stay outside and so we spent our days at home. Our parents wouldn’t allow us to go out because they feared for our lives.” Also going to school was a challenge. “”Bombs and rockets could fall anywhere but we weren’t afraid and we always wanted to get out. On many occasions – they remember – lessons were taught in the cellars. The situation improved over the last two years and the number of children who come here has also increased. There were fewer of us before, also because many of our friends left with their families. We have not seen them since, they’re in Canada or in Armenia.” You can tell from their jerseys that they love American basketball and the NBA. They said they root for Golden State, Warriors, Lakers, Nets, Raptors, Heat, Rockets, Clippers. “LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Westbrook, our hero Michael Jordan” and many more, are their favourite players. A table in the restaurant of the sports centre has already been prepared for them: “pizza and chips, not exactly the sportsmen’s menu”, they admit, but every now and then the rules can be broken.

Basket is their great passion but not their dream. They want to “become an astronaut, a pilot, an engineer to rebuild the city, a doctor to cure the sick. We want to continue studying and remain here.” They nod at each other. Then, as if there were a “third half”, they run to score a basket:

“who will be left here in Aleppo if we should leave?”

“We want to remain in Syria, we want to continue living in our city. Aleppo will return to be more beautiful than it was.” More than a basket, they scored a home run …