More than fifty young people and adult refugees in navarre test their skills as baseball players

This afternoon, slightly more than fifty young refugees in Navarre, including 17 boys and girls, together with another 20 people, primarily baseball players and trainers from Navarre, took part in an open day to get their first contact with the sport of baseball at the pitch in Burlada.

This initiative, with a combination of games, entertainment, fun and a few basic classes on pitching, throwing and batting, is the first activity in the “Playing for refuge” project: an innovative initiative co-funded by the European Union and the Navarre Government Directorate General for Migration Policies, which seeks to support the social inclusion through sport of refugees residing in the Autonomous Community of Navarre, specifically through baseball and softball.

With this aim in mind, the Navarre Baseball Federation, the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid (CEAR) and the Red Cross are taking part in this scheme. It also counts on the support of the Navarre Institute of Sport and that of the Spanish Baseball Federation, to raise the visibility of the scheme at both a national and European level.

The activity this afternoon at the baseball pitch in Burlada has whetted the participants’ appetite, allowing them to experience the atmosphere of the game, become familiar with the pitch, get to know the people in charge and get encouraged to take part in the scheme.

Some of the asylum seekers are from countries in which baseball is really well-known such as Venezuela, Colombia, Haiti and all the Caribbean region, while others come from other regions where the sport is less known, such as Eastern Europe, Mali, Syria and Afghanistan.

Whole families came to the pitch in Burlada, eager to put on a leather glove and get out on the pitch, men and women alike and also children aged from 6 to 16.

This “Playing for refuge” pilot scheme has a duration of two years, during which time a series of inclusive baseball activities will be organised and there will be spaces for the participatory coexistence of the refugees and the host community. The activities include baseball and softball training for boys, girls and adults; the occupational training of refugees as referees; the training of baseball and softball officials in matters relating to refugees and intercultural coexistence; the organisation of family days; the creation of a support network between refugees and the local population; and participation in regional and European championships.