First anniversary of the project for the integration of refugees through baseball

This two-year European ‘Playing for refuge’ project is celebrating its first anniversary. The project currently has around 50 participants who are members of the Baseball and Softball Federation of Navarre, adults and children alike, from countries such as Syria, Georgia, Venezuela, Colombia, Equatorial Guinea, Russia, Morocco, Colombia, Mexico, Cameroon, Peru, Gambia, Mali, Guinea Bissau and Mauritania.

‘Playing for refuge’ includes training programmes for boys, girls and adults, the occupational training of refugees as baseball referees or officials, training in matters relating to refugees and intercultural coexistence, the organisation of family days – one was held on the 30th April with around 150 attendees and a second day was held on the 25th June with a similar number of participants -, the creation of a support network between refugees and the local population, and the holding of regional and European championships.

The adults taking part in this project are members of the Cardinales mixed softball team, created last December and which, in just six months, has already very successfully participated in the `Slowpitch Playing for Refuge´ championship organised this spring by the Baseball and Softball Federation of Navarre, together with three other teams from this Autonomous Community.

The team is directed by Urko Gutiérrez, Javier Arilla and Iñaki Modrego, all trainers from the Federation of Navarre. The latter highlighted the progress made by the team in this short space of time. “Initially it was hard, because most of the enrollees did not know each other and, in many cases, as well as language difficulties, the majority were not familiar with the rules of the game. Over time, a few Venezuelan players who had practised baseball arrived and a very loyal and motivated group has been created, with a strong desire to learn and an ever-increasing command of Spanish. Progress has been really good and I can now say that I’ve never had an easier team to train, thanks to its great commitment and motivation”.

In Modrego’s opinion, the fact that the team can compete is an added incentive. “The slowpitch championship has given them extra motivation and a meaning to those who are just getting into this sport, which is the case for most of the team members. They take their training sessions very seriously and you can tell that they love this sport, despite the fact that most of them had not played it in their countries of origin”.

Javier Azuaje is the captain of the team and one of the few members who had already played baseball previously. This 42-year-old Venezuelan arrived in Navarre a year and a half ago and heard about this project through CEAR (the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid). “When they mentioned the possibility of taking part in the project, I didn’t hesitate! In my country, I’ve been playing softball since I was a boy and I thought that it was a great opportunity to do sport and to help other refugees to become socially integrated”.

Azuaje agrees with his trainer about the team’s progress. “Most of the team members are from Afghanistan, a country with a different language from ours and where baseball in not played, yet they’ve overcome these difficulties with effort, willpower and a great eagerness to learn. Some really good work has been done and this has borne fruit, not only at a sports level but also at a personal and social level”.

For their part, the boys and girls taking part in this European project are doing so by becoming members of, and competing in the different baseball clubs in Navarre and which have teams in lower categories.