“You know what I mean,” Sam said. “That isn’t a Liverpool accent.”

The boy grinned. “I’m from Iraq,” he said. “I came here with my family. We’re refugees.”

He waved his hand in the direction of the team on the next pitch. “My whole team is refugees. See those guys?” He pointed out two men standing by the goal. “They are from a local football club. They raised money for our kit and boots.”

“Nice one,” Sam said. “So what’s your name?”

“I’m Hasan.” He put out his hand and Sam shook it. 10

“You’re lucky to be in a team with boys the same age as you,” Hasan said. “Everybody in my team is older. They don’t give me the ball and they make me play in goal – even my brother.” He pointed to the tallest player on the team. “I wish I was in a team like yours.”

Sam didn’t feel very lucky to be playing for West Park Celtic. They got beaten more often than an egg.

“We’re second from bottom,” Sam said. “We’re rubbish.” 11

“So get some new players,” Hasan said.

That gave Sam an idea.

“Do you want to play for us?” he said. “I can talk to Jack. We play five-a-side here every Wednesday to train.”

“That sounds good,” Hasan said.

Just then they heard a lot of shouts and groans. Celtic had given another goal away.

“That’s done it,” Sam said. “We’re going to be bottom of the league after this result.”

Hasan laughed. “Then you definitely need me.”

12

What is a refugee?

WHAT IS A REFUGEE?

Refugees are ordinary people like you and me. They have to leave their home country because they are in danger. This could be because of war or a natural disaster. Or they could be at risk of being badly treated by their own government.

There are about 60 million people in the world who have had to flee their homes. Many of them live in camps. Refugee camps are not good places to live. People often have to sleep in tents or even steel containers that are hot and stuffy.

The biggest refugee camp in the world is currently in Kutupalong in Bangladesh. Turkey is home to more refugees than any other country – over 3 million. Less than 1 per cent of the world’s refugees come to the UK.

Many refugees make long, dangerous journeys to escape war and fighting in their own countries. Some pay to get on a boat to cross the sea, but many of the boats are leaky and not good enough for the crossing. Thousands of refugees have drowned on their journeys. 13

Other people get on lorries or trains. Often they have to hide. It can be very dangerous, and some have been hurt or killed. Sometimes there is no food or water. People have even suffocated because there was no air in the back of the lorry.