Not far away, in Clarkston, Georgia, a heartwarming story has been taking place. Outcasts United is a true story about a refugee team in an American town. In a little more than a decade, refugee resettlement had transformed a simple southern town into one of the most diverse communities in America. Warren St. John, a New York Times reporter, saw a soccer game and wanted to understand the changes and write about them.

Luma al-Mufleh came from a wealthy, Westernized family in Amman, Jordan. Her family encouraged her to get a good education, including college in the United States, but she didn’t want to return home because women were “second-class” citizens there. Her father was very disappointed at her decision, and cut off all support. Luma moved around a bit after graduation, and eventually settled in Atlanta, doing second-class jobs.

St. John begins with Luma’s story, and moves on to some of the families in Clarkston. Most of the boys who became Luma’s soccer players had very sad stories. They came from war zones in Liberia, Congo, Sudan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The mothers, occasionally the father, often did not speak English and took the most menial jobs to provide support for their families. They had often traveled across deserts and wastelands and danger, coming to refugee camps and finally being lucky enough to be sent to America.

The teenage boys did not always want to hear about the struggles, but wanted to fit in at school and the community. The town of Clarkston was not ready to welcome them sometimes, and the mayor denied them use of land appropriate for soccer practice and games. It was Luma, who coached girls in DeKalb County at first and started a business there, who recognized that the game she loved might be a way for the boys to succeed.

She began to recruit boys in the area of Clarkston where they were at home in the afternoons with nothing to do except get into trouble. They were usually thrilled to have a chance to play soccer, but there was no opportunity at school. Luma donated the soccer balls and persuaded a YMCA to let them use a bus for transportation. They practiced in a glass-strewn field behind an elementary school.

Eventually, she built three teams, split by age into under 13s, under 15s, and under 17s. She was tough and dedicated, demanding discipline, good behavior, and punctuality from her team members. The boys responded, learning and growing, and coming to depend on their diverse teammates like a family. All is not sweetness and light; they do not win all their games, and some are lost to the streets. However, they persevered, and Clarkston adapted.

In the beginning, though, they met hostility and were deficient in the gear they needed. These difficulties seemed to solidify the bonds among the disparate group. After an article in the Times brought them to the attention of the country, donations came in, and a deal was made for the film rights to their story.

It is a poignant and inspiring story. Tracy Ediger, the “Fugees” team manager, doesn’t want the public to think that she and Luma are saints. “Luma is really a normal person doing what she can for the people around her.” She hopes that maybe others can see this and ask themselves what they might do to cause positive change in their own communities.

Outcasts United is available at the Mary Willis Library.