First Team
EVERY WORD | JACK WALTON LOOKS AHEAD TO IBROX TEST
21st November 2024
Ian Harkes marked today’s occasion of World Book Day by speaking to the power of friendship and kindness as a response to discrimination, racism, and pandemic loneliness.
Addressing a virtual audience of eight-to-twelve-year-olds, Ian Harkes encouraged children to read Onjali Q. Raúf’s award-winning 2018 debut novel The Boy at the Back of the Class. The story, narrated in the first person by a nine-year-old London-born school kid, centres around the fate of Syrian refugee child Ahmet who, separated from his family through war and death, joins their class.
Ian said, “The clever ploy in this book is the perspective. The narrating character doesn’t know much about the war in Syria and the refugee crisis. What the child knows for sure though is that they want to befriend the stranger. Born out of empathy, the desire to reach out is the driving force of the book and it cuts through any prejudicial views on different cultures and otherness.
“Another reason why I have chosen this book is that it shows the amazing role football can play in overcoming barriers as a universal language that everyone can speak and connect with, regardless of their background.”
And, as Ian argues, not only does the book challenge prevalent racist stereotypes from the refreshing perspective of a child, but it offers a timely reminder of the importance of looking out for one another in a spirit of friendship and kindness in everyday life and to counter the isolation imposed by Covid-19.
Ian continued, “I have really enjoyed this book and hope you get the chance to read it too! And, since it’s World Book Day, we have created a competition that you can take part in by writing a review of the book. The best entry will receive a Dundee United home top signed by the First Team and we are really grateful to the author Onjali Q. Raúf for donating three signed copies of her latest book, The Night Bus Hero, which both the winner and the two runners-up chosen by me will receive.”
The novel’s author Onjali Q. Raúf is the founder of Making Herstory and the O's Refugee Aid Team, which provides support for refugee families surviving in Calais and Dunkirk. In her work in the camps, she witnessed first-hand the unique transformative power of football to bring people together.
Raúf said, “In my many years of working with people stemming from all parts of the world in the refugee camps of northern France, there is only one game I know of which can break down every cultural, religious, language, and even physical barrier between different groups of people in under five seconds flat - and that is football! Alongside requests for food, fresh water, tents and anything that will help keep them warm and fed, the requests for "football please!" rank amongst the highest and most joyous asks we receive. Some of my best memories out in the field are of playing makeshift, spontaneous games of football with children so traumatised by war they can't yet speak. For a few moments and minutes, the beautiful game really does make even the hardest of hardships feel eased, and the world beautiful again.
“I am so very honoured that Dundee United have given Ahmet's story the gift of a home this World Book Day: it's a home which he, as an aspiring world-class footballer - an aspiration shared by so many of the little boys and girls surviving in the world's camps - would have been overjoyed to find himself in."
Supporting Ian’s World Book Day appeal, Jamie Kirk, Chief Executive of the Club’s Community Trust added, “Reading and lifelong learning in general are key areas of focus for us so we’re delighted to be a partner in this campaign. We’ll be working with local schools to encourage everyone to take part, offering to support pupils with writing their book review entry as well as donating copies of the book itself to the schools to make this as accessible as possible. We know first-hand how inspiring Dundee United players are within the local community and it’s fantastic to see Ian take the lead in raising awareness, not only of attainment, but of friendship, kindness and the inclusive power of football!”
For your chance to win a Dundee United football top signed by the first team and/or a signed copy of Onjali Q. Raúf’s latest novel, The Night Bus Hero, please email your review of The Boy at the Back of the Class to Ian@dundeeunitedct.co.uk by 12 April 2021. Entrants must be aged between eight and twelve years of age. The top three entries will be chosen by Ian Harkes and contacted per email. Click here for more information on the subject of refugees in Scotland.
View our video with Ian Harkes here or click on the image below.
