Soccer is the universal language for students at Brookland-Cayce High

Brookland-Cayce High has been an international melting pot for quite some time. Each year, its boys' soccer roster includes one or two foreign exchange students.

But this season, some of the boys whose names stand out on the Bearcats' roster are not here for cultural enrichment. Juniors Sun Day, Heh Htoo and Gler Taw came to America, and Cayce, South Carolina, seeking refuge.

"Our parents came here for our education, for us to have a better life than them, for us to live our lives, they left their (parents) behind in order for us to be happy and have better life," Sun said.

The three are from the Southeast Asian nation of Burma, also called Myanmar, and are members of the Karen ethnic group, which has endured more than 30 years of "ethnic cleansing" by the Myanmar army.

While the Karen National Union fights against government persecution, thousands have sought sanctuary in one of the nine refugee camps set up along Burma's border with Thailand. One of Sun Day's older sisters died while fleeing to the Tham Hin camp. Heh Htoo's family is at the largest camp, Mae La, which houses more than 40,000 refugees, while Gler Taw's family lived in Mae La Oon.

"In refugee camp, we don't have any freedom," Sun said. "There's not enough food for us to eat. There's no money; we can't go out and get jobs, so there's no money.

"You can't go home. And you can't leave or the Thai soldiers will arrest you. You can't do anything. There's nothing there."

In the refugee camps, Heh said, "There is no future. School is a joke, you can go to high school but then that's it."

But they did have soccer.

"You play soccer anywhere, but it's not like this. It's grass with rocks," Heh said. "Or you play in the mud."

No one had cleats, so soccer was played in boots, flip flops, or with bare feet. There were no teams with rosters, no leagues.

"Old people play with young kids, there's no organization," Sun said.

Brookland-Cayce coach Kevin Heise, a social studies and geography teacher, was intrigued to learn of his players' former circumstances.

"I remember when Sun was a freshman, and we were sitting on the bench during a junior varsity game and it started to rain," Heise said. "Sun looked up at the sky and started talking about how in the refugee camp, they would go out to play soccer in the rain just to take a shower."

Under president George W. Bush in 2006, the U.S. began accepting Karen refugees. Sun and Htoo came to the United States with their families about seven years ago, through area church sponsorships and Lutheran Services Carolinas, and life changed dramatically.

"Here in Cayce, it's the land of the free. We can do whatever we want," Sun said.

"The arrival of these Karen students from Thailand via Burma has just been remarkable, they have just been delightful. They have been so eager to learn and so grateful for everything they have here," said the boys' ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher Nancy Rollison, who spends time with them daily.

Bedrija Jazic, director of refugee resettlement services at Lutheran Services, said, "Refugees do always look for places where they feel comfortable and are welcomed, and they have found that in Cayce.

"The ultimate goal of resettlement is successful integration in the community."

She said she is not surprised that soccer is helping the boys with that process.

"The rest of the world is all about soccer, and we have a lot of kids who are getting involved in soccer, and I think it's wonderful."

So do the boys.

"It feels really good, and I feel special, to be here. For me to be here, playing here, I'm very happy and very thankful to my team, and the coach," Sun said, standing inside Brookland-Cayce's new stadium.

"When I play soccer, I feel good," Heh said. He said his American teammates have been supportive and understanding, and his family is happy.

"My dad is very proud of me, and he's very happy that I get to play, and he tells me to do my best. He knows this is one-in-a-lifetime chance to play."

Heise said Sun, Heh and Gler also are valuable to the Bearcats for their efforts off the field.

"We have a lot of diversity on our team, and that's what makes us stronger," said Heise, whose team also includes Italian exchange student Michele Mondini and Moroccan immigrant Ilyass Balota. "Most of the time when we take the field, we don't look like the other teams we face.

"It is nice to see these kids doing so well, but it's also sad to think of the thousands more like them that won't have this opportunity," Heise said.

"I feel like it's a tribute to them, as well as to the school, that they were willing to go out for the team, to step outside of their comfort zone and represent their school. The fact that they knew they would be accepted speaks well of the team and the school," Rollison said.

Gler has been in the United States three years, and has not become fluent in English yet, so his Karen teammates have been a crucial support system for him. With Sun translating for him, Gler said, "I feel happy that I'm not alone. I'm very happy that they're here to help me."

Having each other also makes a big difference when the Karen boys occasionally face intolerance from classmates.

"They keep calling me Chinese. They tell me I don't belong here, and go back where I came from," said Sun, whose parents recently became naturalized American citizens. "They don't understand what we've been through."

Heh added, "They don't understand that we don't have anywhere to go back to."

"It's true that this is not our home," Sun said. "But I'm happy to be under the same sky as them, to be standing under the American flag."

They proudly wear their Brookland-Cayce jerseys, and they are looking forward to helping the Bearcats push for a second consecutive berth in the Class 3A soccer championship.

Reach Nelson at (803) 771-8419

http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/soccer-is-the-universal-language-for-students-at-brookland-cayce-high/