When the ball comes off Faraja Mugisho’s foot and into the back of the net, he finds himself feeding off the triumph days, weeks, months later – replaying the moment in his mind.
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In his upended life, this simple game has been a rare constant. The rules of soccer, at least, haven’t changed since his days growing up in the east Congolese city of Bukavu, where the boys played on a dusty pitch with a ball made from a clump of used plastic bags.
“Our parents would cane you if they saw [the dirt from the pitch] on our shoes, so we played without them” said Mr Mugisho, 27, who came to the Illawarra as a refugee one year ago.
“In my country there [was a view] that soccer is for people who are uneducated.
“My dad did not allow us to play. He said, if you’re going to play soccer today, tomorrow you’re going to forget school. Soccer has no opportunity in that country.”
Memories are all Mr Mugisho has of his father. He had left his family to study in Uganda in 2011 when he learnt Mr Mugisho senior, a pastor, had been kidnapped by suspected rebels. The pastor had refused to campaign on behalf of the city’s corrupt rulers, Mr Mugisho said.
“That is when my misery started,” he said. “I don’t really have any idea if he’s alive.”
Mr Mugisho is among Illawarra refugees who came together on Wednesday for a five-a-side soccer tournament hosted by Illawarra Multicultural Services, as part of Refugee Week.
The event – an extension of informal weekly games - made teammates of refugees and players from the wider community, forging new connections, IMS caseworker Tara Reardon said.
“It’s an opportunity for the wider community to engage with people from refugee backgrounds in a healthy and positive environment,” she said. “It’s also an opportunity for people from refugee backgrounds to celebrate and embrace where they have come from and their future in their new home of Wollongong.”
Mr Mugisho left behind his parents and 10 siblings when he departed the Congo.
He remembers how the family huddled together in a downstairs room one Wednesday in 2003 when gunfire sounded outside their home. The children skipped school for the next two days, crouching underneath a mattress, as the fighting continued. They emerged on the Saturday to find bodies in the streets.
Mr Mugisho has taken to Facebook in the hope of finding his family. He worries for them every day and dreams of a reunion. Meantime there is soccer, and peace.
“I have seen many things in my life, things which are like a movie,” Mr Mugisho said. “Every morning when I wake up, I feel like my heart is cooling down. I feel that I’m safe. My future is safe.”
