Mary ties up her cool black Adidas sneakers with its hot pink laces before racing onto the soccer pitch. With her long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail and a wide grin on her face, the 13-year-old girl looks like any other ordinary teen playing with her friends.
But Mary’s childhood has been far from ordinary.
The young girl fled with her family from their war-torn home in Mosul, Iraq to escape the oppressive rule of the Islamic State group. Before finding refuge in the Kurdish town of Koy Sanjaq or Koya as it’s commonly called, about 155 kilometres east of Mosul, Mary and her family lived in Baghdad.
In a touching video produced by UNICEF Iraq and uploaded online on Monday, Mary and a group of other young girls who have also left their homes in Mosul can be seen running, laughing and kicking around a soccer ball together during a sunny day on April 7.
Despite their relative proximity to the violence consuming their former home as Iraqi government forces battle with ISIS for control of the city, the girls appeared relaxed and at peace on the soccer field.
“I can play because I have confidence. Football is good for everyone. It’s not just for men, it’s for women, too,” Mary said.
The girls from Mosul and refugee children from other regions weren’t alone on the field either.
Dozens of local Kurdish residents gathered on the sidelines to watch the match and cheer the girls on with loud clapping and excited hollering. A few Kurdish girls participated in the game alongside the newcomers.
One of those local girls, Rhezin, said she plays soccer every day and scores every day too. The 16-year-old girl remarked on how the game has brought strangers in Koya together.
“Football is very important,” Rhezin said. “Now we see a lot of peace in here because we’re playing together – IDPs [Internally Displaced Persons], refugees and Kurdish.”
With a welcoming crowd of supporters behind them, the young girls from Mosul are developing friendships and finding peace while playing a sport they love.
“Everybody can play football,” Rhezin said simply. “It’s not just for me. It’s for everybody.”
