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“A PROJECT THAT CHANGED MY LIFE AND IS ALSO, CHANGING THE ONE OF MANY OTHERS”
Hi everyone! My name is John Jairo Vahos Vásquez, I am Colombian and come from a northeast neighborhood of Medellin, considered as one of the most violent cities in America. However, it is the most gorgeous city in the world because of its people, with very beautiful women, there, you don’t feel hot nor cold: it has the nicest weather in the universe, like an everlasting spring.
I am a Social-Sports Promoter. I use community sports as a peace tool, to induce formation habits and values to the young participants in the social projects. These are people in high risk of drug consumption, alcoholism or to be part of right wing and left-wing parties, gangs, etc.
At the beginning I used to be a young street hoodlum, member of gangs, taking wrong steps in life. As well as all young people in the city, I had two things in common with them: being a delinquent and playing soccer; on the first account, I was a social indapted always going out to fetch and hunt and on the second, it was soccer. I played it with passion, because it is a fashion, because playing well is the thing-to-do. At the long run I chose the second one, I played with several important teams of the Amateur National League.
The happiness of playing with the Amateur League didn’t last long: when I was 16, I was already a father, with a full responsibility ahead of me. So I quit playing soccer to become a tournament organizer and to referee games: that’s how y made my living at that point.
I’ll never forget the first tournament I organized, nor the FIFA organization will forget it either, as all the protagonists of the urban conflict participated in it: all the gang leaders. In other words, 18 teams, the most difficult and conflictive ones of the city.
The first date of competition generated a lot of expectation not only among the players but also among the whole community.
It was an exhausting journey: after whistling 5 encounters, everybody was expecting the sixth game. It was going to be between the two most powerful gang-leading groups (“combos”)1, and with the biggest rivalry between the two of them in the city. One of these groups was lead by one of the most powerful crime men in the city, who is at present dead. This game was not only an encounter, but also respect, power and command, were at stake. When there was only one minute left to end the game, I whistled a penalty and this action meant a goal against this man’s team and, all turned out in a tie between the two participants.
At the end of the game one of the players took out a machine gun and pointed it at me, while the other players and fans threw eggs and rocks at me. This was a difficult moment but thanks God, a friend passed me a gun so I could defend myself. This same man at the same time told the losing team: “he’s not a coward”! (“Guevón”)2. “Vahos will let himself be killed”. The losing team’s leader told both of us to throw away our weapons, disallowed his own man and said to me: “you took a bribe!”
I had programmed the best and ever seen party for that day, but decided to postpone it due to that day’s happening. Half an hour later, this gang leader came to my home and told me to stop being an ashole3 (“guevonadas”)4. The man who pointed the machine gun at me came along, the gang leader had him apologize and insisted I threw the party, so we all could have a great time and also gave me a lump of money as a token of friendship. (“me ligó – ligar”)5.
The party indeed took place that night, the best spree in the neighborhood, it lasted until 10:00 a.m. the next day, all of it financed by him.
Due to this fact, INDER (Leisure and Sports Institute) and the Peace and Cohabitation Consulting Office, the two under Medellin’s Mayor’s control, both realizing this tournament had been organized with the actors of the conflict, decided to contract me through a lunatic German, who in the process, fell in love with a local girl and eventually, had two daughters with her. He noticed how this beautiful but so violent city had so much potential through the soccer activity. Violent, because most of the dead were young people. He then wills himself to start a project using soccer as a peace tool where the actors were the young men, as this sport was one of the few things they had in common.
Street or community soccer is played with a lot of passion everywhere in the city. He trained 16 leaders out of the different Communes, in order to use sport as a peace tool and to induce good habits.
From this training the life project LIVE THE GAME-SOCCER FOR THE PEACE is born. Its evaluation instrumentation is a full social pedagogy, it is not a social event, it’s a life project, it’s a cohabitation ruling, and itÅfs a series of truce pacts. I remember that in the first meeting we treated the German gut as if he was out of his mind, for having such a crazy idea. It was a crazy idea to try co-ed soccer, where women were the actors in the game, without referee, and on top of it, to get cohabitation and truce pacts in a city so full of violence with natural and imaginary borders with such an overwhelming social decay. Nevertheless, he managed to create some mind restlessness in us and then decided to bet for a real peace-sharing city, using soccer as a resocializing tool.
At that point we started a pilot phase with the participation of the 16 communes of the city and after that, we had a ceremony to get the blessing of God, under the motto SOCCER FOR THE PEACE. This time my life really changed. They made me sensitive, they showed me another positive way to follow. This is how I learned how to play winning and losing without anger. As a Mediator (Asesor-Consultant)6, I then learned the importance of reconciling, dialoguing and mediating in a conflict. And as a Facilitator, I learned that community sport can be used as “down payment” to solve differences and to carry a message of faith, joy and healthy leisure.
From here on, I train 70 social-sports leaders in the area where I live, where soccer and violence alternate with each other. They also decide to bet in the breaking of borders, caused by the social decay.
Today I am looked at as the peace and cohabitation leader, the man who inflicts joy, not the socially inadapted person I used to be.
This is how the project was eventually taken to all the communes and reached 1.200 teams, 12.000 direct and indirect participants, all together, about 200.000. Many borders were broken down, truce pacts took place, and reconcilement and cohabitation spaces were created. The city obtained the highest benefit after 4 to 5 years of conflict among the communes. Soccer allowed us to relate with each other, enjoyment for young people, healthy get-together-place (parche)7. Even, the achievement of families conformed by players. This project “Soccer for the peace” has been the core for other projects, such as “Soccer Without Frontiers”, “Soccer of the Night” “Fair Play Cup”, all of them with different methodology, but all of them pointed to the social goal and lead by the philosophy of “Soccer for the Peace”.
Today there’s a new project going on with a lot of drive that will give a lot to talk about in all of Colombia, and will break all schemes. Its name is “El Golombiao” – The game of peace. I call it a true God’s blessing.
It is being developed in 35 Municipalities of 15 Departments of our country, where there are left wing and right wing groups and a lot of social decay. We are sure we are going to hit them hard. The Colombian Government will be present with an open and big heart. We are willing to bring them a new socializing tool of cohabitation, a new set of values, healthy enjoyment, for them to make a dance with and enjoy it as well. And the most important things, respect for life and for those affected by violence. We are going to win against indifference.
I will be a part of a work team in this project called the Technical Coordination Team and I will be travelling throughout the whole country, training the sports leaders called the “Facilatators”, motivating the young men and women participating in the project.
This new project has made such a great impact in me! For example, we made contact with Carlos Arango the leader of Commune 13 of Medellin. This Commune is the most violent in all South America. We asked him if he would like to work with us; despite the fact that two weeks ago his son was assassinated in broad daylight, he doesn’t despair and will continue struggling for the young people, that this motivates him to work even harder for the project, though his son’s death is the hardest blow he has received in his life. Another case is in the Urabá zone, where another participant’s mother and father were killed by the violent and still, he says this project will be his motivation to project himself as a facilitator for the peace and cohabitation; and that it will be useful for the society in general. As a personal comment to you, this is a blessing from God.
Finally, I would like to take these projects of life to those countries undergoing a social decay, such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Pakistan, Cambodia or any other in need, because I know there are young people in anguish, with no other alternative of life; I would like to take this pedagogy, this message of love, faith and hope.
I invite you all to visit the Corner of Heaven in Medellin, Colombia, so we can have a terrific and unforgettable time together (chévere)8.
Thank you from a “parcero”9 from the whole planet.
JOHN JAIRO VAHOS VÁSQUEZ
1 combos: Word used to refer to very tight group of people, who leave no access
to others.
2 Guevón: Literally, “person with big balls”, meaning stupid or coward.
3 ashole: Only possible English word to express, in this case, “Stop behaving like an enemy with me”
4 guevonadas: As in numeral 4, this word can be interpreted as the one in English, “Ashole”
5 me ligó – ligar: In Medellin’s young people's street talk, this word means “to give money, as a present or gift”
6 Asesor-Consultant: In the Soccer for the Peace, this word replaces the traditional one of “Referee”, as his function goes beyond, the “Asesor” also mediates and helps with the conflicts deriving from the game.
7 parche: Public site where young people meet, usually at corners, parks, taverns, atriums, etc.
8 chévere: That something is terrific, great, groovy, really nice and unforgettable.
9 parcero: “The best friend” in Medellin’s young people street talk.
John Jairo Vahos Vásquez