scottishtuner 0 Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Exclusive Teen Refugee Who Escaped Carnage Lives Dream As Football Starlet A TEENAGE refugee who fled the Ivory Coast after witnessing his father's execution by rebel soldiers has signed for Rangers. Lacine Cherif, 16, earned an Ibrox contract four years after dad Mamadou sacrificed his life to stop him being press ganged into being a boy soldier. The young star was just 12 when he ran from his home in terror after seeing his father shot during the civil war that devastated his homeland. He was hidden from the rebels, then bundled on to a plane with a middleman by his mum-not knowing which country he was going to. Lacine got through customs without a passport or papers. He walked the streets of Glasgow in tears - clueless of his whereabouts - after arriving penniless and alone in Scotland without a word of English. And he feared he would never see the rest of his family alive again. But incredibly Lacine is now a fulltime youth player at Gers, with dreams of playing in Walter Smith's first-team. The Red Cross have now tracked down his mother Nawa, brothers Karim and Mohammed and sister Mariam. The teenager will meet his mum for the first time in four-and-a-half years when she flies to Glasgow. He said: "The plan is for my mum to come over and visit. I'm so excited about it, I can't wait. "I'm waiting to find out from my solicitor how long it'll take for her to come over. "I'll take her somewhere nice - I want to show her a bit of Scotland. "It's also important she meets all the people who have been good to me. "I was born in Ivory Coast but Scotland is my home. "I feel like this is where I belong and everyone's been so good to me. I'm even picking up the Scottish words. I feel a bit Scottish now! "I feel proud I'm the first ever refugee to play for Rangers, it's something special." Lacine is an instantly likeable character. In fact, his smile practically lights up the drab physio's room at Rangers' Murray Park training complex. He is the last one to leave and you get the feeling he doesn't want to take off his 'number 57' Umbro gear. He reckons he is the luckiest wee boy around. Yet what he has been through is incomprehensible to most of us. Now fluent in English - and a wee bit of Scottish - the future looks bright for the 16-year-old. Lacine - who will go to the Scottish Parliament tomorrow with other refugees to meet First Minister Alex Salmond - admits the possibility he would never see his family again had crossed his mind. He said: "Since I arrived in this country on my own, I started trying to trace my family. "I wrote a letter tomy mum and gave it to the Red Cross so if they found her they could pass it on. "When I heard the wonderful news I couldn't believe it. I genuinely thought to find my family would require a miracle. "It was a complete shock to me. I always had a hope and I think I'm lucky. At times, I did think the worst - that I might never see them again. "But I had a wee belief inside me that I'd find them. "I phoned my mum that night and I didn't even tell her I was a footballer! The first time, we couldn't even talk to each other. "She started crying and I started crying so we just hung up. "I phoned her the next day when we'd calmed down. She's doing fine. She stays with a friend but she's had to put the kids in another place. "In my mind, I want her to stay but I don't know what she's thinking. "I'd love her to be here for Christmas - that would be a dream for me." Lacine was separated from his family as a result of a bloody conflict in the Ivory Coast between the government in the south and rebel forces in the north. Civil war erupted on September 19, 2002, when more than 800 soldiers mutinied and launched attacks across the country. Although a peace agreement was signed in March it is still common to see children as young as eight toting guns. It is a battle which still splits the country in two and it is estimated hundreds of soldiers and thousands of civilians have died. What Lacine witnessed as a kid in his village of Douele is unimaginable - nothing more so than his father's death. After Mamadou tried to prevent the rebels snatching his son, he was ruthlessly killed in front of Lacine. But he managed to evade the soldiers and was somehow helped on to a flight by a family friend. It is a measure of Lacine's bravery he is even able to speak about it. He said: "The Ivory Coast is a tough place to live for a lot of people. It depends how wealthy you are. "When the war started, the rebels were raiding houses and forcing the children out to fight. "As I was the oldest, they wanted me but my mum and dad didn't want me to go to war. "They wanted to protect me from the war; they knew they had to get me out. "It was hard over there. I saw so many bad things during that war, which I never thought I'd see in my life. "Seeing people dying in front of your eyes is difficult. I watched people being killed but you can't think about it too much - you have to move on. "My dad isn't alive. I lost him due to the war and it was devastating. "He was killed. When the rebels came to try to take me, my dad didn't want me to go. "So he tried to fight with them so they shot him. It's something I'll never forget. "When I saw that, it was the moment I knew I had to go. "He'd be so proud of me if he could see me now, playing for Rangers. "I'm the oldest in the family and they all look up to me. I'm doing this for all of them. I just wish my dad was here today to see what I'm doing." Considering the circumstances of his arrival in Scotland, what Lacine has achieved already is remarkable. He touched down at Glasgow Airport totally unaware of where he was. He is not ashamed to admit just how petrified he was roaming around the city centre with tears streaming down his face. Thinking back, he smiled and said: "The guy I came on the flight with me was someone I didn't even know - I think he helped my family arrange to get me away from the trouble. "He was a friend of theirs but I didn't know him. I don't know how I ended up in Scotland. I slept all the way here, I was so tired. When I got to the airport I didn't know where I was. I was terrified, really scared. I didn't know what to do. "This guy took me for a walk in the city. He could see how tired I was and showed me a building. It was the Refugee Council. I was crying because I was so confused and still didn't know where I was - not even which country I was in. "At the door, a woman saw me crying and came towards me, speaking English. "I couldn't understand her as I was talking French. But she took my hand, ledme upstairs and they phoned Glasgow City Council. Alex, who became my social worker, came round and asked questions such as my name and where I was from. "He took me to a house and from there I started my new life in Scotland." Lacine had always played football in the Ivory Coast but didn't think for a minute he could play at a high level. Spotted by Gers scouts at Stenhousemuir Boys Club, he has signed a professional contract with the Ibrox club. He has already featured for the under-19 side and has ambitions of playing alongside players such as Barry Ferguson and Kris Boyd in the first team. One day, he would love to emulate his hero, Ivory Coast idol and Chelsea striker Didier Drogba. He said: "Drogba is a big hero to everyone in Ivory Coast. "Drogba helped stop the war between the rebels and the government. He made people understand it's important to love each other and stop fighting. "I have to pinch myself when I look around Murray Park and see what I've achieved so far. Hopefully, if I work hard and with the help of the coaches, like Craig Mulholland, Billy Kirkwood and Ian Durrant, I want to achieve a lot. "The first-team players have been fine with me, it's easy to talk to them, they don't push you away. It's nice to have French-speaking guys around like Jean-Claude Darcheville and Daniel Cousin. "Brahim Hemdani has also been really helpful. He calledme over one day and asked me how I was coping and said if he could ever help me I was just to ask. "My ambition is to stay in Scotland and be involved in the first team. I go to all the first-team games and it's a great atmosphere. "I've played one game on Ibrox against Hibs for the under-19s and it was a brilliant experience." Red Cross volunteer Frank Higgins has hailed Lacine as "amazing" and vowed to help get his family to Scotland. The charity worker is the manager of their International Tracing and Message Service and was instrumental in finding the teenage Rangers star's family. He said: "When things work out, like in Lacine's case, this is the best job in the world. "He's an amazing young man and it's quite humbling when you hear his story. "We stumble about moaning about so-called problems but when you know what that boy's been through, it puts things in perspective. "When he arrived in Scotland he gave us as many details about his family as possible. "After making inquiries with local people we managed to track down Lacine's mum and pass on a message from him. "When I told him, he was overjoyed. It was obvious he's a sportsman because he ran round to my office very quickly. "We're delighted and we'll apply through the United Nations for money to help bring his family to Scotland." If you need help from or want to help the Red Cross, phone 0141 331 4170, or log on to www.redcross.org.uk 'When rebels came for me my dad fought them, so they shot him.He would be so proud of me at Rangers' Lancine Cherif an amazing story Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimenez 1 Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Posted before mate But this is the sort of story you never tire of reading From outright dispair to a world of endless possibilities I hope that everything works out for him at Rangers, but more importantly I wish him and his family health and happiness Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvager 498 Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Posted before mate But this is the sort of story you never tire of reading From outright dispair to a world of endless possibilities I hope that everything works out for him at Rangers, but more importantly I wish him and his family health and happiness Well said Jiminez. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza 21 Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Posted before mate But this is the sort of story you never tire of reading From outright dispair to a world of endless possibilities I hope that everything works out for him at Rangers, but more importantly I wish him and his family health and happiness Well said Jiminez. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
disgruntled_bear 157 Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Just makes u think, Good luck to the boy hopefully he's the next DROGBA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
delparlane 5,753 Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 What an amazing story - really brings a lump to the throat. What a delight it would be to see him succeed at the club. Best of luck to him and his family! :beer2: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewbacca 8 Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 I hope he's able to get his whole family over to visit, see him in his new life. Good luck to him Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvager 498 Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 I hope he's able to get his whole family over to visit, see him in his new life. Good luck to him That would be nice! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
YankatOxford 0 Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Frankly its simply an amazing story. Saying Cote d'Ivoire is a troubled country, is like gently pointing out Gers have been inconsistent over the last few years. The civil war has a left huge gash in society. You might have heard in the last year the government permitted toxic waste to be dumbed on the streets of Abidjan. Hundreds of people died from the poisoning and exposure side effects. A mate of mine was there with the peace core, during that time there were two coups, and the government was extremely unstable. Attempted land redistribution damaged the prospects of hundred- thousands of cocoa farmers. Corruption and bribery remain incredibly high, and a UN backed attempt to limit weapons in the country through "Zones of Confidence." has merely contributed to increased arms sales. Hopefully, all of those families (not just Lacine's) have improved chances in the future. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coopermania 1 Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 seen this before, but worth a re-read for sure. Makes you think. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR 1,480 Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Incredible story, kinda puts things in perspective. Good luck to you and yours young sir. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSuedeSambas 54,488 Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 What an incredible story. Really puts things into perspective. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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