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SOCCER BRIDGES AMARA'S WAY FROM SIERRA LEONE

Mr. Crispin Cole | May 20, 2006

MIKE MALLOY
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
(Courtesy The Des Moines Register)

May 20, 2006


Like many soccer players, Morris Amara started playing when he was very young, honed his skills at a club and is now starring for his high school team.

His story, however, is anything but typical.

Amara, a Hoover senior, was born in Sierra Leone - a nation on Africa's western coast - and will step onto the pitch today for a substate match with Urbandale.

There's pressure, but nothing comparing to what Amara already has faced.

The long walk

Amara lived in Freetown - Sierra Leone's capital. Its sprawling cityscape and population of over 1,000,000 gave him ample chances to play his favorite sport.

"When he was little, five or six, he would be gone all the time. I would have to look for him; he was playing soccer," said Amara's mother, Kadiatu Massaquoi.

His speed, combined with ever-improving skills, made him a dazzling player.

"Street soccer is all about dribbling and quick legs. It really helped my game, then when I was nine or 10 I went to a soccer school, and that's the first time I played field soccer," Amara said.

The streets taught Amara much about soccer, and also brutality. A now-ended civil war that began in 1991 was fought largely in rural areas of the county, but Amara vividly remembers the day the conflict came home.

"The war never really hit me until Jan. 6, 1999," he said. "It was a cool morning . . . a Wednesday. They took over."

"They" is the Revolutionary United Front - a rebel force that was attempting to overthrow the government. Its methods were barbaric.

"I saw a lot of my friends killed. If they found out you were against them, they would use a car tire, put kerosene on it, light a match, and burn you on the street," Amara said.

It's been said that wars stop during the World Cup, and perhaps it is that sentiment that saved Amara.

"A lot of the RUF were friendly to me because I played soccer," he said.

Amara, Massaquoi, step-father, David, and sister, Isha - now also a Hoover student - left Freetown. They embarked on their own trail of tears as they walked hundreds of miles to Guinea, Sierra Leone's northern neighbor, where Massaquoi had family.

"No vehicle, no money, sometimes no food," Massaquoi said. "Sometimes all we had was water."

America, eventually

David moved to the United States in 1999, and Morris, Isha and Massaquoi followed - arriving in Des Moines on May 31, 2001.

Amara spoke some English, and said being an athlete "definitely made it easier."

His new town was radically different from his old, but even downsides had advantages.

"It's boring, I won't lie, but it is a good place to raise a family," Amara said. "(Freetown) was always packed. Over there, there would always be kids running around, markets in the street, a lot going on."

Amara found Americans to be friendly and accepting, though sometimes ignorant.

"People will be like, 'Oh, you're from Africa.' Well, Africa is a big continent with many countries," Amara said. "A lot of Americans only know what's around them. If you're on top of the world, you should know about the people below you."

Among friends

An athlete referring to teammates as "family" is common, but Amara shares even more than his sport with several members of the Hoover team.

Juniors Abu Darboh and Abdulai Kamara also hail from Sierra Leone, while several other players immigrated from neighboring Liberia, which also is recovering from civil war.

Bonding with teammates on the field took longer.

"When I was younger, I would never pass the ball," Amara said.
Amara - who leads Hoover with 10 goals and seven assists - credits coach Chris Faidley for making him a more complete player.
"Kobe Bryant has the ability to score 40 or 50 points a night, but just because you can doesn't make it right," Faidley said. "As a sophomore he took in upon himself to beat two or three guys. He's a better player now, but he's not as flashy."

But he is focused.

"Back in the day I was one of the best players, but I would get mad, get a red card and get kicked out. Now I keep my cool," he said.

Amara's college plans are uncertain. His outlook is not.

"I could have died during the war, so that's why you have to live life to the fullest," he said.