Rugby to bring together and repair the divide with young people from the neighborhoods. It’s a initiative of the Citizen House, the VRDR but also the RCRPthe club where Thomas, killed a year ago in Crépol, and Nicolas, killed in Saint-Péray played on the night of October 31 to November 1. A first training session took place this Wednesday, November 20 at the Silvano Sauveur stadium.
“It’s important to show them that we open our doors to everyone.“ declares Mattéo, educator at VRDR. He and his colleagues managed to involve three young people from the neighborhood, aged 10 and 11, in the training. Among them, Mokhtar: “it’s very different from football, I really like it. We learn how to move, how to pass each other“Very quickly, bonds are formed with the coaches, the teenagers are running, a big smile on their faces. The hour passes quickly.”You had fun ?” asks Mattéo. The teenagers give a shy “yes”. Yet it’s certain, Mokhtar assures that he will come back and even says that he now prefers rugby to football.
“We are ready to come and get the young people”
These rugby initiations will take place every other Wednesdayuntil Christmas. No need to register or pay. Ages 11-17 are welcome.
A five-minute walk from the stadium, six older teenagers refuse to come and train. “However, this sport interests me.” admits Karim, 17 years old. “We don’t feel welcome in a rugby club since Thomas’ death. We made generalizations, they put us in the same bag. It doesn’t make us want to go there. It will be without me“.
This is precisely why Houda Boukhari, the director of the Noël-Guichard Citizen House in Romans, wants “renew a dialogue. It existed before. Now is the time to act“The work will be long, admits Alain Toporel, in charge of social ties at the RCRP club, who recalls that the initiative existed a few years ago: “It’s true that with the problems we had last year and recently, there has been a divide on both sides. But we are ready to come and get the young people here to bring them to our clubs. We knew it would be difficult the first sessions because you have to recreate something. But I believe in it, otherwise I wouldn’t be here“.
Senegal
