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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 2018)
COMMUNITY August 6, 2018 Talking Story: American disability in a world of hurt, and joy Continued from page 6 This is also meaningful. Since only two percent of Oregonians are indigenous people, the rest of us had to get the hell out of town, not so long ago. Without Expedia. Maybe these neighbors don’t recall leaving everything behind because your arms are already full of frightened kids. Maybe there’s no living family history of roadside robbers beating you for your wedding ring or stomping grandpa for his gold tooth. Or of pirates taking your daughter’s precious childhood, knife at your throat. A better, a bigger, us Maybe Oregonians not close to this terror, are different from we who are. Maybe our neighbors don’t relive all this, every evening those humiliated dads’ eyes or their wounded daughters’ vacant stares are broadcast into our family rooms. Straight from America’s border. Maybe unlike me, many Portlanders don’t weep shamelessly, don’t stumble for days after — no matter how many oceans or decades, university degrees or regular paychecks, separate my debilitating memories from our shared present. Maybe we all better get this together, today. Surely our unaffected neighbors are more disabled than me. Certainly this inability to feel our communal American sorrow, our blessed little planet’s human ache, accounts for our nation’s odd divorce from a world of hurt. From our world of joy too. So sure, early tomorrow I’ll shove aside nightmares. I’ll rocket out of bed, ready to love, full of life. Because my disability is partial, temporary. I’ll brush my hair and teeth. Tomorrow early, my bursting heart will believe that when our grandkids’ open their 2038 U.S. history college texts, today’s madness will have been just another moody moment our America swung through. Sure we will. Insh’allaah. Nota on inspired Americans: My writing and lawyering are inspired by the decade-after-decade dutifulness of Native American elders uncle John Brave Hawk, uncle Edmo, don David Barrios; coach Morrie and daughter Jeri Jimenez; African-American anchors senator Avel Goodly, Ibu Kathleen Saadat, Mdm. Jo Ann Hardesty, pastor Matt Hennessee; Nikkei-American living treasures auntie Arlene Kimura, uncle Sho Dozono, and Mdm. June Arima Schumann; Cambodian survivors and American successes Mdm. Sivheng Ung and Royal Rosarian Kilong Ung, sisters Chhunny Sok and Mardine Mao; the historian of Filipino Oregon, manong Simeon Mamaril, and the engineer of everything Pilipino Portland, manong Jaime J. Lim; Persian peacemakers Dr. Ali Khajavi and my brother Goudarz Eghtedari; Hmong-American community builders grandpa Soua Lee Cha and Mr. Lee Po Cha; Muslim-American unifiers and healers professor Nohad Toulan, uncle Sal Kadri, Mdm. Leila Cully, suami Wajdi Said; Latino elders dona Maria Rubio, dona Marta Guembes, dona Irma Linda Castillo, don Alberto Moreno; Viet Kieu community architects father James Ninh, the Ven. Thich Minh Thien, Col. Nguyen Quoc Hung, Mdm. The Thuy Thi Tran, Thach Van Nguyen (Mr. T); tireless Somali peacemakers Jamal Dar and Musse Olol; Mother Africa Mdm. Therese Lugano and the Lion of Portland Djimet Dogo; Pacific islander big uncles Kolini Fusitu’a and Rev. Joe Enlet; Russian wonderwomen Mdm. Galina V. Nekrasova, Mdm. Natalya Sobolevskaya, Mdm. Victoria Cross; Lao-American grandpas Hongsa Chanthavong, Ah Siu Bounketh, Dr. Bruce Thaopao Bliatout, cowboy Vanhlang Khamsouk; teacher of three generations of educated and empowered Americans Mdm. Anne Downing. THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 11 Nadia Nadim plays match in Portland before heading to ICC tournament By Jody Lim The Asian Reporter adia Nadim, who played for the Portland Thorns during the 2016 and 2017 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) seasons, returned to Portland last month for a friendly match against Paris Saint- Germain (PSG) with her new club, Manchester City. The two teams are among the top clubs in women’s soccer. Following the friendly match, both squads travel- led to Florida to participate in the inaugural Interna- tional Champions Cup (ICC) women’s tourna- ment. This year was the first time the ICC tourna- ment included a women’s competition. It was also the first tournament to feature an NWSL team competing against clubs from Europe. In the match, which was held at Merlo Field on the campus of the University of Portland, Nadim scored her team’s only goal for a 1-0 victory. Similar to her two seasons spent with the Thorns, the Portland crowd gave Nadim a warm welcome and cheered her on during the match. Nadim’s journey to be- coming a pro soccer player has been well documented. Born in Kerat, Afghani- stan, then raised in Kabul until she was age 12, Nadia and her family had a typical life in Kabul until the war started. Her mother, Hamida, was a school principal, and her father, Rabani, was a general in the Afghan military. Nadim and her sisters — Giti, Diana, Muskan, and Mujda — attended school, spent time together, and went about daily life. In 2000, when Nadim’s father was executed by members of the Taliban, life quickly changed. The family fled to Pakistan, was smuggled away in a truck, and ended up in Randers, a small city in Denmark. From there, they were taken to an accommo- N SOCCER SUCCESS. Nadia Nadim, who played for the Portland Thorns during the 2016 and 2017 National Women’s Soccer League seasons, returned to Portland last month with her new club, Manchester City, for a friendly match against Paris Saint-Germain at Merlo Field on the campus of the University of Portland. (AR Photo/Jody Lim) dation center for asylum seekers in Copenhagen. At the accommodation center, Nadim’s new life began amid days filled with language lessons and pick- up soccer games. Also during this time, her family found a home of their own. In the summer of 2008, Nadia acquired her Danish citizenship. Eventually, Nadia com- mitted to a local soccer club, where she began learning the game beyond the many hours she’d spent running around playing pickup ball. By 2005, she was playing professionally — first with B52 Aalborg then seven seasons with IK Skovbakken (2006-2012). She joined Fortuna Hjørring in 2012, helped the club win a league title in 2014, then made her way to the U.S. to play in the NWSL. Nadim joined the Thorns in January 2016 in a trade with Sky Blue FC, the club she played for during the 2014 and 2015 NWSL seasons. Following the game at Merlo Field, and before both squads took a late flight to the east coast, Nadim spoke about the support she received from the fans: “Amazing! I love playing in Portland. I love the fans.” The ICC women’s tourn- ament took place July 26 and 29 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. On July 26, PSG faced the North Carolina Cour- age of the NWSL, a club featuring Abby Erceg, Yuri Kawamura, and others. The Courage prevailed, 2-1. In the other match of the day, Olympique Lyonnais defeated Man- chester City, 3-0. The winners of the July 26 semifinal round faced off in the tournament final on July 29. The Courage scored the game’s only goal and managed to keep Lyon off the scoreboard to win the title. In the third-place match played earlier in the evening, Manchester City defeated PSG, 2-1. To learn more, visit <www.internationalchamp ionscup.com>. Prosperous Land near Beaverton Space for organic Farm… Garden, Orchard, Animals Build Large House or Multiple Lots Quiet Street Nearly an Acre Joe Ke edy– Broker Lice sed i OR– 0 . 0 . 00 A A e Lake Os ego, OR 9 0 - jke edy@ i der ere.co
