{"id":6714,"date":"2015-09-19T22:28:27","date_gmt":"2015-09-19T20:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/2015\/09\/19\/studenten-sporten-en-spelen-met-vluchtelingen\/?lang=en"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:22","slug":"studenten-sporten-en-spelen-met-vluchtelingen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2015\/09\/19\/studenten-sporten-en-spelen-met-vluchtelingen\/","title":{"rendered":"Students play games and sports with refugees"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Toys collected for refugees in Erasmsu Sportscentre last September<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>

On Saturday afternoon, about a dozen students played with children and adolescents who were among the refugees who are currently being accommodated at Erasmus University\u2019s Sports Centre, and helped them get some exercise.<\/p>\n

The mood at the Sports Centre was peaceful. Around midday, it got crowded in the cafeteria when the refugees received their lunch. A few small groups of people hung out in the corridors, in the sleeping quarters and at the caf\u00e9\u2019s outdoor seating area. Later on, they spread over the various rooms within the centre. Volunteers and employees of all kinds of relief agencies manned stands which dispensed food, first aid and clothing, and kept an eye on the various people entering and leaving the Sports Centre.<\/p>\n

The students were favourably impressed with the situation at the centre. \u2018You never know what to expect in these circumstances, but it isn\u2019t too bad,\u2019 said all three female students who were in an Erasmus Sports office, sorting out the heaps of toys which had been collected. They were trying to choose the right toys for the right age.<\/p>\n

Huge pile of toys<\/h2>

An impressive number of cuddly toys, toy cars, craft supplies and other playthings had made its way to the Sports Centre. And these, it transpired, were just the items donated to Erasmus Sports. Later that afternoon, we learned that student football club Antibarbari had announced it would no longer accept any donations, as its clubhouse was filled to the brim with toys.<\/p>\n

The three female students sorting through the toys are all members of Antibarbari, and they are hard and efficient workers. They went through the toys in a jiffy, then moved them to one of the smaller rooms at the Sports Centre, which had been converted into a children\u2019s games room. \u2018There\u2019s a bit of a Wild West vibe going on here,\u2019 said Evelien, herself an Antibarbari member, characterising the atmosphere. \u2018There are loads of people here, and they\u2019re all doing whatever they think is right at that particular moment.\u2019<\/p>\n

An interpreter was requested to announce in Arabic \u2013 which appears to be the language of communication for most of these refugees \u2013 that toys had arrived and that the children were welcome to go and play with them. It was mainly very small children who were playing with their new treasures and having fun. The slightly older kids \u2013 aged 6 to 8 \u2013 didn\u2019t seem to be playing so much as picking toys they liked and trying to hang on to them. They clearly knew they would be leaving the refugee centre soon.<\/p>\n\n\t

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Een lijst van afbeeldingen<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t
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