CityNews – British football club, Sheffield United, have offered a professional contract to a former Karen refugee after the 18-year-old impressed the club at the under 21s trials.
Photo: Sheffield United
Kler Her was born in a refugee camp in Thailand, where he spent most of his childhood with no official identity.
After failed attempts to move to Australia, the future looked bleak for Kler and his family, until they were resettled to the UK as part of the United Nations Gateway Protection Programme in 2006.
Unable to speak English, Kler spoke of how he used football, a universal language, to communicate.
After three trials, he has now successfully made the under 21s team, becoming the first Karen refugee to play professionally with Sheffield United.
Now holding a British passport, Kler went back to Thailand in 2012 to visit family and friends, who are still in the refugee camp.
“I know that I am representing myself, my family, friends and everyone in Myanmar and Thailand. Kler said. “I want to be a positive role model and a symbol of hope that there is life outside the refugee camps.”
Read the full story at The Guardian.