Despite the ongoing conflict, fund and resource crunch, players visit relief camps to teach football to conflict-affected people.
In June this year, a local football team, despite the ongoing violence in Manipur, ventured out to reach a relief camp in Sagolmang, Imphal East. On their way, they were stopped at multiple checkpoints and were interrogated. The questions were intimidating, but their intention was clear—help people living in relief camps heal through sports; football precisely.
What makes this endeavour all the more special is that this is India’s first trans football team. The community has been historically marginalised and kept on the peripheries. Hence, the aim of these trans players of helping people heal through trauma and chaos amid the civil unrest that has been unfolding for months now is even more commendable.
However, when they reached the relief camp, watching their people torn away from their homes, with their houses torched and livelihoods lost, living in desperate conditions, left the players heartbroken. So, they decided to continue visiting as many relief camps as possible.
The credit for forming a trans football team goes to Ya_All—a United Nations recognised first registered LGBTI+ youth-led and focused organisation based in the North East that works in the areas of health, well-being, gender inequalities, providing comprehensive sex education and spreading awareness through sports. Through their flagship event, Queer Games, the organisation aims to spread awareness about the LGBTI community in Manipur and the Northeast by using sports and games as tools.
Talking about the first attempt made by the trans football team to reach the relief camp in Imphal, Ya_All coordinator Surchand says: “The route to the relief camp was quite risky and the players were a little scared. On their way, very pointed questions were asked to them. But when they explained the purpose of their visit, the players were allowed to go.”
He feels while the incidents of everyday violence may have gone down, but peace and normalcy are yet to be restored in the state and hence, despite the concerns about the safety and security of the trans football players, they all feel motivated to keep going.
Ya_All founder and CEO Sadam Hanjabam says the aim of the organisation is “to create a safe space for all and to strive for inclusivity irrespective of identities”. Without divulging into the politics of the violence that has gripped the state, he shares that the loss inflicted by the conflict impacts the mental health of people across all age groups, and it is necessary to address the trauma people are burdened with. He also mentions how trauma leads to parents getting emotionally detached from their children as sustenance becomes the only priority.
The all-trans players' team, including youngsters like Yai, Rita, Neeru, Anbo, Tang and Tangashram, conducts an eight to ten-day session at each camp, depending upon the time they have and if any new conflict does not arise. Despite the admiration and praise the media has bestowed upon them, the team continues to struggle with a dearth of resources and funding and is affected by an internet ban imposed in the state since the outbreak of violence in early May 2023.
When they started their football coaching at the first camp, the thought of providing jerseys and equipment required for the training came to the minds of the trainers. “We don't have the kind of resources to provide jerseys and boots to all the participants in the camp. So, the players felt a bit skeptical about being there as we couldn't meet all the needs, which was a bit disappointing,” shares Surchand, adding that despite this, children in the camp were elated to see the team and they assembled in the playground wearing simple sandals.
For the players who have experienced marginalisation and trauma for the most part of their life, the scene was worrying, yet resilience and good sportsmanship is their mantra to always put up their A game. At the end of each session, the team provides small and light refreshments to the participants, aged between five and eighteen. This gesture sends them on a spree of joy and happiness in these tough times.
The status of mental and emotional stability and health of the children at the camp, due to the lack of resources, mirrors the everyday experiences of the players. Atang runs a grocery shop, Yai (31) works as a coordinator with Ya_All, Neeru and Anbo help with their respective family businesses, while Rita works as a security personnel in a hospital.
Beyond the rainbow lies the cloudy reality of their everyday lives. With the least support, emotional and monetary, due to their gender expression, financial and physical stability is a big challenge for the young players who are a part of India’s history. “They are kind of torn apart between their families and being in the team. Since most of us don't have complete support from our family members, if we fall sick, or sustain injuries while playing, or in the event of any mishap while we visit the relief camps, our families might not be completely by our side. It's a sad reality,” the players share.
To strengthen the team, they feel it is important to have more training sessions and further expansion. However, with the constant pressure of earning money and taking care of full responsibility for all their expenses, the athletes find it quite hard to balance their work life and make time for the training. In a country and society that remains divided along the lines of caste, gender, religion, race, and class, where the concept of “us” and “them” shape everyday lives, Hanjabam’s Ya_All attempts to create a safe space through sports in the face of transphobia and discrimination.
Violence, resistance, a lack of support and financial distress—all forces combined do little or nothing for the sportsmanship to bend down—the team has conducted three sessions at different relief camps so far with three to four others in the pipeline. Despite all adversaries, they continue with a sense of hopefulness for their state, and for their people.
“Because, at the end of the day, we need to live for something, for a purpose, right? This feeling boosts and motivates us to expand and connect more with people in relief camps,” says Hanjabam. Putting together India’s first all-trans football team, which, at present, has 13 players, is also Hanjabam’s own journey of loss and resilience, which is reflected in each of the team members. In the state of Manipur, which shares an emotional relationship with football, Ya_All has chosen the right sport to help people heal.
In times of conflict, rapport building with affected people by the members of a community that has been historically marginalised is enabled by a sense of shared loss and extremities. “We need to initiate meaningful dialogues so that people broaden their perspectives. Their minds are clogged with disturbing and negative thoughts and a dialogue will enable them to deal with the ongoing crisis in a healthy way. Being in touch with such people is our way of attempting to help them heal,” says Hanjabam.