outcasts united.

Over the summer, the freshman class was given a reading assignment.  The book that was chosen was one of diversity, and unity, titled "Outcasts United."  The novel is based within a small town outside of Atlanta, Georgia.  Within this town, a great change has been slowly occurring throughout the past decades, as swarms of immigrants immerse the towns once vacant apartment complexes, courtesy of the American government.  The towns people, most of whom have been living their for generations, do take the light to the situation, most of them move to the other side of town and stay as far away from the new towns people as much as they can.

The immigrants come from dozens of countries, mostly in Africa, in which civil warfare and poverty have turned them into refugees.  Most have seen first hand the terror that occurs during war, and most do not have the means to talk to someone about it. The children of theses refugees find an outlet to their hard times by playing soccer on the street, as they cannot afford to play for a real team.

An immigrant herself, Luma, was in town one day visiting a specialty grocery store when she noticed the kids playing soccer. A youth soccer coach herself, she thought it would be an excellent idea to form a no-fee soccer team, which was later named "The Fugees."
As the story continues, it goes in depth about the struggles of the team, the backgrounds of a few players, and the story of Luma, their coach.

Reading between the lines, I feel that this book is about more than a soccer team.  It touches upon the challenges of living in a new place, fitting in with different cultures, while still embracing who you are and practicing your beliefs.  You can compare this in a way to being a freshman in college.  The experience of being on your own, fitting in to a new environment, and getting along with people with different belief systems than yourself.  It is all an ever changing learning process, and it is one of the struggles in life that we must all overcome.

The "Fugees"