Ayoubah Fona

Profile

Ayoubah Fona, born and raised in Liberia, shares a poignant life story marked by adversity and resilience. Growing up in challenging circumstances with hardworking yet financially struggling parents, Ayoubah faced the difficulty of an unstable life in Liberia. His father, a taxi driver, endeavored to provide for the family amid the turbulent situation in the country.

Tragedy struck when Ayoubah lost his father in a religious riot in Lofa county at the tender age of four. This event left a lasting impact, as he, along with his senior brother, navigated life with their determined mother, who sustained the family through a small vegetable-selling business despite the unsafe conditions for Muslims in the country.

The backdrop of tribalism and violence between Lorma groups and Ayoubah's tribe, the Mandingo, added to the challenges of his upbringing. The precarious situation and witnessing ongoing threats adversely affected his mental health. The difficulties escalated with the Ebola outbreak, claiming the life of Ayoubah's mother, leaving him orphaned and facing an even more arduous journey.

In 2019, Ayoubah made the bold decision to migrate to Europe with his family, seeking safety and a fresh start. Grateful for the opportunities afforded by the European Union, he is determined to leave his painful past behind and focus on building a brighter future. Currently residing in Malta, Ayoubah is actively involved in self-improvement endeavors and has found solace in playing for Fgura Football Club.

Interview

1. Can you share more about your experiences growing up in Liberia and how the challenging circumstances shaped your early life?
Growing up in Liberia was a tough time because of the instability in the community. Actually, it was a difficult moment in my life because growing up in a place where there is no unity made be face a lot of challenges growing up when I was in my country.

2. Your mother played a crucial role in sustaining the family through a small vegetable-selling business despite unsafe conditions. Can you elaborate on the challenges your family faced during this time?
Yes, because I was raised from a poor family. Growing up as a kit I never saw my father. When my father passed away, my mother was the only person who could feed us. She was a seller, selling vegetables for our family to survive. I was only four years old when my father passed away.

3. The backdrop of tribalism and violence between Lorma groups and your tribe, the Mandingo, added to the difficulties of your upbringing. How did this affect your daily life and interactions within the community?
I felt that it was not safe to go around because actually at that moment even the thought of going to school, I had to stop going to school. When I was still going to school, my family had to come regularly for us at school because the place was unsafe because of the continuous war between these two ethnic groups, the Muslims and the Christians.

We come from the Mandingo ethnic group and we are a minority in Liberia. Growing up at that time actually I felt very unsafe. I could not talk or even go close to the Lorma people. I was not happy with this situation as I would have loved to have unity amongst these two ethnic groups but unfortunately there was nothing that I could do about it.

4. Migrating from Liberia to Europe in 2019 was a significant step. How has this transition impacted your perspective on life, and what opportunities and challenges have you encountered in your new environment?
Actually, when leaving my country, I was very young and did not leave on my own but was accompanied by my brother. During the journey I had another setback as I lost my brother and this was very sad for me. Consequently, I had to stay with people I had never seen before in my life. They were so good to me; they took me with them as when I lost my brother in the desert, I was very unhappy with the situation. I then met a friend of my brother when I was in the desert and this guy took me with him to Libya and I stayed with him for almost one and a half years before crossing over to Malta.

5. Can you share more about your experiences in Malta and your involvement with the Fgura Football Club? In what ways has your involvement with the Fgura Football Club contributed to your integration into the Maltese community?

When I came to Malta, I was feeling so sad and bored because when I was growing up I was so in love with sport. After a while, when I came here, I tried to find the opportunity to continue my sporting career. I used my own mobile to search for a football academy nearby. I was living in Fgura so I came across the Fgura Football Club. I tried to physically go there to see the youth team training centre and tried to make friends with some of the football players.

I had tried to contact the Club but they never replied so I went there directly. I then talked to the Club Manager and he offered me a trial. I had the trial for six months, where I was training in the team for this period before I could actually play an official match. Before they allowed me and they signed me with the Fgura Football Club, they helped me a lot because I did not have the official documents that would allow me to sign for any football club because I was seeking asylum.

During the first season I did my best to help to take the Under 17 team to a third placing in the league. In the same season I managed to help the Under 19 team to get promoted to the Section B.