Boston event spotlights links between sports, human rights

BOSTON – To explore the connections between sports and human rights, the United Nations Association of Greater Boston held a luncheon forum at Wheelock College on Friday.Keynote speaker Dr. Auma Obama discussed sports as a means to teach human rights, focusing on her work with young girls in East Africa with the nonprofit CARE (Cooperative for Aid and Relief Everywhere, Inc.) USA.”It is a basic human right of being able to play, to be a child,” Dr. Obama, who is a half-sister of President Barack Obama, told a packed conference center on the college campus on Human Rights Day. “It takes them out of the house and be able to participate.”Dr. Obama described the young girls she works with, who range in age from five to 25 yeas old, as facing dangerous situations such as rape, HIV and prostitution. She said that some go to a city dump in search of food. She helps them learn sports such as soccer and boxing as a means to stay off the streets and feel more self-confident.”Within a sports environment, you can be part of a team,” Dr. Obama said. “We use sports as a tool, to build up confidence and self-esteem in young people, especially girls.”CARE USA is headquartered in Atlanta and has 70 offices worldwide.Following her address, Dr. Obama joined a panel of four to discuss the intersection of sports and human rights. Her co-panelists included Eli Wolff, a former US soccer team member and current Sport and Human Rights fellow at Brown University; Diana Cutaia, director of athletics and sport-based initiatives at Wheelock; and Boston College junior Pharlone Toussaint, co-founder of a youth-led organization, SPARK The Truth.The panelists kept up the discussion, touching on both international topics, such as using sports to bridge tensions in Israel and Palestine, and national issues, including the role of Title IX on college campuses.”Sports can be a powerful tool,” Cutaia said. “You can use them for good and have an unbelievable, dramatic impact on our communities and create peace.”Those in attendance for the forum included Wheelock students, staff and members of the Greater Boston community.As her address neared its end, Dr. Obama highlighted the theme of human rights and how it can unite young athletes across all playing fields.”It is their right to have these opportunities,” she said, “and their right to fight for it.”