What do you call someone who speaks seven languages, has lived in three countries and stars for every soccer team he plays on? At Hesston College, they call him Guershon Safari.
This past fall, Safari led the line for the soccer team in a memorable season, winning seven games, more wins than in any of the past 11 seasons.
According to Coach Michael Armstrong, a large part of the team’s success falls on the shoulders of Safari. Safari stands at just 5 foot 9 inches, and Armstrong initially had his doubts as to if Safari would be physically up to the challenge of college soccer. His doubts were soon dispelled.
“When you look at Guershon, you don’t naturally see this prolific soccer player,” said Armstrong. “You don’t see dominant size or physical build at first, but it’s still there. We brought him in because he is quick, has dynamic footwork, great technical ability and he’s a different look up top. We are going to throw him in and he’ll make defenses go ‘Oh, no.’”
And that’s what happened all season long. Safari scored ten goals this season, and according to Armstrong, they were important ones.
“He would score goals at those great moments, when you’re thinking ‘man, we just need a goal.’ Or ‘we need a goal so we can win this game.’ And he would be in the right place at the right time.”
A mechanical engineering major, Safari has kept a 3.6 GPA this year while learning in his seventh language. Other than English, he is fluent in French, Swahili, and four tribal languages from his native Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): Kibeembe, Lingala, Mashi and Kikasai. Safari credits soccer for teaching him so many languages, saying that traveling for games and learning from teammates often got him started with new languages.
Friends say Safari’s love of soccer and life is not hard to see. Armstrong has nothing but praise for Safari’s attitude, and highlighted Safari’s great sportsmanship and mentality as a reason for his success.
“He has this joy of life, and this joy of the game,” he said. “When I worked him out he just loved being with the ball, just being on the field, loved what the game is in its natural state, just the joy of playing. That’s contagious, that mentality of ‘yes, I’m competitive, yes I want to win, but I’m going to enjoy this game because that’s who I am. I enjoy life.’”
But life wasn’t always so enjoyable for Safari. When he was two-years-old, his family was forced to flee the DRC due to the Second Congo War, “the Great War of Africa.” The conflict killed 5.5 million people, making it the deadliest war since World War II. The Safari family were just a few of the two million people displaced by the conflict which spanned eight countries across the continent.
“It was actually because of the war we went to Tanzania, where there was no war or anything like that,” Safari said. “We stayed there; it’s where I grew up. I spent most of my life there, soccer and everything.”
Growing up in Tanzania, soccer was a large part of Safari’s life. He recounted how he changed position several times throughout his young career, playing everywhere on the pitch from goalie to midfielder to forward, where he still plays today. Tanzania was much safer than the DRC, but his family still feared violence and eventually migrated to the United States, settling in Boise, Idaho when Guershon was 17.
Living in the U.S. has not always been easy, though, and Safari says that racism and anti-immigrant sentiment isn’t uncommon in his life today.
“If I go to places where the racial problem is, I might play, but inside I’m so uncomfortable. When I like people and they don’t like me, it’s hard to play together. When I like people and they like me back, I feel really really happy and very comfortable so I can continue to play well.”
Armstrong is sure Safari will continue to succeed on and off the field. He says Safari is gracious even in defeat, recalling a pickup basketball game that Safari took part in.
“Guershon, I don’t know if he’s ever played basketball before,” said Armstrong. “He gets a lot of stuff [movement and positioning], but then when he goes to shoot, oh my. He doesn’t mind. It’s that joy of just being in a group, being with friends. He’s a good kid, a real good kid.”