“I don’t understand how you can do this to kids.“, Karim Bellahcène, president of FC 3MTKD, a football club in Hauts-de-Massane, is in the most total incomprehension following the series of degradations that its premises have suffered for ten days. While the football team has existed since last September, attracting 300 young people, 95% of whom live in the district, the association has already been present for several years thanks to the Taekwondo section, in particular. Sport, yes, but not only, help with homework or summer camps are offered.
So why is the club the victim of repeated acts of vandalism? For Karim Bellahcène, the reasons are still unclear. “From the moment we intervene on the ground, it may not please other young people” believes Sebastian Gomez, educator within the club. “It’s really a shame because it’s a heritage that belongs to the young people of the neighborhood, in this neighborhood there are people who want to succeed, there are a lot of things that are being done, but this gives a bad image. I just hope that those who do this are not adults, adds Karim Bellahcène. I think it’s just jealousy or stupidity.”
The nonsense in question: threatening messages tagged on the club’s muralproduced by graffiti artists and residents of the neighborhood on March 30, with the writing: “This is just the beginning, you bunch of…”. The sequel, pebbles thrown for “blow up the paint from the fresco“, according to Karim Bellahcène. And a new engraving, “a sex”, appeared Monday evening on the premises. The handle of the door was also twisted in an attempt to open it by force. “It always happened at night, never during the day. We organized ourselves to make everything disappear immediately because, for families and young children, it can be shocking”. Karim Bellahcene
We have decided not to file a complaint, we want to resolve this through dialogue
“For the moment, we prefer to settle this through dialogue and mediation, supports Karim Bellahcène. There is no question of filing a complaint, if we do, we believe that we will have reached the end of something.” But it will take much more to undermine the morale of educators of the club. Malik Gueddari is one of them, and says he is “shocked” by the latest events that have hit FC 3MTKD, but admits that he is not going to stop there. “These events will encourage us even more, and mobilize us even more”says the educator. “We will continue to transmit pleasure to the children”.
Motivation will not weaken, quite the contrary. We will continue to offer quality work as we have done since the beginning, for the pleasure and for the good of the kids. Malik Gueddari
The FC 3MTKD club continues its sports and extra sports activities as if nothing had happened. “If we consider that our teams and our facilities are no longer safe, we will have to file a complaint“, concludes Karim Bellahcène.