Football pro Kwity Paye: From the refugee camp to the NFL stage

Kwity Paye has been an NFL pro for a few days. The Indianapolis Colts decide on the defensive end in the draft. It is the culmination of the 22-year-old’s journey so far, which once began in a refugee camp in Africa.

The story of Kwity Paye is one of sadness, tears and tragedy. It is about war, despair, poverty, but also about hope and advancement. And it has, that much is anticipated, a happy ending. The story begins on Christmas Eve 1989. Agnes Paye, Kwity’s future mother, was just twelve years old when civil war broke out in her home country Liberia, on Africa’s west coast. National Patriotic Front rebels aim to overthrow President Samuel Doe. It is the beginning of years of brutal fighting in which more than 250,000 people will lose their lives.

Agnes Paye belongs to the Krahn tribe, who have always been treated benevolently by the power holder Doe – but thus become the target group of the rebels. When the rebels come to their small village, the young girl experiences cruel scenes that 30 years later can still be seen clearly. “They set fire to my father’s house and that of my uncle, along with his wife and children,” says Agnes in a feature on the TV station “ESPN”. It is difficult for her to talk about it. Agnes cries bitterly when she says that she “never saw her father again” and that he was murdered.

The village is devastated, the house burned down, her father dead. But Agnes has no time for mourning. She is on the run, has to get to safety somehow and somewhere. Like thousands of others, she spent days walking barefoot in the bushes and forests, consciously avoiding the main roads for fear of the rebels. “We barely had anything to eat. But you don’t even think about that, because you just want to survive,” she was quoted as saying in the daily “Detroit Free Press” in 2019.

Son named after murdered father

Agnes finally made it to neighboring Sierra Leone, where she was housed in a refugee camp, and a few years later gave birth to her first son, Komotay. When the civil war spreads from Liberia to Sierra Leone, she had to flee again – and came to Guinea. On November 19, 1998, she becomes a mother again. Again it’s a son. She calls him Kwity – it’s the name of her murdered father.

The young family cannot stay in Guinea – and under no circumstances does Agnes want to go back to Liberia. Your only hope is the US. When Kwity was six months old, the mother and her two sons moved to live with relatives in Rhode Island on the American east coast. “My mother wanted my brother and I to have a future – and she did everything for that,” says Kwity.

But the new life in the new country is tough. Agnes had never learned to read or write in Liberia, but now has to catch up in order to be able to help her children with their homework at all. Although she sometimes has three jobs at the same time, money is always tight and the family depends on welfare and food stamps.

Sport offers distraction from the dreary everyday life. Kwity is a very good athlete – and especially on the football field, with his irrepressible will and force, he can hardly be stopped. Regardless of whether the coaches use him as a defensive end in defense or as a running back in attack, the refugee child from Africa towers over everyone.

Promise to the mother

During the draft, Kwity Payne is sitting on the sofa at home.

(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)

In eighth grade, he has the chance to transfer to a prestigious high school known for its football program. But the cost of $ 15,000 is utopian and is half of Agnes’ annual income. Kwity promises his mother that if she lets him go to the high school she wants, she won’t have to pay for his college place later. Agnes agrees. In America it is common for young people with special talents to receive scholarships if their families cannot finance their studies. And Kwity is a particularly gifted football player.

In his senior year of high school, Rhode Island has no more up-and-coming talent than him. He gets numerous college offers – and chooses Michigan. “Mom, we’ve finally made it,” he calls out to Agnes as he is ceremoniously welcomed. He kept his promise – and his ascent continues. The college is the showcase to the NFL. Their scouts will soon become aware of this beefy 1.91 meter tall and 118 kilogram heavy defender.

When the 32 NFL clubs divided up the best young players in the draft at the end of April, Kwity Paye was sitting with relatives and friends in front of the television at Brother Komotay’s in Denver. He doesn’t have to hope that a club will choose him, no, he knows. Only which franchise it will be and where it will be drawn is still open.

The NFL dream has already come true for 20 players on April 29th. Then Kwity’s phone rings. Chris Ballard, manager of the Indianapolis Colts, answers at the other end. “We’re going to choose you in a moment and we’re really looking forward to seeing you. You embody everything we stand for,” says Ballard. When he hangs up, Kwity cheers. A short time later, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced on live TV broadcast an audience of millions that “The Indianapolis Colts had decided in 21st place in the draft for Kwity Paye, Defensive End from Michigan”.

“Mom can now retire”

Paye poses in front of the TV camera with a Liberian flag around his shoulders. He is lovingly holding his mother in his right arm. When asked what will change for the family now, Kwity replies immediately: “Mom has worked enough, she can now retire. I will make sure that she gets everything she never had and that she never has one again Have to twist your fingers. “

The 22-year-old signed a four-year contract in Indianapolis valued at 13.6 million. Now, for the sake of completeness, it must be said that many NFL contracts are not guaranteed and can be terminated by the club at any time. But in such a case, Kwity Paye would have at least the $ 7.3 million for his contract signature.

His way from the refugee camp in Guinea up to the NFL stage has been picked up by many US media in the past few days. Kwity likes to talk about it, but doesn’t put himself in the foreground, but his mother. She gave him the “never-give-up” attitude, as well as the advice to bring something to an end in any case, if you have put it in your head.

Agnes Paye worked hard her entire life. Every day. And yet, according to Kwity, she never complained. And that’s exactly what he wants to embody. Just as his mother inspired him, Kwity Paye now wants to influence other children with his story. Encourage them, motivate them and show them that “with hard work they can make it to this level.”

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