Thursday October 14, 2021
Hunger, agony, hope
The dramatic story of Inaki Williams
By Timo Meerkamp
It is the story of a man whose life is representative of so many fates. A story of escape. From hunger. Of hope. A story that often comes to a tragic end. And it meant salvation for footballer Inaki Williams.
The then 20-year-old had been playing for Athletic Bilbao for two years. Inaki Williams was about to join the first team. Moved more and more into the limelight. And she asked questions: Who is this young man of African descent? He didn’t know himself. “It ate me up,” Williams said in an interview with the Guardian. Questions about his roots went unanswered, his own story was in a fog. Until one day his mother broke her silence. A silence to protect her son.
“I really didn’t know how we got to Spain. I always asked about it, but my mother avoided it because I was a kid. And maybe then she thought if she had said it when I was at Athletic when I was 18 started it would have been too much weight on my shoulders, “said Williams. But the pressure grew. Family. In the public. Maria, his mother, broke her silence.
“We were watching TV at home in Bilbao one day when something was playing – I can’t remember what – and I asked my mother about it again. My mother turned off the TV and said, ‘Okay, it’s time for that tell you. I think you’re ready now. To hear the story of dad and me, ‘”the 28-year-old looks back. “I got really cold. It’s like being in a movie and my parents really saw it.” A horror film with a happy ending.
“People died, were on the way”
In 1993 Maria and Felix fled Ghana. Without water. Without food. Without knowing that Maria was pregnant. On foot through the Sahara. A struggle for survival. Day after day. His father still has problems with the soles of his feet. They walked barefoot through the desert for days. At 40, 50 degrees hot sand. “People died, got stuck on the way. People had to be buried on the way. And it was dangerous: there were assaults and rape,” Williams describes his parents’ escape. Until one day they reached Melilla. The Spanish enclave in North Africa. For many Africans a promise of a life in Europe. To a future. But shortly before the goal, this dream seemed to burst.
“They reached Melilla and climbed over the fence when the Civil Guard arrested them. They had no papers and came as migrants, so you will be sent back.” A lawyer from a Catholic aid organization advised them to pretend they were war refugees, Williams said. Maria and Felix tore up their Ghanaian passports and said they were from Liberia. The rescue. The couple got political asylum in Spain thanks to the lawyer. An odyssey that would end in the Spanish Basque Country. “When you hear the story of my parents, you want to fight hard to give back everything they sacrificed. They risked their lives, I can never repay that. But I try to give them the life they have always dreamed of . “
“I thank my parents for my genes”
After her Maria and Felix took every job they could find to support the family. As a cleaning lady, as a shepherd, as a waiter, as a security guard. “I had food, something to wear and compared to many, many people I was rich. My parents’ story told me that.” A story that took an almost miraculous turn in Bilbao. Also thanks to a new love from little Inaki. Football. And the boy was highly talented. After starting out at smaller clubs in Pamplona, he ended up at the Athletic Bilbao youth academy in 2012.
Bilbao, of all places. A proud Basque city. With a very special football club. Because only those who were born in the Basque Country are allowed to wear the jersey of the eight-time Spanish champions. “Everything happens for a reason. If I hadn’t been born in Bilbao, I would never have been able to play for Athletic. My parents crossed the desert and were brought to us in the Basque Country. It doesn’t feel like a coincidence.”
Nine years and 90 goals later, Williams is immortalized in the history books of Spanish football. Inaki has been part of the professional team since 2015, and he probably doesn’t want to leave. His contract runs until June 30, 2028. The striker was on the pitch for the 203rd time against Deportivo Alaves. As a result! He has not missed a game since April 20, 2016.
During that time he also played in the Spanish U21 national team, with which he only lost to Germany in the final of the 2017 European Championships. He also played a game for Spain’s A team on May 29, 2016 – in a 3-1 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina in a friendly. So far it has remained with this single mission. He has enough to do in Bilbao. “I thank my parents for my genes,” said Williams. And for so much more.