a écrit le 26 novembre 2005 à 14h04 Poverty made me a man
By DAVID BARNES
JEAN-ALAIN BOUMSONG has talked for the first time of the poverty that drove him and his family into a desperate fight for survival.
Newcastle star Boumsong faces a Premiership battle at Everton tomorrow and a Carling Cup trip to Wigan on Wednesday.
But whatever problems he has to tackle at the heart of defence, the French international knows he has already come through a tougher ordeal than any player could ever imagine.
It began when his dad — a former international volleyball star — lost his job at a Guinness brewery during an economic crash in his native Cameroon.
Boumsong, 25, revealed: “I still remember that day. It was terrible. I cried over it. You see a family’s standard of living come tumbling down.
“It really triggered something off for me. I became aware of the reality and the difficulty of life.
“I entered the adult world that day — I was 13.â€
Boumsong’s mum took him and his five younger brothers to seek a new life in France — a move that led to severe financial hardship.
He added: “My brothers and I all slept in the same bedroom, with my mother in the living room.
“Conditions were very difficult. We went to the cheap shops on social assistance.
“I helped my mother and went to register my brothers at school. I was at the heart of the financial problems.
“You learn quickly, you lose your innocence. I toughened up. My mother did lots of little jobs whereas she had been a management secretary in Cameroon.â€
Racial prejudice worsened the Boumsong family’s plight in their new country.
He said: “It was a bad surprise. My mother came up against racial barriers. On the telephone, they thought she was white — but once she arrived at an office the post had suddenly been filled.
“I experienced it at a Catholic boarding school, which was the refuge of difficult children. I stuck right-handers on quite a few racist kids in the dormitories.
“I became my mother’s confidant and took all the problems on myself. I wondered if it had been a good idea to come to France even if I had faith in the social system, which allowed us to survive.
By DAVID BARNES
JEAN-ALAIN BOUMSONG has talked for the first time of the poverty that drove him and his family into a desperate fight for survival.
Newcastle star Boumsong faces a Premiership battle at Everton tomorrow and a Carling Cup trip to Wigan on Wednesday.
But whatever problems he has to tackle at the heart of defence, the French international knows he has already come through a tougher ordeal than any player could ever imagine.
It began when his dad — a former international volleyball star — lost his job at a Guinness brewery during an economic crash in his native Cameroon.
Boumsong, 25, revealed: “I still remember that day. It was terrible. I cried over it. You see a family’s standard of living come tumbling down.
“It really triggered something off for me. I became aware of the reality and the difficulty of life.
“I entered the adult world that day — I was 13.â€
Boumsong’s mum took him and his five younger brothers to seek a new life in France — a move that led to severe financial hardship.
He added: “My brothers and I all slept in the same bedroom, with my mother in the living room.
“Conditions were very difficult. We went to the cheap shops on social assistance.
“I helped my mother and went to register my brothers at school. I was at the heart of the financial problems.
“You learn quickly, you lose your innocence. I toughened up. My mother did lots of little jobs whereas she had been a management secretary in Cameroon.â€
Racial prejudice worsened the Boumsong family’s plight in their new country.
He said: “It was a bad surprise. My mother came up against racial barriers. On the telephone, they thought she was white — but once she arrived at an office the post had suddenly been filled.
“I experienced it at a Catholic boarding school, which was the refuge of difficult children. I stuck right-handers on quite a few racist kids in the dormitories.
“I became my mother’s confidant and took all the problems on myself. I wondered if it had been a good idea to come to France even if I had faith in the social system, which allowed us to survive.
