Khimki football player told how he was forced to starve for several days in a row as a child

Khimki newcomer Roman Mori Gbane recalled that as a child, because of the civil war in Côte d’Ivoire, his family had to starve.

The Moscow Region club rented a 21-year-old midfielder from the Croatian club Bielo Brdo until the end of the season.

I was very young, but of course I remember. It was very difficult: we had to starve, it happened that we spent several days without food. And we lived just in the place where it was unsafe. Dead bodies could be seen not far from the house. We didn’t go out at all for a month. My father said that it was dangerous – people were killed simply for no reason.

The older guys took up arms and protected their families. For the younger ones, the only way to stay alive is to keep your head down. We hid at home, my father periodically went to get food.

It is difficult to single out a specific day. Each one was terrible. You’re locked up – you can’t go to school, you can’t go outside to kick a ball with your friends, there’s no TV, nothing. We just sat and hid for days. And there was only one desire: it would all end as soon as possible, ”Gbane said in an interview with Match TV.

He also confirmed that whites are at risk of being robbed in dangerous areas.

– There is such a stereotype, it is connected with the fact that it is believed that whites are richer. When I was little, I also remember that the guys around said: “Whites always have a lot of money.” Therefore, yes, if they see a white man in such an area, then, of course, they will consider that he has something to take away, and they will try to do it, ”the player noted.

According to him, well-known Ivorian football players – Yaya Toure, Didier Drogba – are more popular in the country than the President of Côte d’Ivoire.

– Even where they just pass by, if someone sees them, a crowd gathers – at least 500 people. They are more popular than the president.

Can you describe what Drogba means to the Ivory Coast?

– This is a man with a huge heart, he did a lot for the poor people in our country: he built a large number of schools, hospitals, helped a huge number of people. We can say that we see him not just as a person, but already as something more. Because he did a lot for us,” said the midfielder.