(Zaatari. Jordan November 2014) Taekwondo has come to Zaatari, Jordan. This is the world’s second largest refugee camp, and a team of Koreans says their training is doing more than just teaching some fancy moves, it is instilling discipline and self-respect in kids traumatized by their country’s civil war.
“I have seen a lot of anger inside the hearts of the kids here,” said Charles Lee, a Korean taekwondo master.
“I see a lot of kids with stones in their hands ready to throw them at anyone. I want to teach them to have more sportsmanship and to change how they think. I want them to be peaceful and to help their neighbors and communities,” said the 53-year-old, who has lived in Jordan for the past 10 years, working as an acupuncturist. He began the taekwondo program a month ago with the help of U.N. relief agencies.