In many ways, Hamza Najim is a cookie-cutter copy of the generic esports player. With a passion for gaming nurtured throughout his childhood, he dove into esports, inspired by figures like Sean “Day9” Plott and Christopher “Montecristo” Mykles. Now, he’s a top competitor in Vainglory and co-owner of one of its top teams—and a welcome addition to the growing roster of young professionals making the industry a success.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Not being able to enter the U.S. could be a very big problem for Hamza, who planned to compete this year primarily in the U.S.[/perfectpullquote]

There’s one thing, however, that makes Hamza’s story a little different. Hamza is Iraqi, and as such was unable to enter the United States last week as a result of a new executive order on immigration issued by President Donald Trump—dubbed by many a “Muslim Ban.”

The order is currently being weighed in numerous courtrooms across the country, but for Hamza, uncertainty about his ability to enter the U.S. means completely re-evaluating his plans for the future.

Given that Vainglory was created by a North American developer, that its World Championships last year were held in downtown Hollywood, and that he’s planning on competing in the North American premiere Evil Eight tournament this year—well, not being able to enter the U.S. could be a very big problem.

Hamza’s story from here could go in any number of ways. His past, however, is a critical lesson in understanding the roots of esports—and why it’s so important to look past just his birthplace.

“Our lives felt worth very little”

Conflict defined Iraq in the later parts the 20th century, and gamers will likely recognize various terms (Sunni, Shia, Kurd, Desert Storm, Saddam Hussein, for example) but not understand their full context. When people call Iraq “war-torn,” they mean it—about 1.5 million citizens died between the July 14 Revolution in 1958 and the end of the Gulf War in 1991, a significant number of them from the use of chemical weapons.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”I had no certainty that I would make it back home later that day.”[/perfectpullquote]

Deposing Saddam Hussein became official U.S. policy in 1998, and following the 9/11 attacks and growing concerns that Hussein was continuing his nuclear program, the U.S. led an invasion of Iraq in 2003, leading to a series of violent wars and insurgencies that continue to this day. Hamza was six years old.

Talking to somebody who grew up in a war-torn country can be a surreal experience. When I went to school, my biggest worry was whether all my homework was completed, or whether I’d be able to go over to my friend’s house afterwards to play some Halo. Hamza had other things on his mind.

“When I’d go out to play with my friends, I would have no idea if something was going to blow up right next to us. When I would leave to school in the morning, I had no certainty that I would make it back home later that day. Even when I was home with my family, we never really felt safe, because at any minute a militia or even the army could break in and kill us without any reason or accountability.”

Hamza says that he “lived about as normal of a childhood as you could in a worn-torn country… focused on school, hobbies during free time, and just being a child.” With war as a background, however, nothing is normal. He describes living in such conditions as “constant fear for one’s life and one’s safety throughout every day and every minute.” Things blew up “right next to us” on multiple occasions.

“Real Mom”

Still, Hamza was one of the lucky ones. His family was close, and pushed him to excel. Even when he came home with good grades on exams, they’d grill him to do better.

“I would score 94% or 95%, for example, and the first thing my eldest brother or my mother would say is that ‘Why wasn’t it a 100%? Did you not have enough time to study? Did you not care enough? Do you think you’re not smart enough? None of these are the case.’ They taught me always to push myself to do better, and that the circumstances are actually mostly within my control.”

A passion for gaming was another thing that Hamza got from his family.

“I was extremely attached to one of my brothers, Karar—my family used to joke about it and call him my ‘real mom.’ Karar was very passionate about gaming. We didn’t have any consoles growing up or a PC, but Karar would save his school lunch money every day to spend it later that day in internet cafes. I went with Karar to watch him play every time I could.”

Hamza quickly adopted this pro strat, saving up his own lunch money for precious time at the cafe. Competitive classics like Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, Counter-Strike, and Medal of Honor were his favorites.

“New Life”

A few years after the invasion, Hamza moved to Turkey with his siblings—”The purpose for us was simply to create a new life in a place where we felt our basic human rights were met.” Turkey soon proved to be a blessing, not only for Hamza’s life, but for his gaming interests as well.

“Gaming had become my most favorite hobby, and at one point I began watching videos of a few different esports competitions and games, on YouTube first, then on Twitch too. Very quickly, it became a daily habit. Two of the bigger names I followed were Day9 for StarCraft 2, and MonteCristo for League of Legends.”

From there, his passion for esports only grew. He moved to Canada and started to look for a way to turn that passion into a career. The only problem? “The only ‘gaming device’ I had with me was my iPad.”

Hamza wanted a game like League of Legends—his favorite from back in Turkey—but had a hard time finding something on a mobile platform. Fruit Ninja and Temple Run weren’t cutting it.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]There’s nothing more painful to a passionate gamer than having no game to play.[/perfectpullquote]

Mobile platforms are everywhere, but gaming on them can be a major pain. Vainglory—created by Super Evil MegaCorp, a company founded by veterans of Riot Games, Blizzard, and more—was an industry-wide solution to the very personal problem that Hamza was facing.

Hamza’s discovery of Vainglory, then, went probably how you would expect.

“I was immediately very attracted to it. I needed a good mobile game badly, and I was lucky enough to find Vainglory. That’s basically how it started; I just played a game that I enjoyed a lot and now two and a half years later, here we are.”

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]GankStars was an instant success.[/perfectpullquote]

“Here we are” is selling himself a little short. Hamza—who now competes with the “IraqiZorro” handle—dove headfirst into the world of Vainglory, and soon realized that it would be much more enjoyable with friends to play with. He got involved, interacted on forums and voice servers, and formed a series of friendships that led to the creation of his very first esports team, GankStars.

GankStars, formed in 2015, was an instant success. The team placed 3rd in the Ongamenet Vainglory World Invitational, then finished in first at OGN’s followup Vainglory International Premier League without dropping a single match.

The team has finished near the top of almost every major tournament since, and runs two separate rosters in order to compete in both European and North American leagues. In January, Hamza was moved to the North American lineup to replace a player who accepted an offer to play with Cloud9.

Three days after the announcement, Donald Trump issued his Muslim Ban.

“I’ve Grown Accustomed to Discrimination”

To Hamza, the order was devastating, though not in the way you’d think.

“The main effect on me personally was the dismantling of my business plans that I had laid out for 2017. Throughout my life, I’ve grown accustomed to discrimination, so I wasn’t really too hurt by it; I didn’t take it to heart. So the only thoughts I had were thoughts of ‘how do I make this affect me the least’ and ‘how do I move forward with my plans around it.’”

Living in his current residence in Canada is far from ideal for Hamza. Not only do most of his business partners live in the U.S., but he was planning on setting up a gaming house in California. There’s also a notable ping disadvantage living so far away from where the North American servers are set up.

Of course, Hamza had planned on avoiding all this the rational way. Last year, he applied for and received a valid P-1 athlete Visa for travel into the U.S. He is a permanent resident of Canada. The unexpected (and fast-acting) executive order threw all those preparations out the window.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“Wherever possible, whenever possible.”[/perfectpullquote]

News is mixed on whether or not the order’s potential reinstatement may affect Hamza. Despite news that Canadian citizens and permanent residents were exempt from the ban, NEXUS cards have been revoked for all Canadian permanent residents from the seven countries listed in the executive order.

Still, Hamza is trying to be positive and remain productive as the order is weighed by the courts. If he is unable to live in the U.S., he plans on staying on as manager, and will compete “wherever possible, whenever possible.” For his supportive fans, however, he wants to give a different message.