Making peace is a marathon | May El-Khalil

Translator: Morten Elbaek Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

I come from Lebanon,

Jeg kommer fra Libanon,

and I believe that running can change the world.

og jeg er overbevist om at løb kan ændre verden.

I know what I have just said is simply not obvious.

Jeg ved, at det jeg lige sagde, ikke er åbenlyst.

You know, Lebanon as a country has been once destroyed

Libanon som land er engang blevet destrueret

by a long and bloody civil war.

af en lang og blodig borgerkrig.

Honestly, I don't know why they call it civil war

Ærligt talt forstår jeg ikke hvorfor de kalder det for borgerkrig,

when there is nothing civil about it.

når der ikke er noget civiliseret over det.

With Syria to the north, Israel and Palestine to the south,

Med Syrien mod nord, Israel og Palæstina mod syd

and our government even up till this moment

og vores regering, endda indtil nu,

is still fragmented and unstable.

er stadig fragmenteret og ustabilt.

I mange år har landet været delt

For years, the country has been divided between politics and religion.

mellem politik og religion.

However, for one day a year,

Dog er der en dag om året hvor

we truly stand united,

vi virkelig står sammen,

and that's when the marathon takes place.

og det er når maratonløbet bliver afholdt.

I used to be a marathon runner.

Jeg var før en maratonløber.

Long distance running was not only good for my well-being

Langdistanceløb var ikke kun godt for mit velvære,

but it helped me meditate and dream big.

det hjalp mig også med at meditere og drømme stort.

So the longer distances I ran,

Så, jo længere distancer jeg løb,

des større blev mine drømme,

the bigger my dreams became.

Until one fateful morning,

indtil en skæbnesvanger morgen,

and while training, I was hit by a bus.

mens jeg trænede, blev jeg påkørt af en bus.

I nearly died, was in a coma,

Jeg døde næsten, var i koma,

stayed at the hospital for two years,

blev på hospitalet i to år,

og gennemgik 36 operationer for at komme til at gå igen.

and underwent 36 surgeries to be able to walk again.

As soon as I came out of my coma,

Så snart jeg kom ud af min koma,

I realized that I was no longer the same runner I used to be,

forstod jeg at jeg ikke længere var den samme løber som før,

so I decided, if I couldn't run myself,

så jeg besluttede, hvis jeg ikke selv kunne løbe,

I wanted to make sure that others could.

ville jeg sørge for at andre kunne.

Så ved min hospitalsseng,

So out of my hospital bed,

I asked my husband to start taking notes,

bad jeg min mand om at tage noter,

and a few months later, the marathon was born.

og nogle få måneder senere,

var maratonløbet født.

Organizing a marathon as a reaction to an accident

At organisere et maratonløb som en reaktion på en ulykke

may sound strange,

kan lyde underligt,

but at that time, even during my most vulnerable condition,

men på det tidspunkt, selv i løbet af min mest sårbare tilstand,

I needed to dream big.

havde jeg brug for at drømme stort.

I needed something to take me out of my pain,

Jeg havde brug for noget, der kunne tage min smerte,

an objective to look forward to.

et mål at se frem mod.

I didn't want to pity myself, nor to be pitied,

Jeg ville ikke klynke, eller have medynk,

and I thought by organizing such a marathon,

så ved at organisere sådan et maratonløb,

I'll be able to pay back to my community,

kunne jeg tilbagebetale til mit fællesskab,

build bridges with the outside world,

bygge broer til den omkringliggende verden,

and invite runners to come to Lebanon

og invitere løbere til Libanon

and run under the umbrella of peace.

og løbe under paraplyen af fred.

Organizing a marathon in Lebanon

At organisere et maratonløb i Libanon

is definitely not like organizing one in New York.

er bestemt ikke ligesom at organisere et i New York.

How do you introduce the concept of running

Hvordan introducerer du konceptet af løb

to a nation that is constantly at the brink of war?

for en nation der konstant er på kanten til krig?

How do you ask those who were once fighting

Hvordan spørger man dem, som før kæmpede

and killing each other

og dræbte hinanden,

to come together and run next to each other?

til at mødes og løbe side om side?

More than that, how do you convince people to run a distance of 26.2 miles

Derudover, hvordan overtaler du dem

til at løbe en distance på 42,2 km

at a time they were not even familiar with the word "marathon"?

i en tid hvor de ikke var bekendte

med ordet "maratonløb"?

So we had to start from scratch.

Så vi måtte starte på ny.

For almost two years, we went all over the country

I næsten to år, rejste vi rundt i landet

and even visited remote villages.

og besøgte endda afsides landsbyer.

I personally met with people from all walks of life --

Jeg mødte folk fra alle samfundslag --

mayors, NGOs, schoolchildren,

borgmestre, chefer, skolebørn,

politicians, militiamen,

politikere, militsfolk, folk fra moskeer, kirker,

people from mosques, churches,

the president of the country, even housewives.

landets præsident, selv husmødre.

I learned one thing:

Jeg lærte en ting:

When you walk the talk, people believe you.

Når man gør hvad man siger, så tror de på en.

Many were touched by my personal story,

Mange var berørte af min personlige historie,

and they shared their stories in return.

og de delte deres historier til gengæld.

It was honesty and transparency that brought us together.

Det var ærlighed og åbenhed der bragte os sammen.

Vi snakkede et fællessprog til hinanden,

We spoke one common language to each other,

and that was from one human to another.

og det var fra menneske til menneske.

Once that trust was built,

Da tilliden var blevet opbygget,

everybody wanted to be part of the marathon

ville alle være en del af maratonløbet,

for at vise verden, de ægte farver af Libanon

to show the world the true colors of Lebanon and the Lebanese

og libaneserne

and their desire to live in peace and harmony.

og deres ønske om at leve i fred og harmoni.

In October 2003, over 6,000 runners

I oktober 2003 kom over 6.000 løbere

from 49 different nationalities

fra 49 forskellige nationaliteter,

came to the start line, all determined,

til startlinjen, alle opsatte,

and when the gunfire went off,

og da startskuddet lød,

this time it was a signal to run in harmony,

var det denne gang et signal om at løbe i harmoni

for a change.

til en forandring.

The marathon grew.

Maratonløbet blev større.

So did our political problems.

Ligeså blev de politiske problemer.

But for every disaster we had,

Men for hver katastrofe vi havde,

the marathon found ways to bring people together.

fandt maratonløbet veje til at bringe folk sammen.

In 2005, our prime minister was assassinated,

I 2005 blev vores premierminister myrdet,

and the country came to a complete standstill,

og landet gik helt i stå,

so we organized a five-kilometer United We Run campaign.

så vi organiserede en fem kilometer Sammen Vi Løber-kampagne.

Over 60,000 people came to the start line,

Der kom over 60.000 mennesker til startlinjen,

all wearing white T-shirts with no political slogans.

allesammen iført hvid t-shirt uden politiske mærker.

That was a turning point for the marathon,

Det var et vendepunkt for maratonløbet,

where people started looking at it as a platform

da folk begyndte at se det som en platform

for fred og sammenhold.

for peace and unity.

Between 2006 up to 2009, our country, Lebanon,

Fra 2006 op til 2009 var vores land, Libanon,

went through unstable years,

igennem nogle ustabile år

invasions, and more assassinations

invasioner og flere mord

that brought us close to a civil war.

der bragte os nærmere en borgerkrig.

The country was divided again,

Landet var delt igen,

so much that our parliament resigned,

så meget at vores parlament trak sig tilbage,

vi havde ingen præsident i et år og ingen premierminister.

we had no president for a year, and no prime minister.

But we did have a marathon.

Men vi havde et maratonløb.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Så gennem maratonløbet lærte vi

So through the marathon, we learned that political problems can be overcome.

at politiske problemer kan overvindes.

When the opposition party decided to shut down part of the city center,

Da oppositionen besluttede sig for

at lukke dele af bymidten,

we negotiated alternative routes.

forhandlede vi alternative ruter.

Regeringsdemonstranter blev et

Government protesters became sideline cheerleaders.

sidestående heppekor.

They even hosted juice stations.

De beværtede endda energistande.

(Laughter)

You know, the marathon has really become one of its kind.

Maratonløbet er virkelig blevet en

speciel begivenhed.

It gained credibility

Det opnåede respekt fra både

from both the Lebanese and the international community.

libaneserne og det internationale fællesskab.

Last November 2012, over 33,000 runners from 85 different nationalities

Sidste november 2012, kom over 33.000 løbere

med 85 forskellige nationaliteter

came to the start line,

til startlinjen,

but this time, they challenged a very stormy and rainy weather.

men denne gang, udfordrede de

et stormfuldt og regnfuldt vejr.

The streets were flooded, but people didn't want to miss out

Gaderne stod under vand, men folk ville ikke gå glip af

on the opportunity of being part of such a national day.

muligheden for at være en del

af sådan en nationaldag.

Beirut Maraton har udvidet.

BMA has expanded.

We include everyone: the young, the elderly,

Vi inddrager alle: de unge, de ældre,

the disabled, the mentally challenged,

de handikappede, de mentalt udfordrede,

the blind, the elite, the amateur runners,

de blinde, eliten, amatørløberne,

selv mødre med deres babyer.

even moms with their babies.

Themes have included runs for the environment,

Temaer har inkluderet løb for miljøet,

breast cancer, for the love of Lebanon, for peace,

brystkræft, af kærlighed til Libanon, for fred,

or just simply to run.

eller bare for at løbe.

Det første årlige kvindeløb for styrkelse,

The first annual all-women-and-girls race for empowerment,

which is one of its kind in the region,

som er den eneste i området,

has just taken place only a few weeks ago,

har lige været afholdt for få uger siden,

with 4,512 women, including the first lady,

med 4512 kvinder, herunder førstedamen,

and this is only the beginning.

og dette er kun begyndelsen.

Thank you.

Tak.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Beirut maraton har støttet velgørenhed og frivillige

BMA has supported charities and volunteers

who have helped reshape Lebanon,

som har hjulpet med genskabelsen af Libanon,

raising funds for their causes

skaffet midler til deres sager

and encouraging others to give.

og opmuntret andre til at bidrage.

The culture of giving and doing good has become contagious.

Dyrkelsen af at bidrage og gøre gode gerninger

er blevet smitsom.

Stereotypes have been broken.

Stereotyper er blevet brudt.

Change-makers and future leaders have been created.

Forandringsskabere og fremtidige ledere

er blevet skabt.

I believe these are the building blocks for future peace.

Jeg tror at de er byggematerialerne for fremtidens fred.

Beirut maraton er blevet sådan en respekteret begivenhed i området

BMA has become such a respected event in the region

that government officials in the region,

at regeringens embedsmænd i området,

like Iraq, Egypt and Syria,

som Irak, Egypten og Syrien,

have asked the organization to help them structure a similar sporting event.

har spurgt organisationen om hjælp til at opbygge

en lignende sportsbegivenhed.

Vi er nu en af de største løbsarrangementer

We are now one of the largest running events in the Middle East,

i Mellemøsten, men vigtigst af alt,

but most importantly,

it is a platform for hope and cooperation

det er en platform for håb og samarbejde

in an ever-fragile and unstable part of the world.

i en evigt skrøbelig og ustabil del af verden.

From Boston to Beirut, we stand as one.

Fra Boston til Beirut, vi står samlet.

(Bifald)

(Applause)

After 10 years in Lebanon,

Efter 10 år i Libanon,

from national marathons or from national events

fra nationale maratonløb eller fra nationale begivenheder

to smaller regional races,

til mindre regionale løb, har vi set

we've seen that people want to run for a better future.

at folk vil løbe for en bedre fremtid.

After all, peacemaking is not a sprint.

Fredskabelsen er, trods alt, er ikke en spurt.

It is more of a marathon.

Det er mere et maraton.

Thank you.

Tak.

(Applause)

(Bifald)