Making peace is a marathon | May El-Khalil

Translator: Elvira Peço Reviewer: Helena Bedalli

I come from Lebanon,

Une jam nga Libani,

and I believe that running can change the world.

dhe besoj se vrapimi mund te ndryshoje boten.

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

E di se ajo cfare thashe nuk eshte shume e qarte.

You know, Lebanon as a country has been once destroyed

Ju e dini, Libani si shtet eshte shkaterruar njehere

by a long and bloody civil war.

nga nje lufte e gjate dhe e pergjakshme civile.

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

Sinqerisht, nuk e di perse e quajne lufte civile

when there is nothing civil about it.

kur nuk ka asgje civile ne te.

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

Me Sirine ne veri, Izraelin dhe Palestinen ne jug,

and our government even up till this moment

qeveria jone ne kete moment

is still fragmented and unstable.

eshte akoma e copetuar dhe e paqendrueshme.

Per shume vite, vendi ka qene i ndare

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

ndermjet politikes dhe fese.

However, for one day a year,

Gjithsesi, per nje dite te vitit,

we truly stand united,

ne qendrojme me te vertete te bashkuar,

and that's when the marathon takes place.

dhe kjo eshte dita kur zhvilllohet maratona.

I used to be a marathon runner.

Une kam qene garuese ne maratona.

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

Te vrapoja ne distanca te gjata nuk ishte e mire vetem per shendetin tim,

but it helped me meditate and dream big.

por me ndihmonte te meditoja dhe te enderroja.

So the longer distances I ran,

Sa me e gjate distanca qe vrapoja,

aq me e madhe behej endrra ime,

the bigger my dreams became.

Until one fateful morning,

derisa nje mengjes fatal,

and while training, I was hit by a bus.

ndersa isha duke u stervitur, me goditi nje autobus.

I nearly died, was in a coma,

Pothuajse vdiqa, isha ne koma,

stayed at the hospital for two years,

dhe qendrova ne spital per dy vjet,

si dhe iu nenshtrova 36 operacioneve qe te isha ne gjendje te ecja serish.

and underwent 36 surgeries to be able to walk again.

As soon as I came out of my coma,

Sapo dola nga koma,

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

kuptova se nuk isha me ne gjendje te jem garuesja qe isha dikur,

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

keshtu qe vendosa, qe nese nuk do te mund te vrapoja vete,

I wanted to make sure that others could.

te sigurohesha qe te tjeret te mund ta benin kete.

Kur dola nga spitali,

So out of my hospital bed,

I asked my husband to start taking notes,

i kerkova bashkeshortit tim qe te fillonte te mbante shenime,

and a few months later, the marathon was born.

dhe pak muaj me vone,

lindi maratona.

Organizing a marathon as a reaction to an accident

Organizimi i nje maratone si reagim kundrejt aksidentit

may sound strange,

mund te tingelloje cuditshem,

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

por ne ate kohe, edhe nen kushtet e mia me te keqija,

I needed to dream big.

kisha nevoje te enderroja.

I needed something to take me out of my pain,

Kisha nevoje per dicka qe te ma largonte dhimbjen,

an objective to look forward to.

nje objektiv te cilin duhej te ndiqja.

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

Nuk doja te ndieja keqardhje per veten time, por as te kisha keqardhjen e te tjereve,

and I thought by organizing such a marathon,

dhe mendova se duke organizuar nje maratone te tille,

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

do te mundesha ti ktheja borxhin komunitetit tim,

build bridges with the outside world,

te ndertoja ura lidhese me boten e jashtme,

and invite runners to come to Lebanon

dhe te ftoja vrapues te vinin ne Liban,

and run under the umbrella of peace.

dhe te garonin nen ombrellen e paqes.

Organizing a marathon in Lebanon

Organizimi i nje maratone ne Liban,

is definitely not like organizing one in New York.

perfundimisht nuk eshte e njejte si te organizosh nje te tille ne New York.

How do you introduce the concept of running

Si mund te prezantosh konceptin e vrapimit

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

ne nje shtet i cili ndodhet vazhdimisht ne kufijte e luftes?

How do you ask those who were once fighting

Si mund t'u kerkosh atyre te cilet njehere e njekohe luftonin

and killing each other

dhe vrisnin njeri tjetrin

to come together and run next to each other?

te mblidhen dhe te vrapojne prane njeri tjetrit?

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

Me shume se kaq, si mund te bindesh njerezit

te vrapojne ne nje distance prej 26.2 milje

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

ne nje kohe qe ata nuk ishin familjarizuar

me fjalen "maratone"?

So we had to start from scratch.

Keshtu qe na duhej te fillonin nga zero.

For almost two years, we went all over the country

Pothuajse per dy vjet, shkuam ne gjithe vendin

and even visited remote villages.

madje edhe ne fshatrat me te thelle.

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

Une personalisht u takova me njerez te profesioneve te ndryshme,

mayors, NGOs, schoolchildren,

kryebashkiake, NGOs, femije te shkollave,

politicians, militiamen,

politikane, punonjes te milicise, njerez neper xhami, kisha,

people from mosques, churches,

the president of the country, even housewives.

presidentin e vendit, madje edhe me shtepiake.

I learned one thing:

Mesova nje gje:

When you walk the talk, people believe you.

Kur merr mundimin te ecesh dhe tu flasesh njerezve, ata te besojne.

Many were touched by my personal story,

Shume prej tyre u preken nga historia ime personale,

and they shared their stories in return.

dhe me treguan historite e tyre ne kembim.

It was honesty and transparency that brought us together.

Ishte pikerisht ndershmeria dhe transparenca ajo qe na bashkoi.

Ne flisnim nje gjuhe te perbashket me njeri tjetrin,

We spoke one common language to each other,

and that was from one human to another.

dhe qe kalonte nga nje njeri te tjetri.

Once that trust was built,

Sapo u ndertua besimi,

everybody wanted to be part of the marathon

cdokush deshironte te merrte pjese ne maratone,

ti tregonte botes ngjyrat e verteta te Libanit,

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

atdhedashurine,

and their desire to live in peace and harmony.

si dhe deshiren per te jetuar ne paqe dhe harmoni.

In October 2003, over 6,000 runners

Ne Tetor te 2003, mbi 6.000 vrapues

from 49 different nationalities

nga 49 nenshtetsi te ndryshme,

came to the start line, all determined,

erdhen ne vijen e startit, te gjithe te vendosur,

and when the gunfire went off,

dhe kur arma u shkrep,

this time it was a signal to run in harmony,

ai ishte momenti i sinjalit qe te gjithe te vraponin ne harmoni,

for a change.

per nje ndryshim.

The marathon grew.

Maratona mori permasa me te medha.

So did our political problems.

Po keshtu edhe problemet tona politike.

But for every disaster we had,

Por per cdo rrenim qe ne kishim,

the marathon found ways to bring people together.

maratona gjente menyren per te bashkuar njerezit.

In 2005, our prime minister was assassinated,

Ne 2005, kryeministri yne u vra,

and the country came to a complete standstill,

dhe vendi ishte ne nje kolaps total,

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

keshtu qe ne organizuam nje fushate vrapimi pese kilometra, nen moton Ne Vrapojme te Bashkuar.

Over 60,000 people came to the start line,

Mbi 60.000 njerez erdhen ne vijen e startit,

all wearing white T-shirts with no political slogans.

te gjithe veshur me bluza te bardha pa slogane politike.

That was a turning point for the marathon,

Ajo ishte pika e ndryshimit per maratonen,

where people started looking at it as a platform

ku njerezit filluan ta shihnin ate si nje platforme

te paqes dhe bashkimit.

for peace and unity.

Between 2006 up to 2009, our country, Lebanon,

Ndermjet 2006 dhe 2009, vendi yne, Libani,

went through unstable years,

kaloi vite paqendrueshmerie,

invasions, and more assassinations

pushtimi dhe vrasjesh te shumta

that brought us close to a civil war.

te cilat na cuan afer nje lufte civile.

The country was divided again,

Vendi u nda serish,

so much that our parliament resigned,

aq shume saqe parlamenti dha doreheqjen,

per nje vit nuk kishim president, dhe as kryeminister.

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

But we did have a marathon.

Por ne kishim maratone.

(Applause)

( Duartrokitje)

Keshtu nepermjet maratones, ne mesuam

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

se problemet politike mund te kaperceheshin.

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

Kur partia opozitare vendosi

te mbyllte qendren e qytetit,

we negotiated alternative routes.

ne negociuam per rruge alternative.

Protestuesit qeveritare u bene

Government protesters became sideline cheerleaders.

duartrokitesit dhe mbeshtetesit anesore.

They even hosted juice stations.

Madje ata ngriten edhe stacione ku mund te piheshin lengje te ndryshme.

(Laughter)

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

Sic mund ta dini, maratona eshte bere ne te vertete

unike.

It gained credibility

Ajo fitoi besueshmeri nga

from both the Lebanese and the international community.

Libanezet dhe komuniteti nderkombetar.

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

Nentorin e kaluar te 2012, mbi 33.000 vrapues

nga 85 shtete te ndryshme

came to the start line,

erdhen ne vijen e startit,

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

por kete here, ata sfiduan

motin me shi dhe stuhi.

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

Rruget u permbyten, por njerezit nuk donin te humbnin

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

mundesine per te qene pjese

e nje dite te tille kombetare.

BMA ishte zgjeruar.

BMA has expanded.

We include everyone: the young, the elderly,

Ne perfshinim kedo: te rinjte, te moshuarit,

the disabled, the mentally challenged,

ata me aftesi te kufizuara, te semuret mendore,

the blind, the elite, the amateur runners,

te verberit, vrapuesit amatore,

madje edhe nenat me bebe.

even moms with their babies.

Themes have included runs for the environment,

Temat e perfshira ne kete maratone ishin per mjedisin,

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

kancerin e gjirit, dashurine per Libanin, paqen,

or just simply to run.

ose thjesht te vraposh.

Gara e pare vjetore per fuqizimin e grave dhe vajzave,

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

which is one of its kind in the region,

e cila eshte e vetmja e ketij lloji ne rajon,

has just taken place only a few weeks ago,

ndodhi para pak javesh,

with 4,512 women, including the first lady,

ku u perfshine 4,512 gra, perfshi edhe zonjen e pare te vendit,

and this is only the beginning.

dhe ky eshte vetem fillimi.

Thank you.

Faleminderit.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)

BMA ka mbeshtetur bamiresite dhe vullnetaret

BMA has supported charities and volunteers

who have helped reshape Lebanon,

te cilet kane ndihmuar per ta rimodeluar Libanin

raising funds for their causes

duke ngritur fonde per kauzat e tyre

and encouraging others to give.

dhe duke inkurajuar te tjeter te dhurojne.

The culture of giving and doing good has become contagious.

Kultura e dhurimit dhe e bamiresise

po behet me e forte.

Stereotypes have been broken.

Stereotipet jane thyer.

Change-makers and future leaders have been created.

Ndryshuesit dhe drejtuesit e te ardhmes

jane krijuar tashme.

I believe these are the building blocks for future peace.

Une besoj se keto jane blloqet e ndertimit per paqen ne te ardhmen.

BMA eshte kthyer ne nje ngarje kaq te respektueshme ne rajon,

BMA has become such a respected event in the region

that government officials in the region,

saqe zyrtaret qeveritare ne rajon

like Iraq, Egypt and Syria,

si Iraku, Egjipti dhe Siria,

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

i kane kerkuar organizates t'i ndihmoje ne ndertimin

e nje ngjarjeje te njejte sportive.

Ne jemi aktualisht eventi me i madh garues

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

ne Lindjen e Mesme, por me e rendesishmja,

but most importantly,

it is a platform for hope and cooperation

eshte se eshte nje platforme per shpresen dhe bashkepunimin

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

ne nje pjese kaq delikate dhe te paqendrueshme te botes.

From Boston to Beirut, we stand as one.

Nga Bostoni ne Beirut, ne jemi nje.

( Duartrokitje)

(Applause)

After 10 years in Lebanon,

Pas 10 vitesh ne Liban,

from national marathons or from national events

nga maratonat kombetare apo nga eventet kombetare

to smaller regional races,

deri te garat e vogla rajonale, ne kemi pare

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

se njerezit duan te vrapojne per nje te ardhme me te mire.

After all, peacemaking is not a sprint.

Mbi te gjitha, te besh paqje nuk eshte thjesht nje sprint.

It is more of a marathon.

Eshte nje maratone.

Thank you.

Faleminderit.

(Applause)

( Duartrokitje)