Making peace is a marathon | May El-Khalil

Prevodilac: Tereza Ivanovic Lektor: Ivana Korom

I come from Lebanon,

Dolazim iz Libana

and I believe that running can change the world.

i verujem da trčanje može promeniti svet.

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

Znam da ovo što sam rekla nije očigledno.

You know, Lebanon as a country has been once destroyed

Liban kao država bio je uništen

by a long and bloody civil war.

dugim i krvavim građanskim ratom.

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

Ne znam zašto su ga zvali građanskim ratom

when there is nothing civil about it.

kad ništa građanskog nije bilo u vezi s njim.

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

Na severu je Sirija, Izrael i Palestina su na jugu,

and our government even up till this moment

a naša vlada je još uvek

is still fragmented and unstable.

izdeljena i nestabilna.

Godinama je država podeljena

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

između politike i religije.

However, for one day a year,

Međutim, jednom godišnje

we truly stand united,

zaista smo ujedinjeni,

and that's when the marathon takes place.

i to onda, kada se održava maraton.

I used to be a marathon runner.

Nekada sam i ja trčala maraton.

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

Trčanje na duge staze bilo je dobro za moje zdravlje

but it helped me meditate and dream big.

i pomoglo mi je da razmišljam i da sanjam velike snove.

So the longer distances I ran,

Što sam duže trčala

snovi su mi postajali sve veći,

the bigger my dreams became.

Until one fateful morning,

do onog sudbonosnog jutra,

and while training, I was hit by a bus.

kada me je tokom trčanja udario autobus.

I nearly died, was in a coma,

Skoro da sam umrla, bila sam u komi,

stayed at the hospital for two years,

ostala sam u bolnici dve godine

i podvrgla sam se operacijama 36 puta, da bih ponovo prohodala.

and underwent 36 surgeries to be able to walk again.

As soon as I came out of my coma,

Čim sam izašla iz kome,

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

shvatila sam da više nisam ona ista trkačica,

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

pa sam odlučila, ako već sama ne mogu da trčim,

I wanted to make sure that others could.

želim da to mogu drugi.

Još iz bolničkog kreveta

So out of my hospital bed,

I asked my husband to start taking notes,

sam zamolila supruga da pravi beleške

and a few months later, the marathon was born.

i posle nekoliko meseci

rodio se maraton.

Organizing a marathon as a reaction to an accident

Organizacija maratona, kao reakcija na nesreću,

may sound strange,

može da zvuči čudno,

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

ali tada, čak i tokom mog najranjivijeg stanja,

I needed to dream big.

bio mi je potreban veliki san.

I needed something to take me out of my pain,

Bilo mi je potrebno nešto da mi otkloni bol,

an objective to look forward to.

neki cilj kojem ću težiti.

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

Nisam htela da sažaljevam sebe ili da to drugi čine

and I thought by organizing such a marathon,

i mislila sam da organizacijom takvog maratona,

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

mogu da se odužim zajednici,

build bridges with the outside world,

da gradim mostove sa spoljnim svetom

and invite runners to come to Lebanon

i da pozovem trkače u Liban

and run under the umbrella of peace.

da trče pod kišobranom mira.

Organizing a marathon in Lebanon

Organizacija maratona u Libanu

is definitely not like organizing one in New York.

svakako se razlikuje od organizacije istog u Njujorku.

How do you introduce the concept of running

Kako predstaviti koncept trčanja

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

narodu koji je stalno na ivici rata?

How do you ask those who were once fighting

Kako da zamolite one koji su se nakad borili

and killing each other

i ubijali jedni druge,

to come together and run next to each other?

da se okupe i trče jedan pored drugog?

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

Štaviše, kako ubediti ljude

da trče 42 km

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

kada nisu čak ni poznavali

reč "maraton"?

So we had to start from scratch.

Morali smo da krenemo od samog početka.

For almost two years, we went all over the country

Skoro dve godine smo obilazili zemlju

and even visited remote villages.

i posetili čak i udaljena sela.

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

Lično sam upoznala ljude svih profesija -

mayors, NGOs, schoolchildren,

gradonačelnike, aktiviste, đake,

politicians, militiamen,

političare, milicionere, ljude iz džamija, iz crkava,

people from mosques, churches,

the president of the country, even housewives.

predsednika države, domaćice.

I learned one thing:

Shvatila sam jednu stvar:

When you walk the talk, people believe you.

kada potkrepite svoje reči delima, ljudi vam veruju.

Many were touched by my personal story,

Mnoge je dirnula moja lična priča,

and they shared their stories in return.

i zauzvrat su i oni podelili sa mnom svoje priče.

It was honesty and transparency that brought us together.

Zbližila nas je iskrenost i transparentnost.

Govorili smo zajedničkim jezikom,

We spoke one common language to each other,

and that was from one human to another.

kao čovek sa čovekom.

Once that trust was built,

Kada smo izgradili poverenje,

everybody wanted to be part of the marathon

svi su hteli da budu deo maratona,

da pokažu svetu prave boje Libana

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

i Libanaca,

and their desire to live in peace and harmony.

i njihovu želju da žive u miru i harmoniji.

In October 2003, over 6,000 runners

Oktobra 2003., preko 6000 trkača,

from 49 different nationalities

49 različitih nacionalnosti,

came to the start line, all determined,

stalo je na startnu liniju, svi odlučni,

and when the gunfire went off,

i kada je pucanj označio start,

this time it was a signal to run in harmony,

to je bio znak, da za promenu,

for a change.

svi trče složno.

The marathon grew.

Maraton se uvećavao.

So did our political problems.

Sa njim i politički problemi.

But for every disaster we had,

Ali posle svake katastrofe,

the marathon found ways to bring people together.

maraton je zbližavao ljude.

In 2005, our prime minister was assassinated,

2005. naš premijer je ubijen

and the country came to a complete standstill,

i u državi je došlo do potpunog zastoja,

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

zato smo organizovali kampanju - trku od 5 km, Trčimo ujedinjeni.

Over 60,000 people came to the start line,

Došlo je preko 60 000 ljudi na start,

all wearing white T-shirts with no political slogans.

svi obučeni u bele majice, bez političkih slogana.

That was a turning point for the marathon,

To je bila prekretnica za maraton,

where people started looking at it as a platform

ljudi su počeli da ga shvataju kao platformu

za mir i jedinstvo.

for peace and unity.

Between 2006 up to 2009, our country, Lebanon,

Od 2006. do 2009. naša zemlja, Liban,

went through unstable years,

prolazila je kroz nestabilne godine,

invasions, and more assassinations

invazije, ubistva,

that brought us close to a civil war.

što nas je dovelo blizu građanskog rata.

The country was divided again,

Država se opet toliko podelila,

so much that our parliament resigned,

da se parlament povukao,

godinu dana nismo imali ni predsednika ni premijera.

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

But we did have a marathon.

Ali smo imali maraton.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Shvatili smo da, uz pomoć maratona,

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

možemo prevazići političke probleme.

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

Kada je opoziciona partija odlučila

da zatvori deo gradskog centra,

we negotiated alternative routes.

pregovarali smo o alternativnim maršrutama.

Vladini demonstranti su postali

Government protesters became sideline cheerleaders.

navijači sa strane.

They even hosted juice stations.

Čak su postavili i tezge sa sokovima.

(Laughter)

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

Maraton je zaista postao

jedinstven.

It gained credibility

Stekao je kredibilitet kako Libanaca,

from both the Lebanese and the international community.

tako i međunarodne zajednice.

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

Novembra 2012. preko 33 000 trkača,

85 različitih nacionalnosti,

came to the start line,

je startovalo,

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

ali ovog puta izazov su bili

jaka oluja i kiša.

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

Ulice su bile poplavljene, ali ljudi nisu hteli da propuste

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

šansu da budu deo

takvog nacionalnog praznika.

Asocijacija bejrutskog maratona se proširila.

BMA has expanded.

We include everyone: the young, the elderly,

Uključili smo svakog: mlade, starije

the disabled, the mentally challenged,

invalide, osobe sa smetnjama u razvoju,

the blind, the elite, the amateur runners,

slepe, elitu, amatere,

čak i majke sa bebama.

even moms with their babies.

Themes have included runs for the environment,

Trke su bile posvećene zaštiti okoline,

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

raku dojki, ljubavi prema Libanu, miru

or just simply to run.

ili jednostavno trka radi trke.

Prva godišnja ženska trka za osnaživanje,

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

which is one of its kind in the region,

koja je jedina te vrste u regionu,

has just taken place only a few weeks ago,

održala se pre nekoliko nedelja,

with 4,512 women, including the first lady,

učestvovalo je 4 512 žena, uključujući i Prvu damu,

and this is only the beginning.

i ovo je tek početak.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

ABM podržava dobrotvorne organizacije i volontere

BMA has supported charities and volunteers

who have helped reshape Lebanon,

koji pomažu da se Liban preoblikuje,

raising funds for their causes

skupljanjem sredstava

and encouraging others to give.

i ohrabrivanjem drugih za donacije.

The culture of giving and doing good has become contagious.

Zarazili smo se kulturom davanja

i činjenja dobrih dela.

Stereotypes have been broken.

Razbili su se stereotipi.

Change-makers and future leaders have been created.

Stvorili smo one koji rade na promenama

i buduće lidere.

I believe these are the building blocks for future peace.

Mislim da su oni kamen temeljac budućeg mira.

ABM je postala tako poštovani događaj u regionu,

BMA has become such a respected event in the region

that government officials in the region,

da su vladini službenici u regionu,

like Iraq, Egypt and Syria,

kao što je Irak, Egipat i Sirija,

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

zamolili organizaciju, da im pomogne u organizaciji

sličnog sportskog događaja.

Sada je naša trka jedna od najvećih trka

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

na Srednjem istoku, ali ono što je najvažnije,

but most importantly,

it is a platform for hope and cooperation

ona je platforma nade i saradnje

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

u večito krhkom i nestabilnom delu sveta.

From Boston to Beirut, we stand as one.

Od Bostona do Bejruta, stojimo kao jedan.

(Aplauz)

(Applause)

After 10 years in Lebanon,

Posle 10 godina u Libanu,

from national marathons or from national events

od maratona i drugih nacionalnih događaja,

to smaller regional races,

do manjih regionalnih trka,

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

vidimo da ljudi žele da trče za bolju budućnost.

After all, peacemaking is not a sprint.

Na kraju, mirotvorstvo nije sprint.

It is more of a marathon.

Više liči na maraton.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)