TEDGlobal 2013
May El-Khalil: Making peace is a marathon
At skabe fred er et maraton
Filmed:
Readability: 4.2
5,268,496 views
I Libanon er der ét pistolskud om året der ikke er en del af den sædvanlige vold: Startskuddet af Beirut International Marathon. I en bevægende tale, fortæller, opretter af et maratonløb, May El-Khalil, om hvorfor hun troede at et løbsarrangement på 42,2 km kunne samle et land, delt i årtier af politik og religion, også selvom det kun er én dag om året.
May El-Khalil - Founder of the Beirut Marathon
The Beirut Marathon is the largest running event in the Middle East. May El-Khalil founded it as an instrument of peace. Full bio
The Beirut Marathon is the largest running event in the Middle East. May El-Khalil founded it as an instrument of peace. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
I come from Lebanon,
0
1712
2525
Jeg kommer fra Libanon,
00:16
and I believe that running can change the world.
1
4237
4009
og jeg er overbevist om at løb kan ændre verden.
00:20
I know what I have just said is simply not obvious.
2
8246
4484
Jeg ved, at det jeg lige sagde, ikke er åbenlyst.
00:24
You know, Lebanon as a country has been once destroyed
3
12730
4672
Libanon som land er engang blevet destrueret
00:29
by a long and bloody civil war.
4
17402
3140
af en lang og blodig borgerkrig.
00:32
Honestly, I don't know why they call it civil war
5
20542
3260
Ærligt talt forstår jeg ikke hvorfor de kalder det for borgerkrig,
00:35
when there is nothing civil about it.
6
23802
2706
når der ikke er noget civiliseret over det.
00:38
With Syria to the north, Israel and Palestine to the south,
7
26508
5034
Med Syrien mod nord, Israel og Palæstina mod syd
00:43
and our government even up till this moment
8
31542
3345
og vores regering, endda indtil nu,
00:46
is still fragmented and unstable.
9
34887
3022
er stadig fragmenteret og ustabilt.
00:49
For years, the country has been divided
10
37909
3234
I mange år har landet været delt
00:53
between politics and religion.
11
41143
4056
mellem politik og religion.
00:57
However, for one day a year,
12
45199
3270
Dog er der en dag om året hvor
01:00
we truly stand united,
13
48469
2466
vi virkelig står sammen,
01:02
and that's when the marathon takes place.
14
50935
4234
og det er når maratonløbet bliver afholdt.
01:07
I used to be a marathon runner.
15
55169
3148
Jeg var før en maratonløber.
01:10
Long distance running was not only good for my well-being
16
58317
4758
Langdistanceløb var ikke kun godt for mit velvære,
01:15
but it helped me meditate and dream big.
17
63075
4605
det hjalp mig også med at meditere og drømme stort.
01:19
So the longer distances I ran,
18
67680
2228
Så, jo længere distancer jeg løb,
01:21
the bigger my dreams became,
19
69908
3514
des større blev mine drømme,
01:25
until one fateful morning,
20
73422
2979
indtil en skæbnesvanger morgen,
01:28
and while training, I was hit by a bus.
21
76401
6169
mens jeg trænede, blev jeg påkørt af en bus.
01:34
I nearly died, was in a coma,
22
82570
3280
Jeg døde næsten, var i koma,
01:37
stayed at the hospital for two years,
23
85850
3050
blev på hospitalet i to år,
01:40
and underwent 36 surgeries to be able to walk again.
24
88900
6781
og gennemgik 36 operationer for at komme til at gå igen.
01:47
As soon as I came out of my coma,
25
95681
2811
Så snart jeg kom ud af min koma,
01:50
I realized that I was no longer the same runner I used to be,
26
98492
5150
forstod jeg at jeg ikke længere var den samme løber som før,
01:55
so I decided, if I couldn't run myself,
27
103642
4163
så jeg besluttede, hvis jeg ikke selv kunne løbe,
01:59
I wanted to make sure that others could.
28
107805
4072
ville jeg sørge for at andre kunne.
02:03
So out of my hospital bed,
29
111877
2376
Så ved min hospitalsseng,
02:06
I asked my husband to start taking notes,
30
114253
3176
bad jeg min mand om at tage noter,
02:09
and a few months later,
31
117429
2488
og nogle få måneder senere,
02:11
the marathon was born.
32
119917
3776
var maratonløbet født.
02:15
Organizing a marathon as a reaction to an accident
33
123693
4196
At organisere et maratonløb som en reaktion på en ulykke
02:19
may sound strange,
34
127889
2271
kan lyde underligt,
02:22
but at that time, even during my most vulnerable condition,
35
130160
5061
men på det tidspunkt, selv i løbet af min mest sårbare tilstand,
02:27
I needed to dream big.
36
135221
2242
havde jeg brug for at drømme stort.
02:29
I needed something to take me out of my pain,
37
137463
3242
Jeg havde brug for noget, der kunne tage min smerte,
02:32
an objective to look forward to.
38
140705
2940
et mål at se frem mod.
02:35
I didn't want to pity myself, nor to be pitied,
39
143645
4398
Jeg ville ikke klynke, eller have medynk,
02:40
and I thought by organizing such a marathon,
40
148043
3574
så ved at organisere sådan et maratonløb,
02:43
I'll be able to pay back to my community,
41
151617
3019
kunne jeg tilbagebetale til mit fællesskab,
02:46
build bridges with the outside world,
42
154636
2580
bygge broer til den omkringliggende verden,
02:49
and invite runners to come to Lebanon
43
157216
2464
og invitere løbere til Libanon
02:51
and run under the umbrella of peace.
44
159680
5075
og løbe under paraplyen af fred.
02:56
Organizing a marathon in Lebanon
45
164755
2542
At organisere et maratonløb i Libanon
02:59
is definitely not like organizing one in New York.
46
167297
5015
er bestemt ikke ligesom at organisere et i New York.
03:04
How do you introduce the concept of running
47
172312
3196
Hvordan introducerer du konceptet af løb
03:07
to a nation that is constantly at the brink of war?
48
175508
5129
for en nation der konstant er på kanten til krig?
03:12
How do you ask those who were once fighting
49
180637
3251
Hvordan spørger man dem, som før kæmpede
03:15
and killing each other
50
183888
1641
og dræbte hinanden,
03:17
to come together and run next to each other?
51
185529
4072
til at mødes og løbe side om side?
03:21
More than that, how do you convince people
52
189601
3234
Derudover, hvordan overtaler du dem
03:24
to run a distance of 26.2 miles
53
192835
3329
til at løbe en distance på 42,2 km
03:28
at a time they were not even familiar
54
196164
2463
i en tid hvor de ikke var bekendte
03:30
with the word "marathon"?
55
198627
2729
med ordet "maratonløb"?
03:33
So we had to start from scratch.
56
201356
2480
Så vi måtte starte på ny.
03:35
For almost two years, we went all over the country
57
203836
3574
I næsten to år, rejste vi rundt i landet
03:39
and even visited remote villages.
58
207410
3843
og besøgte endda afsides landsbyer.
03:43
I personally met with people from all walks of life --
59
211253
4512
Jeg mødte folk fra alle samfundslag --
03:47
mayors, NGOs, schoolchildren,
60
215765
3029
borgmestre, chefer, skolebørn,
03:50
politicians, militiamen, people from mosques, churches,
61
218794
5791
politikere, militsfolk, folk fra moskeer, kirker,
03:56
the president of the country, even housewives.
62
224585
4834
landets præsident, selv husmødre.
04:01
I learned one thing:
63
229419
2732
Jeg lærte en ting:
04:04
When you walk the talk, people believe you.
64
232151
4293
Når man gør hvad man siger, så tror de på en.
04:08
Many were touched by my personal story,
65
236444
4363
Mange var berørte af min personlige historie,
04:12
and they shared their stories in return.
66
240807
2840
og de delte deres historier til gengæld.
04:15
It was honesty and transparency that brought us together.
67
243647
5263
Det var ærlighed og åbenhed der bragte os sammen.
04:20
We spoke one common language to each other,
68
248910
3594
Vi snakkede et fællessprog til hinanden,
04:24
and that was from one human to another.
69
252504
5404
og det var fra menneske til menneske.
04:29
Once that trust was built,
70
257908
2380
Da tilliden var blevet opbygget,
04:32
everybody wanted to be part of the marathon
71
260288
2640
ville alle være en del af maratonløbet,
04:34
to show the world the true colors of Lebanon
72
262928
3032
for at vise verden, de ægte farver af Libanon
04:37
and the Lebanese
73
265960
2131
og libaneserne
04:40
and their desire to live in peace and harmony.
74
268091
5312
og deres ønske om at leve i fred og harmoni.
04:45
In October 2003, over 6,000 runners
75
273403
5089
I oktober 2003 kom over 6.000 løbere
04:50
from 49 different nationalities
76
278492
2610
fra 49 forskellige nationaliteter,
04:53
came to the start line, all determined,
77
281102
3930
til startlinjen, alle opsatte,
04:57
and when the gunfire went off,
78
285032
2620
og da startskuddet lød,
04:59
this time it was a signal to run in harmony
79
287652
4901
var det denne gang et signal om at løbe i harmoni
05:04
for a change.
80
292553
2411
til en forandring.
05:06
The marathon grew.
81
294964
2001
Maratonløbet blev større.
05:08
So did our political problems.
82
296965
2967
Ligeså blev de politiske problemer.
05:11
But for every disaster we had,
83
299932
2739
Men for hver katastrofe vi havde,
05:14
the marathon found ways to bring people together.
84
302671
5685
fandt maratonløbet veje til at bringe folk sammen.
05:20
In 2005, our prime minister was assassinated,
85
308356
4768
I 2005 blev vores premierminister myrdet,
05:25
and the country came to a complete standstill,
86
313124
4052
og landet gik helt i stå,
05:29
so we organized a five-kilometer United We Run campaign.
87
317176
4316
så vi organiserede en fem kilometer Sammen Vi Løber-kampagne.
05:33
Over 60,000 people came to the start line,
88
321492
4074
Der kom over 60.000 mennesker til startlinjen,
05:37
all wearing white t-shirts with no political slogans.
89
325566
5716
allesammen iført hvid t-shirt uden politiske mærker.
05:43
That was a turning point for the marathon,
90
331282
3091
Det var et vendepunkt for maratonløbet,
05:46
where people started looking at it as a platform
91
334373
3607
da folk begyndte at se det som en platform
05:49
for peace and unity.
92
337980
2895
for fred og sammenhold.
05:52
Between 2006 up to 2009, our country, Lebanon,
93
340875
4877
Fra 2006 op til 2009 var vores land, Libanon,
05:57
went through unstable years,
94
345752
2673
igennem nogle ustabile år
06:00
invasions, and more assassinations
95
348425
3505
invasioner og flere mord
06:03
that brought us close to a civil war.
96
351930
2336
der bragte os nærmere en borgerkrig.
06:06
The country was divided again,
97
354266
2650
Landet var delt igen,
06:08
so much that our parliament resigned,
98
356916
3034
så meget at vores parlament trak sig tilbage,
06:11
we had no president for a year, and no prime minister.
99
359950
5219
vi havde ingen præsident i et år og ingen premierminister.
06:17
But we did have a marathon.
100
365169
3817
Men vi havde et maratonløb.
06:20
(Applause)
101
368986
5947
(Bifald)
06:26
So through the marathon, we learned
102
374933
2583
Så gennem maratonløbet lærte vi
06:29
that political problems can be overcome.
103
377516
4736
at politiske problemer kan overvindes.
06:34
When the opposition party decided
104
382252
1940
Da oppositionen besluttede sig for
06:36
to shut down part of the city center,
105
384192
2740
at lukke dele af bymidten,
06:38
we negotiated alternative routes.
106
386932
3030
forhandlede vi alternative ruter.
06:41
Government protesters became
107
389962
3154
Regeringsdemonstranter blev et
06:45
sideline cheerleaders.
108
393116
1722
sidestående heppekor.
06:46
They even hosted juice stations.
109
394838
4637
De beværtede endda energistande.
06:51
You know, the marathon has really become
110
399475
4103
Maratonløbet er virkelig blevet en
06:55
one of a kind.
111
403578
1636
speciel begivenhed.
06:57
It gained credibility from both
112
405214
2423
Det opnåede respekt fra både
06:59
the Lebanese and the international community.
113
407637
4602
libaneserne og det internationale fællesskab.
07:04
Last November 2012, over 33,000 runners
114
412239
4012
Sidste november 2012, kom over 33.000 løbere
07:08
from 85 different nationalities
115
416251
2673
med 85 forskellige nationaliteter
07:10
came to the start line,
116
418924
1408
til startlinjen,
07:12
but this time, they challenged
117
420332
2277
men denne gang, udfordrede de
07:14
very stormy and rainy weather.
118
422609
3123
et stormfuldt og regnfuldt vejr.
07:17
The streets were flooded, but people didn't want to miss
119
425732
3447
Gaderne stod under vand, men folk ville ikke gå glip af
07:21
out on the opportunity of being part
120
429179
2655
muligheden for at være en del
07:23
of such a national day.
121
431834
3162
af sådan en nationaldag.
07:26
BMA has expanded.
122
434996
1902
Beirut Maraton har udvidet.
07:28
We include everyone: the young, the elderly,
123
436898
3874
Vi inddrager alle: de unge, de ældre,
07:32
the disabled, the mentally challenged,
124
440772
2923
de handikappede, de mentalt udfordrede,
07:35
the blind, the elite, the amateur runners,
125
443695
3177
de blinde, eliten, amatørløberne,
07:38
even moms with their babies.
126
446872
3119
selv mødre med deres babyer.
07:41
Themes have included runs for the environment,
127
449991
3357
Temaer har inkluderet løb for miljøet,
07:45
breast cancer, for the love of Lebanon, for peace,
128
453348
3784
brystkræft, af kærlighed til Libanon, for fred,
07:49
or just simply to run.
129
457132
2680
eller bare for at løbe.
07:51
The first annual all-women-and-girls race for empowerment,
130
459812
6512
Det første årlige kvindeløb for styrkelse,
07:58
which is one of its kind in the region,
131
466324
2528
som er den eneste i området,
08:00
has just taken place only a few weeks ago,
132
468852
3409
har lige været afholdt for få uger siden,
08:04
with 4,512 women, including the first lady,
133
472261
5518
med 4512 kvinder, herunder førstedamen,
08:09
and this is only the beginning.
134
477779
4397
og dette er kun begyndelsen.
08:14
Thank you.
135
482176
2036
Tak.
08:16
(Applause)
136
484212
2638
(Bifald)
08:18
BMA has supported charities and volunteers
137
486850
5219
Beirut maraton har støttet velgørenhed og frivillige
08:24
who have helped reshape Lebanon,
138
492069
3051
som har hjulpet med genskabelsen af Libanon,
08:27
raising funds for their causes
139
495120
2187
skaffet midler til deres sager
08:29
and encouraging others to give.
140
497307
3451
og opmuntret andre til at bidrage.
08:32
The culture of giving and doing good
141
500758
2637
Dyrkelsen af at bidrage og gøre gode gerninger
08:35
has become contagious.
142
503395
2100
er blevet smitsom.
08:37
Stereotypes have been broken.
143
505495
2187
Stereotyper er blevet brudt.
08:39
Change-makers and future leaders
144
507682
2841
Forandringsskabere og fremtidige ledere
08:42
have been created.
145
510523
1881
er blevet skabt.
08:44
I believe these are the building blocks for future peace.
146
512404
6356
Jeg tror at de er byggematerialerne for fremtidens fred.
08:50
BMA has become such a respected event in the region
147
518760
6975
Beirut maraton er blevet sådan en respekteret begivenhed i området
08:57
that government officials in the region
148
525735
2503
at regeringens embedsmænd i området,
09:00
like Iraq, Egypt and Syria,
149
528238
3417
som Irak, Egypten og Syrien,
09:03
have asked the organization to help them structure
150
531655
3483
har spurgt organisationen om hjælp til at opbygge
09:07
a similar sporting event.
151
535138
2804
en lignende sportsbegivenhed.
09:09
We are now one of the largest running events
152
537942
3727
Vi er nu en af de største løbsarrangementer
09:13
in the Middle East, but most importantly,
153
541669
2511
i Mellemøsten, men vigtigst af alt,
09:16
it is a platform for hope and cooperation
154
544180
4485
det er en platform for håb og samarbejde
09:20
in an ever-fragile and unstable part of the world.
155
548665
5787
i en evigt skrøbelig og ustabil del af verden.
09:26
From Boston to Beirut, we stand as one.
156
554452
5264
Fra Boston til Beirut, vi står samlet.
09:31
(Applause)
157
559716
5826
(Bifald)
09:37
After 10 years in Lebanon,
158
565542
2602
Efter 10 år i Libanon,
09:40
from national marathons or from national events
159
568144
3396
fra nationale maratonløb eller fra nationale begivenheder
09:43
to smaller regional races, we've seen
160
571540
2864
til mindre regionale løb, har vi set
09:46
that people want to run for a better future.
161
574404
5172
at folk vil løbe for en bedre fremtid.
09:51
After all, peacemaking is not a sprint.
162
579576
5667
Fredskabelsen er, trods alt, er ikke en spurt.
09:57
It is more of a marathon.
163
585243
2107
Det er mere et maraton.
09:59
Thank you.
164
587350
1516
Tak.
10:00
(Applause)
165
588866
5862
(Bifald)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
May El-Khalil - Founder of the Beirut MarathonThe Beirut Marathon is the largest running event in the Middle East. May El-Khalil founded it as an instrument of peace.
Why you should listen
The beautiful city of Beirut, Lebanon, has seen its share of tragedy, as a seat of Lebanon's long-running civil war (1975-1990) and the Israeli-Lebanese conflict that came to a head in 2006. But in 2003, May El-Khalil, a local sports official, decided: It's time to start a marathon, open to all, as an antidote to sectarianism. And despite ongoing political and security pressure, the Beirut Marathon, now entering its 11th year, has become not only the largest running event in the Middle East but a powerful force for peace.
El-Khalil was inspired to start the marathon after a personal tragedy: a near-fatal running accident. Doctors told her she would never run again. She was hospitalized for two years and had to undergo a long series of surgeries. But the resolve from this personal struggle created an event that, each year, draws runners and fans from opposing political and religious communities in a symbolic act of peace. Case in point: In 2012, on a rainy and windy November day, more than 33,000 runners turned out. Other countries around the region are now thinking of replicating this model.
May El-Khalil | Speaker | TED.com