TEDGlobal 2013
May El-Khalil: Making peace is a marathon
Filmed:
Readability: 4.2
5,268,496 views
In Lebanon there is one gunshot a year that isn’t part of a scene of routine violence: The opening sound of the Beirut International Marathon. In a moving talk, marathon founder May El-Khalil explains why she believed a 26.2-mile running event could bring together a country divided for decades by politics and religion, even if for one day a year.
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
00:16
and I believe that running can change the world.
1
4237
4009
00:20
I know what I have just said is simply not obvious.
2
8246
4484
00:24
You know, Lebanon as a country has been once destroyed
3
12730
4672
00:29
by a long and bloody civil war.
4
17402
3140
00:32
Honestly, I don't know why they call it civil war
5
20542
3260
00:35
when there is nothing civil about it.
6
23802
2706
00:38
With Syria to the north, Israel and Palestine to the south,
7
26508
5034
00:43
and our government even up till this moment
8
31542
3345
00:46
is still fragmented and unstable.
9
34887
3022
00:49
For years, the country has been divided
10
37909
3234
00:53
between politics and religion.
11
41143
4056
00:57
However, for one day a year,
12
45199
3270
01:00
we truly stand united,
13
48469
2466
01:02
and that's when the marathon takes place.
14
50935
4234
01:07
I used to be a marathon runner.
15
55169
3148
01:10
Long distance running was not only good for my well-being
16
58317
4758
01:15
but it helped me meditate and dream big.
17
63075
4605
01:19
So the longer distances I ran,
18
67680
2228
01:21
the bigger my dreams became,
19
69908
3514
01:25
until one fateful morning,
20
73422
2979
01:28
and while training, I was hit by a bus.
21
76401
6169
01:34
I nearly died, was in a coma,
22
82570
3280
01:37
stayed at the hospital for two years,
23
85850
3050
01:40
and underwent 36 surgeries to be able to walk again.
24
88900
6781
01:47
As soon as I came out of my coma,
25
95681
2811
01:50
I realized that I was no longer the same runner I used to be,
26
98492
5150
01:55
so I decided, if I couldn't run myself,
27
103642
4163
01:59
I wanted to make sure that others could.
28
107805
4072
02:03
So out of my hospital bed,
29
111877
2376
02:06
I asked my husband to start taking notes,
30
114253
3176
02:09
and a few months later,
31
117429
2488
02:11
the marathon was born.
32
119917
3776
02:15
Organizing a marathon as a reaction to an accident
33
123693
4196
02:19
may sound strange,
34
127889
2271
02:22
but at that time, even during my most vulnerable condition,
35
130160
5061
02:27
I needed to dream big.
36
135221
2242
02:29
I needed something to take me out of my pain,
37
137463
3242
02:32
an objective to look forward to.
38
140705
2940
02:35
I didn't want to pity myself, nor to be pitied,
39
143645
4398
02:40
and I thought by organizing such a marathon,
40
148043
3574
02:43
I'll be able to pay back to my community,
41
151617
3019
02:46
build bridges with the outside world,
42
154636
2580
02:49
and invite runners to come to Lebanon
43
157216
2464
02:51
and run under the umbrella of peace.
44
159680
5075
02:56
Organizing a marathon in Lebanon
45
164755
2542
02:59
is definitely not like organizing one in New York.
46
167297
5015
03:04
How do you introduce the concept of running
47
172312
3196
03:07
to a nation that is constantly at the brink of war?
48
175508
5129
03:12
How do you ask those who were once fighting
49
180637
3251
03:15
and killing each other
50
183888
1641
03:17
to come together and run next to each other?
51
185529
4072
03:21
More than that, how do you convince people
52
189601
3234
03:24
to run a distance of 26.2 miles
53
192835
3329
03:28
at a time they were not even familiar
54
196164
2463
03:30
with the word "marathon"?
55
198627
2729
03:33
So we had to start from scratch.
56
201356
2480
03:35
For almost two years, we went all over the country
57
203836
3574
03:39
and even visited remote villages.
58
207410
3843
03:43
I personally met with people from all walks of life --
59
211253
4512
03:47
mayors, NGOs, schoolchildren,
60
215765
3029
03:50
politicians, militiamen, people from mosques, churches,
61
218794
5791
03:56
the president of the country, even housewives.
62
224585
4834
04:01
I learned one thing:
63
229419
2732
04:04
When you walk the talk, people believe you.
64
232151
4293
04:08
Many were touched by my personal story,
65
236444
4363
04:12
and they shared their stories in return.
66
240807
2840
04:15
It was honesty and transparency that brought us together.
67
243647
5263
04:20
We spoke one common language to each other,
68
248910
3594
04:24
and that was from one human to another.
69
252504
5404
04:29
Once that trust was built,
70
257908
2380
04:32
everybody wanted to be part of the marathon
71
260288
2640
04:34
to show the world the true colors of Lebanon
72
262928
3032
04:37
and the Lebanese
73
265960
2131
04:40
and their desire to live in peace and harmony.
74
268091
5312
04:45
In October 2003, over 6,000 runners
75
273403
5089
04:50
from 49 different nationalities
76
278492
2610
04:53
came to the start line, all determined,
77
281102
3930
04:57
and when the gunfire went off,
78
285032
2620
04:59
this time it was a signal to run in harmony
79
287652
4901
05:04
for a change.
80
292553
2411
05:06
The marathon grew.
81
294964
2001
05:08
So did our political problems.
82
296965
2967
05:11
But for every disaster we had,
83
299932
2739
05:14
the marathon found ways to bring people together.
84
302671
5685
05:20
In 2005, our prime minister was assassinated,
85
308356
4768
05:25
and the country came to a complete standstill,
86
313124
4052
05:29
so we organized a five-kilometer United We Run campaign.
87
317176
4316
05:33
Over 60,000 people came to the start line,
88
321492
4074
05:37
all wearing white t-shirts with no political slogans.
89
325566
5716
05:43
That was a turning point for the marathon,
90
331282
3091
05:46
where people started looking at it as a platform
91
334373
3607
05:49
for peace and unity.
92
337980
2895
05:52
Between 2006 up to 2009, our country, Lebanon,
93
340875
4877
05:57
went through unstable years,
94
345752
2673
06:00
invasions, and more assassinations
95
348425
3505
06:03
that brought us close to a civil war.
96
351930
2336
06:06
The country was divided again,
97
354266
2650
06:08
so much that our parliament resigned,
98
356916
3034
06:11
we had no president for a year, and no prime minister.
99
359950
5219
06:17
But we did have a marathon.
100
365169
3817
06:20
(Applause)
101
368986
5947
06:26
So through the marathon, we learned
102
374933
2583
06:29
that political problems can be overcome.
103
377516
4736
06:34
When the opposition party decided
104
382252
1940
06:36
to shut down part of the city center,
105
384192
2740
06:38
we negotiated alternative routes.
106
386932
3030
06:41
Government protesters became
107
389962
3154
06:45
sideline cheerleaders.
108
393116
1722
06:46
They even hosted juice stations.
109
394838
4637
06:51
You know, the marathon has really become
110
399475
4103
06:55
one of a kind.
111
403578
1636
06:57
It gained credibility from both
112
405214
2423
06:59
the Lebanese and the international community.
113
407637
4602
07:04
Last November 2012, over 33,000 runners
114
412239
4012
07:08
from 85 different nationalities
115
416251
2673
07:10
came to the start line,
116
418924
1408
07:12
but this time, they challenged
117
420332
2277
07:14
very stormy and rainy weather.
118
422609
3123
07:17
The streets were flooded, but people didn't want to miss
119
425732
3447
07:21
out on the opportunity of being part
120
429179
2655
07:23
of such a national day.
121
431834
3162
07:26
BMA has expanded.
122
434996
1902
07:28
We include everyone: the young, the elderly,
123
436898
3874
07:32
the disabled, the mentally challenged,
124
440772
2923
07:35
the blind, the elite, the amateur runners,
125
443695
3177
07:38
even moms with their babies.
126
446872
3119
07:41
Themes have included runs for the environment,
127
449991
3357
07:45
breast cancer, for the love of Lebanon, for peace,
128
453348
3784
07:49
or just simply to run.
129
457132
2680
07:51
The first annual all-women-and-girls race for empowerment,
130
459812
6512
07:58
which is one of its kind in the region,
131
466324
2528
08:00
has just taken place only a few weeks ago,
132
468852
3409
08:04
with 4,512 women, including the first lady,
133
472261
5518
08:09
and this is only the beginning.
134
477779
4397
08:14
Thank you.
135
482176
2036
08:16
(Applause)
136
484212
2638
08:18
BMA has supported charities and volunteers
137
486850
5219
08:24
who have helped reshape Lebanon,
138
492069
3051
08:27
raising funds for their causes
139
495120
2187
08:29
and encouraging others to give.
140
497307
3451
08:32
The culture of giving and doing good
141
500758
2637
08:35
has become contagious.
142
503395
2100
08:37
Stereotypes have been broken.
143
505495
2187
08:39
Change-makers and future leaders
144
507682
2841
08:42
have been created.
145
510523
1881
08:44
I believe these are the building blocks for future peace.
146
512404
6356
08:50
BMA has become such a respected event in the region
147
518760
6975
08:57
that government officials in the region
148
525735
2503
09:00
like Iraq, Egypt and Syria,
149
528238
3417
09:03
have asked the organization to help them structure
150
531655
3483
09:07
a similar sporting event.
151
535138
2804
09:09
We are now one of the largest running events
152
537942
3727
09:13
in the Middle East, but most importantly,
153
541669
2511
09:16
it is a platform for hope and cooperation
154
544180
4485
09:20
in an ever-fragile and unstable part of the world.
155
548665
5787
09:26
From Boston to Beirut, we stand as one.
156
554452
5264
09:31
(Applause)
157
559716
5826
09:37
After 10 years in Lebanon,
158
565542
2602
09:40
from national marathons or from national events
159
568144
3396
09:43
to smaller regional races, we've seen
160
571540
2864
09:46
that people want to run for a better future.
161
574404
5172
09:51
After all, peacemaking is not a sprint.
162
579576
5667
09:57
It is more of a marathon.
163
585243
2107
09:59
Thank you.
164
587350
1516
10:00
(Applause)
165
588866
5862
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