環(huán)球英語—834：A Marathon Race in Gaza

Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Ryan Geertsma.
Voice 2
And I’m Robin Basselin. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no matter where in the world they live.
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The sky began to get lighter. Children and adults gathered at the starting line. Runners jumped up and down. They stretched their legs. Energy and excitement filled the air. Film cameras recorded the events. The sun slowly climbed higher in the sky over Beit Hanoun, a city in the northeast Gaza Strip.
Voice 2
At the start signal, children ran quickly forward. So did the professional runners like Nader el Masri - a Palestinian Olympic runner. The first 42 kilometer marathon race in the Gaza Strip began. Today’s Spotlight is on the first Gaza Marathon.
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There has been conflict in the Gaza Strip since about 1948. This was the end of the Arab-Israeli War. During the time of fighting, many Palestinian people fled from the country of Israel to the Gaza Strip. The countries Egypt and Israel created borders to separate their armies. In between the borders was the Gaza Strip.
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The Gaza Strip is very small - only 360 square kilometers. It is one of the occupied Palestinian territories, created after 1948. A Palestinian government is in charge of the area. But Israel still controls most of Gaza’s borders, its air space, and its water space. So Israel still controls who and what can go in and out of the Gaza Strip. The continuing conflict has killed many people.
Voice 1
As a result, the Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip experience conflict and poverty every day. They cannot get the food they need or earn money from trading goods because they do not control their own borders. Even children are affected by the fighting. Many not-for-profit organizations work to bring aid to these refugees. One of those organizations in the Gaza Strip is The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees or UNRWA.
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Gemma Connell is an aid worker for UNRWA. She wanted to bring a feeling of normal life to the refugees - even if fighting continued around them. She had an idea. The UNRWA should organize a marathon race. The Gaza Strip is 42 kilometers long. It is the perfect distance for a marathon. The runners would begin the race at Beit Hanun. Then they would run south along the coast until they reached the finish line. The race would end in Rafah, a southern city on the border of Egypt.
Voice 1
But Connell did not want to only organize a marathon. She wanted the marathon to help the children of Gaza too. In the Gaza Strip, there are very few safe places for children to play. Every summer, the UNRWA organizes an event for the refugee children in the Gaza Strip. It is called Summer Games. For 6 weeks every summer, more than 250,000 boys and girls play, swim, and learn team games. Chris Gunness, another aid worker for UNRWA, described the goal of Summer Games.
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"Gaza is a very intense and pressure filled environment. In this kind of environment, it is important to have a space where children can just be children. We want to give the children an experience of fun and normal life."
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The children of the Gaza Strip enjoy the Summer Games. Twelve-year-old Raghda Salem and Saher Dahab told the UNRWA,
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“Summer Games is important to us. All children should have the right to be involved in organized sports. This is not a normal experience in our lives. But it should be.”
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"Summer Games is the best part of my summer. Last year, I learned to play the sport volleyball. I made new friends. I played fun team games on the sand beach by the water."
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But the government of the Gaza Strip does not always support the Summer Games. So the UNRWA must raise money each year. Connell shared her hopes for the first Gaza Marathon.
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"We are hoping this race will raise a million dollars. This money will go towards Summer Games 2011. We want people to get involved. They can support the event three ways. They can run if they are in Gaza. They can hold a sister event like it if they are outside of Gaza. Or they can give money to support a runner.”
Voice 2
The first Gaza Marathon was held on May 5, 2011. 50 runners met at the starting line. 9 people ran the whole marathon. Palestinian Olympic runner Nader el Masri and seven other Gazans ran the full 42 kilometres. So did Gemma Connell and one other aid worker. Connell described her experience to the Guardian news organization.
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"I ran through refugee camps. I ran past farmers and street cleaners. They all cheered. They encouraged me shouting: 'Salam Alaikum', meaning peace be on you. The many kinds of places and the welcome were wonderful. There was the extreme beauty of the Mediterranean. All of this gave me the energy to keep going.”
Voice 1
The other runners completed shorter distances. Even children ran in the marathon. UNRWA reported that more than 1,200 children ran in relay teams. One child ran a short distance of 1 to 4 kilometers. Another child began the race where the first child finished. He ran until he finished his part of the race. Then another child began. Some children even ran up to half of the marathon!
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It may have seemed like any other day in the Gaza Strip. Soldiers still guarded the streets with their guns. But for many Gazans it was a good day. Nadir al-Masri finished the marathon first. He explained his emotions to the many news organizations that were present.
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"This is a very happy day for me because it is the first-ever marathon in Gaza. It is a day of joy.”
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One young girl breathed heavily as she ran near the professional runners. For her, the event had even more meaning. It gave her hope for the future because it supported the Summer Games. While she was running, she told a film crew why she believed supporting the Summer Games was important.
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“The games help us to reach our aims and achieve our dreams. Thank you all.”