Playgrounds
For Palestine:
One Marathon At A Time
By Ramzy Baroud
06 November,
2008
Countercurrents.org
My
right knee is wrapped. My left ankle is iced. I lost the nail on my
right big toe, and have about 20 blisters and a similar number of
bruises on both of my feet. This doesn’t even begin to convey
half of the story of the punishment that my body has been subjected
to in recent months. Why, you ask? Because I will join Susan Abulhawa,
a Palestinian American activist, writer and founder of Playgrounds
for Palestine -www.playgroundsforpalestine.org
- in running the Philadelphia Marathon on November 23. Our goal is
to raise enough money to build a large playground in a Palestinian
refugee camp, likely in Lebanon. We are more than half of the way
there, but have about 5,000 dollars to go.
I ran a full marathon before (the Vancouver Marathon in Canada in
May 2008). I finished at a 4:10:29 and intended to break the four-hour
mark in the next run. But since then, I sustained a knee injury. Compounded
with an old back injury, training for the Philly Marathon has been
much harder than I thought it would be.
I try to maintain a 40 miles per week running routine and juggle many
hours of writing, editing, interviews, travel and public speaking
events at the same time. Needless to say, it’s been really tough.
But I had a cure to keep me motivated. Before every major run, especially
when I am feeling particularly demoralized, I visit www.playgroundsforpalestine.org.
Pictures of Palestinian children enjoying the many playgrounds that
this organization has already established inspire me to trot on. I
was born and raised in a refugee camp in Gaza, and truly understand
what these playgrounds mean for the children.
My last a major runs in the last two weeks were around 13, 15 and
finally 20 miles each. I think I am ready for Philadelphia, but still,
we don’t half enough to build that playground in the Palestinian
refugee camps in Lebanon.
Today, I read a new report filed from Nahr Al Bared refugee camp in
Lebanon. The camp was entirely destroyed during a recent fight between
the Lebanese army and Arab fighters. It included a photo gallery of
the camp, flattened to the ground as if hit by a major earthquake
and massive hurricane all at once. IRIN News said that UNRWA’s
international appeal to assist the refugees, fell largely on deaf
ears. What a shame.
What have these poor refugees - betrayed at every turn for many, many
years - done to endure such a fate? All of those frantic moms, and
dads, hauling their kids in beat up trucks or by foot and moving from
one place to another, seeking help and receiving little, or none at
all. Indeed, there are many vital questions that should be asked of
those whose decisions affect the lives of the refugees, but also there
is much work to be done to help them survive the harshness of their
life. For Susan and I, running one marathon to raise money to build
one playground is our main focus, and we are adamant to meet our goal.
I am also certain that there are many who care just enough to build
one more playground for the children in the refugee camps. My hope
is that your involvement will exceed that of making a one-time financial
contribution to sponsor our run, but will rather get involved yourself
as a runner, or in any other way to support such important organizations
as Playgrounds for Palestine: they provide hope in a time when only
misery and despair seem to eclipse the lives of so many children in
Gaza, in Lebanon and in those caught behind Israeli walls in the West
Bank.
Please contribute to our marathon fundraiser now, and also get involved.
Click Here to Help: http://www.playgroundsforpalestine.org/homepage.php
-Ramzy Baroud (www.ramzybaroud.net)
is an author and editor of PalestineChronicle.com.
His work has been published in many newspapers and journals worldwide.
His latest book is The Second Palestinian Intifada: A Chronicle of
a People's Struggle (Pluto Press, London).
