{"id":6850,"date":"2011-05-14T11:00:31","date_gmt":"2011-05-14T07:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/?p=6850"},"modified":"2011-05-15T19:10:19","modified_gmt":"2011-05-15T15:10:19","slug":"the-spirit-of-freedom-that-drives-gazas-long-distance-runner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/middle-east-sports-news-and-analysis\/the-spirit-of-freedom-that-drives-gazas-long-distance-runner\/","title":{"rendered":"The Spirit of Freedom that Drives Gaza’s Long-Distance Runner"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Nader al-Masri is an inspiration. The 31-year-old Gaza athlete seems completely\u00a0oblivious to challenges that would seem insurmountable to most. On May 5th, he led a\u00a0small pack of nine runners into the finish line of Gaza\u2019s first marathon. Behind\u00a0them, 1,300 children ran various distances.<\/p>\n

Many of the children who participated in the UN-sponsored marathon probably pointed\u00a0and cheered at Nader as he sped by them. Some might even have tried to momentarily\u00a0hustle to remain at equal footing with Palestine\u2019s favorite runner. Despite the\u00a0scorching heat and numerous obstacles, Nader finished in 2 hours, 47 minutes and 47\u00a0seconds, falling short of his goal by over 17 minutes.<\/p>\n

Nader has run prestigious events outside Gaza. He took part in the 5,000 meters race\u00a0at the Beijing Olympics, and is currently undertaking vigorous training in\u00a0preparation for the 2012 London Games. I am certain that his partaking in the London\u00a0event will be used as an opportunity to celebrate Gaza and Palestine.<\/p>\n

According to the Associated Press, Nader declared, \u2018It is a day of joy,\u2019 as he\u00a0reached the finish line in Rafah, near the Gaza-Egypt border. \u2018This is a very happy\u00a0day for me because it is the first-ever marathon in Gaza.\u2019 The Rarah border has been\u00a0closed for a large part of the last five years, making the Israeli siege and\u00a0protracted war on Gaza complete, as well as unbearable. The post-revolution\u00a0government in Egypt, however, is planning to divest from any further political\u00a0participation in the Israeli siege on Gaza. Egypt\u2019s new Foreign Minister Nabil\u00a0Al-‘Arabi has promised to open \u2013 and keep open – the border point.<\/p>\n

Nader\u2019s last name, \u2018al-Masri\u2019, means \u2018the Egyptian\u2019. Many Palestinians also carry\u00a0the same name. The bond between the two countries is remarkable and historic, and it\u00a0long preceded former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak\u2019s decision to become\u00a0\u2018moderate\u2019 and effectively suffocate the already confined population of the Gaza\u00a0Strip.<\/p>\n

The race started from Gaza\u2019s most northern point, Beit Hanoun. The small town was\u00a0previously center stage in Israel\u2019s so-called Operation Cast lead. In a period of\u00a0three weeks between December 2008 and January 2009, over 1,400 Palestinians were\u00a0killed and 5,000 more were wounded, according to UN and other international reports.\u00a0Israel argued that it had the right, if not duty, to act as it did.<\/p>\n

Nader is from Beit Hanoun. Considering the very high ratio of Israel\u2019s victims that\u00a0come from this small town, one can imagine that Nader has lost neighbors, friends,\u00a0and family members. Many in Beit Hanoun, like thousands of other Palestinians in\u00a0Gaza, will carry the scars of Israel\u2019s war to the end. Many will not be able to walk\u00a0for the rest of their lives. But Nader is still running.<\/p>\n

The war on Gaza took place merely four months after Nader\u2019s participation in the\u00a0Beijing Olympics in August 2008. I had, at the time, written about him and three\u00a0other Palestinian athletes who took part in the games:<\/p>\n

\u2018When four Palestinian athletes marched with the Palestinian flag into the Olympic\u00a0Games in Beijing it was a statement, a declaration of sorts, that Palestinians\u00a0insist on their right to exist on equal footing with the rest of the world, to raise\u00a0their flag without fear and wear their country’s name spelled out the way it should\u00a0be, not as a Palestinian Authority but as Palestine. The 1.5 million Palestinians\u00a0living in besieged Gaza must have savored that moment more than anyone else. One\u00a0from amongst them, Nader Al-Masri, had a big smile on his face as he marched,\u00a0nervously but proudly. Gaza lived a moment of freedom that day, one that even Israel\u00a0couldn’t take away.\u2019<\/p>\n

Since then, much has plighted Gaza, Cast Lead notwithstanding. The Gaza population\u00a0has grown in size to 1.6 million. Thousands of international peace activists have\u00a0marched to Gaza, crossing continents and braving high seas to stand in solidarity\u00a0with the besieged population. Some were brutally murdered. Nine Turkish activists\u00a0died abroad the Mavi Marmara on May 31, 2010, at the hands of Israeli soldiers in\u00a0international waters. On May 5, 2011, nine athletes finished the first Gaza\u00a0Marathon, including a few internationals. Solidarity is a unifying value in Gaza.<\/p>\n

A marathon is an approximately 42 kilometers long (26.2 miles). The length of Gaza\u00a0in its entirety is 41 kilometers. The difference must have been managed somehow,\u00a0through side roads or other means. Israeli army watchtowers dot the Gaza-Israel\u00a0border. Israel removed its illegal colonies from Gaza in 2005, but remained in\u00a0complete control over the Strip, gunning people down inside the big cage whenever\u00a0any of its inhabitants resembled a \u2018security threat\u2019. Luckily the children of the\u00a0Gaza Marathon escaped such classification.<\/p>\n

As a result of the Gaza Marathon, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees\u00a0in the Near East (UNRWA) raised over a million dollars, thanks to the generosity of\u00a0many people. The amount is enough for UNRWA to deliver on its promise to 250,000\u00a0Gaza children to attend summer camps.<\/p>\n

Marathons carry different meanings and values, and each participant has his own\u00a0unique reasons for participating. In Gaza, it was the spirit of freedom that\u00a0compelled Nader to run, and to keep on running.<\/p>\n

\u2018When given the opportunity, the children of Gaza can be the best in the world,\u2019\u00a0UNRWA media advisor Adnan Abu Hassna said. They can also inspire us all – not for\u00a0the two Guinness Records they broke in recent years – but because they are\u00a0determined to hope under the most terrible and challenging of circumstances.<\/p>\n

As for Nader, this Gaza man will simply keep running as long as his legs will carry\u00a0him. Gazans are known for being stubborn, and perseverance is our gift.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RAMZY BAROUD: Nader al-Masri sporting deeds reflect the stubborness and perseverance of the Gazan people. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":6851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56,7],"tags":[2651,6860,2534,18300,278,861,2323,18311,2605,630,6864,6681,926,18297,690,1747,1808,4057,387,5861],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6850"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mideastposts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}