FOOTBALL
FOSTERS FORGIVENESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Would
a football tournament organised by refugees and local youths in a high-tension
zone in Lebanon achieve its goals of acceptance and forgiveness?
When more
than 60 Lebanese and Syrian youths crossed the play area of a school in Beirut
to start a game of football, there was some concern that it could all go
horribly wrong.
‘To be
honest, we had our concerns that it might end in conflict and we would have
achieved nothing, or even made the situation worse,’ said Ramy Darwich Taleb,
who works with the
Foundation for Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Lebanon
(FFRL) to help young people in the area realise that diversity does not have
to mean divided.
Lebanon is
one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse countries in the Middle East,
and is home to its second-largest population of Christians after Egypt. It has
become a place of refuge for both Palestinian and Syrian people seeking to
escape conflict. While Lebanon and Syria are not at war, hostilities have
emerged between Syrians fleeing war in their country and their Lebanese host
communities.
It was the
teenagers’ idea to address these tensions through the channel of football. They
wanted to put into practice what they had been taught on the Forgiveness Journey
programme, which they had just completed. A football tournament would be a
bridge-building event, they decided. And when match day came around, five teams
of twelve players lined up against each other.
‘We wanted to
empower the youth to be peace ambassadors by letting them lead the
event’
Given the
context, football was a natural choice. ‘The decision to host a football
tournament was an easy one to make,’ said Ramy. ‘Football is universal. It
crosses cultural and religious boundaries and immediately provides some common
ground.
‘It also
creates a platform to deal with conflict in a healthy, restorative way – and one
that is hopefully fun at the same time. We felt it could be effective when used
alongside the constructive mechanisms for dealing with anger and hurt that our
participants had already learnt about.
‘We wanted
to empower the youth to be peace ambassadors by letting them take the initiative
in leading the event. Ultimately, our aim was to build relationships between
communities, to provide a safe space to do this and to overcome dehumanising and
stereotypical perceptions.’
Did
the tournament achieve these goals?
‘The
competitive nature of football meant that we did have some challenges in
ensuring participants remained good spirited, and didn’t act aggressively
towards each other,’ said Ramy.
‘But in
the end it was a breakthrough event. The host school and another local NGO
became involved and the players’ general acceptance and encouragement of each
other in both communities was amazing.’
Ramy and
the team at FFRL hope the peacebuilding efforts of the young people will be
noticed by their families and communities and have a knock-on effect. And when
they run the next football tournament, they will aim to include more people and
consider making the day longer, as the youth wanted to stay and continue
playing.
The final
score, for the record, was 6–5 to the Lebanese. ‘But everyone was a winner,’
said Ramy. ‘All in all, it was a very exciting and challenging day.’
Please
pray
- Thank God
for this amazing work, and for inspirational people like Ramy who are building
peace in some of the world’s most challenging places.
- Pray for
the nation of Lebanon, that barriers of hostility will continue to be broken
down and that peace will reign.
- Pray that
attitudes towards refugees around the world will change, and that governments,
communities and individuals will do more to show them the love of Christ.
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