Sports for Peace

Can you imagine what it's like to be an Israeli or Palestinian teenager? Or what it's like to be an Indian or Pakistani, living near the disputed area of Kashmir? Your family can probably trace its roots back to that land for generations, even centuries, or more. You can't imagine living anywhere else. But you've never known peace, and maybe you've grown up hating your neighbors for reasons that are as old as the land itself.

As Americans, it's hard for us to imagine why these fights over land are so important. We move from street to street, city to city, coast to coast, without too much trouble. But in other countries, ties to land and place are as important as language, culture, history, and family. In fact, they're all woven together, which makes the disputes and violence over them that much more intractable. Can you remember a time when Israelis and Palestinians weren't fighting?

What we can't forget, however, is that even though teens grow up in these environments, they're probably not that different from you and your friends. Sports, for instance, are probably just as important to them as they are to American teens.

But, sports for peace?

In Israel-Palestine, soccer is being used as a way to bring youth together on the field in play and friendship, instead of fear and hatred. The Peace Team, as it's called, is comprised of 18 Israeli and Palestinian boys who came to Dallas, Texas to compete together as a united team, against other international youth soccer teams. As the Dallas Morning News first reported, while practicing, competing, and living together, these boys have gotten along as well as any youth, building real friendships despite their peoples' long history of discord. Read more online: Soccer team erases enemy lines for Israelis, Palestinians

Meanwhile, Arab News Agencies in South Asia are reporting that Indians and Pakistanis are coming together first on the cricket field, so that they can later come together for peace talks. It's called Cricket for Peace. Instead of political negotiations, athletes and sports fans on both sides of the border are trying to bring their people together in a spirit of goodwill as they play the region's favorite sport, cricket. ANA says "Pakistanis and Indians alike have hailed the tour as a boost to bilateral relations." Read more here: Cricket Promotes Indo-Pak Ties Ahead of Talks . Learn more about the history of the India-Pakistan conflict here: India and Pakistan: Historical slideshow

Catholic Connections

"I am thinking particularly of you, dear young people, who experience in a special way the blessing of life and have a duty not to waste it. In your schools and universities, in the work-place, in leisure and sports, in all that you do, let yourselves be guided by this constant thought: peace within you and peace around you, peace always, peace with everyone, peace for everyone. To the young people who, unfortunately, have known the tragic experience of war and who harbor sentiments of hatred and resentment I address this plea: make every effort to rediscover the path of reconciliation and forgiveness. It is a difficult path, but it is the only one which will enable you to look to the future with hope for yourselves, your children, your countries and all humanity."
-Pope John Paul II, World Day of Peace Celebration, January, 2000

Reflection Questions

Can sporting events promote peace?

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