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GAZA / MARATHON
STORY: GAZA/ MARATHON
SOURCE: UNRWA
TRT: 2.42
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGAUGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 5 MAY 2011, GAZA, OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
1.Tilt down, starting point
2.Various shots, runners getting ready
3.Various shots, race starting
4.Various shots, race
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Sebastien Trives, Deputy Director of UNRWA Gaza Operations:
“Gaza is a great place, a normal place; many kids, they want to do sports, they want freedom, so this is a symbol of it.”
6. Wide shot, Trives running next to a child and shaking hands
7. Pan right, runners pas by a fish market
8. Med shot, child finishing the race
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Gemma Connell, UNRWA Staff Member:
“They have been amazing. I listened to Aussie music a lot of the way, it got me through. My parents and my brother in Rosebank, in Byron Bay, are incredible and their support made this happen, I am going to cry.”
10. Zoom out, traditional music and dance performance at the finishing line
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Chris Gunness, UNRWA Spokesman:
“We’ve got confirmation that we’ve raised over a million dollars for the Gaza Summer Games, that’s a programme of summer camps that go on for over 250,000 children over the summer.”
12. Tracking shot, Nader al-Masri getting his medal from Director of UNRWA Gaza Operations Christer Nordahl
13. Tilt down, al-Masri and Nordahl posing with trophy
14. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Nader al-Masri, Winner of the Gaza Marathon:
"Thank God, it is nice a feeling. Everyone wishes to participate in the Gaza Marathon. It's the first time we have such a marathon in Palestine. We thank UNRWA and everyone who made this possible championship which is UNRWA. It is a very nice feeling to train and then get good results."
15. Tracking shot, Sebastien Trives arriving at ceremony after finishing marathon
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Sebastien Trives, Deputy Director of UNRWA Gaza Operations:
“This is fantastic. I am very tired because it’s very difficult, the sun is hot, but it’s been a great experience, and most importantly I am very proud to have been able to run this for the kids in Gaza.”
17. Pan right, medals
18. Zoom out, trophies and medals
At six am this morning (5 May) 1,500 runners embarked on the first-ever marathon in the Gaza Strip.
The sun rose just three minutes before the race started in the northern town of Beit Hanoun, close to the border with Israel.
When the runners reached the neighbouring northern town of Beit Lahia, they turned towards the sea and ran along the coast all the way to Rafah, the southernmost town in the Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip happens to be 42 kilometres in length, making it ideal for a marathon.
Running the full 42 kilometres today were nine trained athletes. Ordinary Gazans did not miss out; some thirteen hundred UNRWA (United Nations agency for Palestinian Refugees) school children took part, running in one kilometre relays along the entire 42 kilometre route of the race, many of them running barefoot.
As part of UNRWA’s Gender Initiative, some 150 women walked the final kilometre of the Marathon in specially made Gaza Marathon headscarves.
The race had only two international participants, Frenchman Sebastien Trives, the Deputy Director of UNRWA Gaza Operations was one of them.
SOUNDBITE (English) Sebastien Trives, Deputy Director of UNRWA Gaza Operations:
“Gaza is a great place, a normal place; many kids, they want to do sports, they want freedom, so this is a symbol of it.”
The other one was UNRWA staffer Gemma Connell, an Australian who was one of the main organizers of the event. Both run the full stretch of the race.
SOUNDBITE (English) Gemma Connell, UNRWA Staff Member:
“They have been amazing. I listened to Aussie music a lot of the way, it got me through. My parents and my brother in Rosebank, in Byron Bay, are incredible and their support made this happen, I am going to cry.”
This summer, UNRWA will provide its biggest Summer Games programme yet for the children of Gaza. The marathon was organised partly to raise much-needed funds for the Games. Now in its 5th year, Summer Games is a large-scale recreational programme that provides the children of Gaza with a rare opportunity to enjoy a moment of joy and normality.
UNRWA Spokesman Chris Gunness unveiled some good financial news, confirming that the 1 million dollar goal that was set to be raised at the marathon had been reached.
SOUNDBITE (English) Chris Gunness, UNRWA Spokesman:
“We’ve got confirmation that we’ve raised over a million dollars for the Gaza Summer Games, that’s a programme of summer camps that go on for over 250,000 children over the summer.”
First to cross the finish line was 31-year-old Olympic hopeful Nader al-Masri from Beit Hanoun, who finished the race in 2 hours 42 minutes and 47 seconds, a good achievement given the searing Gaza sun.
Nasri competed in the 5,000 meters at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and is currently in training for the 2012 Games in London.
SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Nader al-Masri, Winner of the Gaza Marathon:
"Thank God, it is nice a feeling. Everyone wishes to participate in the Gaza Marathon. It's the first time we have such a marathon in Palestine. We thank UNRWA and everyone who made this possible championship which is UNRWA. It is a very nice feeling to train and then get good results."
At a lively ceremony of music and dance after the race, Gazan children, UNRWA staff and locals enjoyed a moment of local pride. Today, UNRWA brought through the Israeli imposed blockade a sense of fun, dignity and humanity.
SOUNDBITE (English) Sebastien Trives, Deputy Director of UNRWA Gaza Operations:
“This is fantastic. I am very tired because it’s very difficult, the sun is hot, but it’s been a great experience, and most importantly I am very proud to have been able to run this for the kids in Gaza.”
In 2010, UNRWA ran Summer Games camps across the Gaza Strip, giving 250,000 children the opportunity to swim, paint, act, dance, run, play and learn and offering them much-needed psychological relief.
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