Soccer Team Helps Palestinians Heal War Wounds

 

A Palestinian soccer team has been formed with players who have lost limbs as a result of fighting between Israeli and Palestinian forces.

It is the first Palestinian national soccer team of its kind. The players say the organization helps them deal with the physical and mental effects of their war wounds.

The players come from a population that has grown in recent years, as fighting intensified¹ between Israel and the Palestinian Authority's Hamas rulers. Hamas is an Islamic militant² group.

One of the players is 41-year-old Ziad Abu Halib. He lost his right leg in 2008 during the first Israel-Hamas war and has been on the team since 2019. He told The Associated Press he has never missed a training session or game. "We feel we have something, we can give something," Abu Halib said.

The rules are governed by the World Amputee Football Federation³. Players leave their prosthetic limbs off the field and use crutches⁴ to move around. The crutches cannot be used to direct the ball.

The International Committee of the Red Cross worked with the Palestinian Amputee Football Association to set up the national team.

The players hope to compete with teams from other countries. They are seeking to take part in the 2022 Amputee Football World Cup in Turkey next October. This will require them to attend qualifying competitions in Iran in March. They will be able to make the trip if the border opens to permit them to travel through Egypt.

Simon Baker⁵ is a Red Cross advisor⁶ and creator of the Irish Amputee Football Association. He recently oversaw⁷ the final training session of the season in the Gaza Strip. His job was to choose 20 players from a group of 47 representing different Gaza teams.

"They were tested (for) speed, agility⁸, fitness and also looking at the skill," Baker said. "We want the player that has everything" and is also a team player, he added.

Gaza is home to an estimated 1,600 amputees out of a population of more than 2 million.

Baker first visited Gaza in 2019, as violent protests were taking place along the territory's heavily-guarded border with Israel. His goal was to create a whole league for amputees. He spent time training players and officials and was able to organize a league with five teams and more than 100 players. He also started a league for younger amputees, which includes players as young as 5 years old.

Baker stays away from discussing politics. He told the AP his main goal is "to create an environment whereby the players come to the field and they leave the trauma⁹ behind."

Words in This Story

amputee – n. a person who has lost an arm or leg

prosthetic – n. an artificial body part, such as an arm, leg or foot, that replaces a missing part

crutches – n. sticks with a handle that help people with foot or leg injuries walk

qualify – v. to succeed in getting into a competition

agility – n. the ability to move your body quickly and easily

league – n. a group of sports teams that take part in competitions with each other

trauma – n. severe and lasting emotional shock and pain caused by an extremely difficult and upsetting experience

1 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

3 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

4 crutches   

n.拐杖, 支柱 v.支撑

参考例句：

• After the accident I spent six months on crutches . 事故后我用了六个月的腋杖。
• When he broke his leg he had to walk on crutches. 他腿摔断了以后，不得不靠拐杖走路。

5 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

6 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

7 oversaw   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He will go down as the president who oversaw two historic transitions. 他将作为见证了巴西两次历史性转变的总统，安然引退。 来自互联网
• Dixon oversaw the project as creative director of Design Research Studio. 狄克逊监督项目的创意总监设计研究工作室。 来自互联网

8 agility   

n.敏捷，活泼

参考例句：

• The boy came upstairs with agility.那男孩敏捷地走上楼来。
• His intellect and mental agility have never been in doubt.他的才智和机敏从未受到怀疑。

9 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。