Today the United Nations celebrate, "International Day of Sport for Development and Peace". VFP member Geoff Millard, living in San Francisco Bay Area reflects on this day and how VFP can use this tool to teach the values of sportsmanship, equality, and peace-building. .
It may sound kind of silly to some people but I believe sports can be a way to bridge divides rather than the drunken hate filled rage-a-thon that we tend to see here in the states. it does not have to be an arena where fans try to fight each other over a game of overgrown man-children beating on each other. It does not have to be misogonistic, hetrosexist, racist, and jingoistic. It can build peace and bring us together.
In 1914 during the most intense combat of WWI (you know the war to end all wars…) there was a Christmas Truce, where the soldiers fighting stopped and met between the trenches and played football (ok, soccer to us here in the states). I realize that there was a lot more to this truce than football but it is hard to imagine these soldiers getting so close without the ability to kick a silly ball around a dirt filled war zone for a few hours. Even well after the truce was called off, they would not fight each other. The sport bonded these people together in a way that few things could. In fact, on both sides, soldiers were reassigned because of their refusal to fight after this day.
This is not just some relic from the past either. As I have written about before, Haitians are using sports to teach peace in some of the worst ghettos of Port Au Prince. They are using sports to teach kids how to work, struggle, and love each other. In the middle of a neighborhood that is built on a trash heap, they have an oasis that involves simple balls, nets, and even sustainable urban farming.
In Israel, kids are learning how to play hockey and forge a new path through the stalemated Israel/Palestine peace process. On the ice these children have a chance to build new bonds that may outlast the politicians.
These things may seem small to most people, and maybe they are, but they can have a lasting impact. The fact is that many young people learn a lot of lessons from sports and it is up to us to ensure they learn the right lessons. In the United States, the corporate-dominated big sports industry uses sports to push jingoistic, militarized nationalism into the souls of our youth. We should use this tool to teach the values of sportsmanship, equality, and peace-building.
