”When I jump, the siege disappears”

 

 

Triple somersaults in the air, jumps so high they make your head spin, climbing the walls in a blink of an eye. Yesterday I had the priviledge to meet the Gaza Parkour and Free Running Team in the city of Khan Yunis, in the south of Gaza strip. This group of young men has found freedom, seldom seen in the reality of besieged Gaza, in a special place: in movement.

 

 

Parkour is an urban sport with it’s origins in military obstacle court training. It was further developed in France, aiming at as smooth, elegant and continuous movement as possible. Nowadays it’s practised all over the world and, as I came to witness, also in Gaza. The philosophy of parkour couldn’t suit the everyday struggle of Gaza better: ”A means of reclaiming what it means to be a human being. To move using the natural methods that we should have learned from infancy. To touch the world and interact with it, instead of being sheltered by it.” 

 

 

 

These guys transform the land under siege into their playground. Their biggest dream is to be able to go compete abroad, which is hard not only because it’s expensive. Traveling for a Gazan requires a long battle with bureucracy and probably also an invitation. But they have already gotten to Italy once, a trip which was ”a dream come true” as Abdullah, one of the team members put it. Their next aim is to get to compete in Miami. When there is a will, there’s a way, they say. The world has got to know Gaza Parcour through You Tube, latest and maybe most famous being the video shot during the last 8-day war in November, where the team throws somersaults while Israeli bombs explode on the backround. From what I saw, these guys truly deserve showing their skills to the world also live. If you know any parkour societies near you, mention Gaza Parcour to them.