Finding Collective Answers After Tragedy, One View

There is no why. I learned that at 21 years old after finding my sister safe on 9/11, already mourning how many people did not find their loved one alive. There is no why I thought to myself a few days later in Grand Central Station holding my sister's hand, crying together, because there was a sign of two sisters who were still “missing.” There was no why in the weeks afterward, either. As Manhattan burned and ashes clung to the window of our bedroom. There was no why, months later, when I would not fly. When she and I moved to suburbia to feel safer.

As an athlete and a person who lived through 9/11, the bombing of the Boston Marathon reasserts, there is no why. As a runner and as a person whose entire soul is devoted to that incredibly awe-inspiring sport, I can promise every single person who runs -- whether one mile, all 26.2, or 56 -- there is no answer to why. Why him or her? Not me or you. Why not them? Why do we live in this kind of world? Why again? That is the part that never makes sense and never will. Yet, that is the question that came late at night or as the taxi crossed the Williamsburg Bridge and tears started coming because a year later the towers were still expected just for a second even as I reminded myself, "of course, you know they are not there." There is no why five years later when beams of light ascending into the Manhattan skyline announced the anniversary. Or ten years later after I had just finished racing La Parisienne in ode to those lost, when my beloved running coach asked me, “What do you say to someone who has lived through terrorism to comfort them?” “I still do not know,” I replied.

Bombing the finish line of one of the most elite marathons in the world has no sense of justice. The person or people who created this tragedy have no understanding of this sport or of humanity. Running is my heart and soul because of its incredible connection to humility and its profoundly shared resilience. If you want to understand what never giving up means, run a marathon. If you want to understand what support can do, look over to the people along the sidelines -- your family, your friends, strangers united in the cause of hoping for everyone to thrive together, yet cheering you to race your best.

In 2007, when racing the New York City marathon, I came across the 59th street bridge into Manhattan and realized the last time I traversed that bridge on foot was September 11, 2001 -- to leave Manhattan, to return home to Brooklyn and my sister who I had frantically prayed and searched for all day, to hold her safe and sound. I still know exactly what I was wearing, not on marathon day, but on that day. Yet on marathon day, six years later I came across that bridge from the other direction stronger than I ever had been before even with those emotions so tangible. And, there was one woman spectator holding a banana. I swear she was grace because I needed that potassium more than anything on earth. I thanked her profusely but kept going, so I could arrive to my sister who was waiting with my mum, my baby sister, and close friends near our apartments on the Upper East Side to cheer me on.

Twelve years after 9/11, we continue to live in a world where senseless violence occurs without boundaries. We live in a world filled with war. We live in a world where journalists remind the American people of Afghanistan and racist assumptions about terrorism, even though we do not know if this recent bombing was domestic. However, I have never forgotten what my country used 9/11 to do. That is why I have advocated, written, and run to make sure along with so many other amazing human beings that any speck of hatred, any act of war, does not infect my heart or my belief in humanity. Running is that tether for me and for so many others. That shall remain. In fact, that will be strengthened.

Even so, I still have moments when just having my sister be here is enough. She lives in Pittsburgh now, raising two children, and I live in Paris. Recently, she visited along with our younger sister and I watched them walk ahead of me in sunlight along the Seine. That was before Boston. But, that was far after 9/11.

In one of the most eloquent and beautiful responses to the tragedy, Boston Globe Columnist Kevin Cullen says

 …we need more than prayers. We need answers. We need peace of mind, and we’ll never have that again on Patriots Day. Ever.

He is right. But, I can promise Boston will have more compassion and healing in the next weeks, months, and years than can ever be anticipated. The answers do arrive and so does peace. So does healing and appreciation, not ever for the experience itself but for the knowledge of how fragile and incredible every single second we have truly is. I already know how incredible running is as a sport. That is why I devoted my life to it for these past years. I already know incredible humanity. But, I also know not to live in fear, but to live as passionately as possible and for the right reasons. Those are the answers, even if there is no why. Or at least they are mine.

If you are in Paris, please join us this Saturday morning to run in support of Boston. 

Photo credit: Beth Murphy

What They Bear. Why They Run.

This week, millions of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a war-ravaged African country, voted in their second ever presidential and parliamentary election.

With a population of over 70 million and one of the highest occurrences of rape in the world, the New York Times reported fear of violent outbreaks due to Congo’s elections because of fraudulent politics and, essentially, DRC's reverse development. “This year the United Nations ranked it dead last of the 187 countries on the Human Development Index.”

The Democratic Republic of Congo is also known to be one of the worst places on earth to be a woman.

In mid-May, a study in the American Journal of Public Health, found that 400,000 females aged 15-49 were raped over a 12-month period in 2006 and 2007. The greatest numbers of rapes were found in DRC's North Kivu. There an average of 67 women out of 1,000 have been raped. At least once. That’s 48 women an hour.

Imagine. Having to go into a forest. The only place. To find food. For your children.
Imagine. Emerging raped. Not once. Not twice. Every time. Any time. Whenever.
Imagine. Returning home. And being raped. By your partner.

According to the Christan Science Monitor, this is daily life for Congolese women. “Rape is becoming part of the culture,” said Michael Van Rooyen, the director of Harvard’s Humanitarian Initiative and an expert on rape in the Congo.

One Man’s Journey for Congolese Women
For two years, Londoner Chris Jackson has lived in absolute dedication to sport, not just as a human rights advocate but also as an athlete and spokesperson for Congolese rape victims. He’s completed myriad heroic athletic acts to raise awareness of the horror women in Congo live every single day of their lives. Rampant and repeated sexual violence. Rape as a weapon of war.

Racing Toward Human Rights for Women

Stark truths open Women for Women International's Stronger Women, Stronger Nations Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) report, Amplifying Voices of Women in Eastern Congo. "Despite the signing of international peace agreements, a deadly 15 year war continues in DRC. International organizations estimate that between 3.5 and 5.4 million of excess deaths have occurred. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the DRC is 'the worst example of man's inhumanity to women.'"

This past Saturday morning my 2010 racing season ended in a race with the Women for Women International's Run for Congo Women UK team in Greenwich Park, London. Pictured here together we ran in support of acknowledging these harrowing facts, but also to motivate change for Congolese women. Since 1993, Women for Women International has globally supported over 275,000 women with training, over $21 million in direct aid, and over $67 million in micro-credit loans. In June 2010, the organization gained my attention while in South Africa post-Comrades while researching and writing about the public health of women and girls during the 2010 World Cup. Then, I kept thinking to myself, "If this is the continent's best for women, what is the worst?"

The Democratic Republic of Congo. In July, upon arrival back from South Africa to Paris, I pledged to Kate Hughes, Policy and Campaigns Officer for Women for Women International, that I would build Team Congo Paris in support of Run for Congo Women.

A Paris Team's Run for Congo Women

Racing together in the Paris Versailles, 20K de Paris, and finally the 6ème Foulées Villenogarennoises in Parc des Chanteraines, Team Congo Paris surpassed our fundraising goal of 1,000 GBP. This was due to the exceptional work of our top fundraisers and runners Alice Phan and Colleen Obrist along with supporters like the AMPE and the FCA and myriad other amazing male and female runners.

Alice Phan came to Team Congo Paris early on and ran almost every race and supported every endeavor. In fact, she raced beside me on November 7 with Colleen Obrist in the 5K at Parc des Chanteraines asking questions about Colleen's journey to run for Team Congo Paris. Diagnosed with MS in 2008, Colleen's sheer willpower is a testament to overcoming life challenges. In a recent interview, she shared, "People often say that it is too bad what happened to me, what a pity, etc., and yes, having MS is hard, but my problems seem trivial when compared to what some people have to live through in this world on a daily basis. My health situation and my future may be unpredictable, but at least I am not living in abject poverty, or fear that someone in my family is going to die, be raped, tortured, humiliated, or terrorized. There is not much I can do for my disease, but I will help others while I am still able."

On November 7, Alice then also raced beside me and Jennifer Hart in the 10K through pouring rain. With a degree in Women's Studies and a Master's in Sociology and also one in Personal Training, Jennifer, a personal trainer and owner of Hart Total Fitness, was triumphantly running five months after the birth of her second child. Yet, she had resumed running only four weeks after delivery and she completed La Parisienne at 3.5 months post-birth in just 44 minutes.

Years ago, Jennifer first heard stories about Congo while overseeing a series of workshops on gender and war at the University of Toronto. Recently, she shared how they affected her. "Some of the stories would make me cry, make me angry, and make me down-right fed up with the world. When I left school and began working, my charity work dropped and I missed it but didn’t know where to turn to help out in Paris. Then I had a daughter and I remembered some of the horror stories of women and children being raped and killed, and my life changed. I saw a posting by Kate Stence about Run for Congo Women and it took me less than 3 seconds to say, 'I want to be a part of that.'"

A London Team's Run for Congo Women

In Greenwich Park last Sunday, as I walked over to claim my race number in the UK Run for Congo Women's final race of the season, I began looking around for other women and men runners who were also racing with the UK team. Their team had raised over 8,000 GBP. I introduced myself to runners and then met devoted runner Chris Jackson, who has completed 11 marathons for Women for Women for International this year alone. As I stood before him, I took in again how profound I find his efforts.

On November 7, the same day Team Congo Paris raced our final race of the season together, Chris completed the New York City Marathon in 2 hours and 55 minutes. But, he shared how he felt so much support. "Loads of people I didn’t know seemed to know who I was?!? But there was also so many people along the course just telling you to keep going and that you were doing great. This gives you such a boost. I think the best moments were enjoying the views and how quiet, it was on the bridges, because all you could hear was foot-fall, but as you started to get to the other side of the bridge, you’d slowly get hit by this roar from the crowd. I really couldn’t believe how many people were out watching... Absolutely stunning."

That's exactly how I had felt watching the female elites cross the finish line at the Athens Classic Marathon on October 31 while in Greece.

As the first women crossed the finish line, the BBC reporter next to me was taping my ecstatic cheers. Yet, I wanted to share with him that he had to understand that Greece was the marathon's point of origin 2500 years ago. So many of us as athletes run marathons knowing the mythic story of the Greek soldier-runner who was a messenger running from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek's victory, then died from exhaustion upon arrival. However, what many of us may not know is that every year for the past 28 the Athens Classic Marathon is run in memory of Grigoris Lambrakis, a brilliant athlete, scientist, politician, and pacifist who in April 1963 helped organize the Greece Pacifist Movement. As an advocate of social justice, Lambrikis had participated in myriad international meetings on peace yet his life ended shortly after a march in May 1963 due to deadly beatings.

"Peace and development go hand in hand," according to a campaign message sheet given to me today by Natasha Baranowski, Global Campaign Officer for Women for Women International's Join Me on the Bridge Campaign which advocates that stronger women build bridges of peace. Held on International Women's Day, last year the Join Me on the Bridge Campaign inspired 108 events and attracted around 20,000 participants in about 20 different countries. Next March 8, 2011, marks the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day.

Overall, what can a runner -- or any individual -- do to help inspire change and help "race" toward human rights for Congolese women? Kate Hughes, coordinator of the London Run for Congo Women events, recently shared her thoughts. "I would ask the runners to keep talking about the conflict in DRC. Just because you have stopped fundraising doesn't mean that you have to stop raising awareness. Make sure that everyone you know, knows that you ran for Run for Congo Women and why it was that you felt so motivated to do that. Tell your friends and family, tell your local radio station or local press, just keep speaking about Congo until the violence and exploitation stops."

On December 5, Chris Jackson races the Luton Marathon, marathon 12, to support Congolese women. You can read about his last race of the 2010 season on his blog. At Gender Across Borders, you can read my article Traversing Truth: Running and Writing Female Rights.

Photo credit: Women for Women International