Palestinian refugee runs London Marathon to provide clean water for Gazans
A veteran athlete, the heart of Mohammad Al-Qadi, 28, started beating fast as he rushed to London on April 22 during his prestigious annual marathon. He was deeply moved: to run for the good cause, by sensitizing the surrounding society to the suffering of the Palestinian people, and more particularly to the crucial problem of the dirty and unfit water that seriously affects Gaza.
Determined to lift the colours of Palestine through one of Europe’s most glamorous capitals, the founder of Runners For Freedom ‘a borderless association of cross-country runners who, like him, love peace, freedom and freedom. Justice’ has always been convinced that sport is a great vehicle for social cohesion and communication.
“When I was a child, I dreamed of becoming a great champion one day, but because of life under the Israeli yoke and a terrible conflict, my dream broke and I had to give up running,” Palestinian refugee in France said to the BBC.
The Palestinian flag hoisted high, when it is not draped in it, Mohammad Al-Qadi swallows the kilometres with renewed ardour each time he aligns with the starting line of the test-queen of the athletics, all over the world.
And by putting the turbo he drove through London, on a spring weekend, to achieve his ultimate goal: raise more than 12,000 euros to help provide clean and safe water to Gazans, while raising European awareness that 95% of the water in the largest open-air prison in the world is not drinkable.
