Holly Telford Inspirational Australian Woman

Running a marathon in Palestine BY HOLLY TELFORD Isolated in your house? Imagine being isolated in your country without being able to walk 42 kilometres freely.

It is 2016 and I am sitting in a local café in Sydney with my Dad trying to understand the conflict between Palestine and Israel. This understanding from the outside is something I never managed to grasp. I was forever curious and asking my Dad, who had been in that part of the world, to explain what is going on. He is very invested in the ongoing conflict and up to date with the latest news. His best attempts to explain it would leave him frustrated at the oppression, and I was left curious and confused. It was settled with a mutual decision the best way to understand - was to go there and see the country first hand. Two years on and its 2018 when I visited Palestine for the first time, following a holiday in Lebanon and Jordan with Dad and two English friends. Throughout the south of Lebanon we came across Palestinian refugee camps, where we learnt about the war between Lebanon and Israel. It was made clear to me the Lebanese people did not share the same view of the situation as the Israelis. The Lebanese people referred to all occupied Israeli land as ‘Palestine’, out of respect for the 7.2 million Palestinians who have been displaced and forced to seek refuge in surrounding countries due to the ongoing occupation. On our first day in Palestine we entered the West Bank and walked through the city of Bethlehem (a tourist hotspot for pilgrims). We were feeling hungover from a big night of sinking beers in Jerusalem. Within the first couple of minutes a sobering and overwhelming feeling came over us with the realization the Palestinian people are not free to leave. They are trapped by eight meter high cement walls (much like the Berlin wall). Along the walls, we saw graffiti from many locals and foreign artists, including world famous Banksy. We read stories of local people sharing love and helping each other out as humanly possible, throughout unimaginable circumstances. These stories of the community coming together made the whole situation for us as visitors to this city, feel far too privileged in our lives. One story was about the men coming together at night to build a house outside of the walls, so they could go to their day jobs on the other side. The Israeli Army deemed them unable to work unless they had a house in Israel, so the all the men of the community snuck out and built a house in one night. The Israeli Army destroyed it the following day, which left us wondering about the denial of human rights. We read many stories like this and spoke with the local people. We came to the conclusion these are ordinary people trying to work to support their families and just wanting basic human rights. We stumbled upon Banksy’s hotel, The Walled Off Hotel. It was covered with his art and had a hugely informative museum, which explained the occupation from the local’s perspective. The hotel was staffed by locals, and has the best hummus I have ever tasted! I brought a DVD from the museum; a documentary by Palestinian local Emad Burnat called Five Broken Cameras. It was filmed on the frontline of demonstrations, where he witnessed loved ones die or be severely injured; he himself was injured, ended up in hospital and was imprisoned for demonstrating. That night we found a restaurant near Bethlehem square. We were treated like royalty in the local pita house! The staff were so welcoming. On our second day in Palestine we headed out in the morning for some local coffee in Bethlehem square and decided on breakfast back at last night’s pita restaurant after the service and staff had been so kind. As we were leaving Palestine that day, we hovered by “Jesus’ birthplace”, and in some ways, were disgusted and offended to see so many tourist buses piling through the city coming to worship, completely disconnected to the surrounding oppression the Palestinian people face. We walked through the city looking at more art by Banksy. We felt sad because we were able to leave Palestine so freely. It felt completely unfair for us to be able to walk through the gates and to the other side of the walls. We bypassed mums holding babies, with children and families lining up for permits. They may have been waiting for days to get out with a permit, possibly for something as mundane as a hospital appointment. We had the privileged of just walking out, bypassing all the lines. This privilege did not sit well with us. Our road-trip out of Jerusalem and down to the Dead Sea was quiet and full of reflection. We saw posters about a Palestine marathon; the four of us joked, we should come back and do this next year. Then the joke became reality. Between April 2018 and March 2019, I took up running! I had never been a runner, it began with three kilometers and then five, then the City to Surf, then Blackmores Half Marathon. Before I knew it, I was running from Maroubra to Bondi and back every weekend, I was averaging about 30 kilometers a weekend. My motivation was Palestine. I was running on 30-degree summer days, baking my skin red, but I felt privileged. I have the freedom to go to the beach. I have the freedom to run near one of the most beautiful coastal

Hi I’m Holly I am 26 and work as a Registered Nurse with Justice Health. I grew up in, oh so cold Canberra and relocated to Sydney five years ago to study nursing. I enjoy keeping active and play AFL locally and continue to run along the coastlines of Sydney. I am grateful for the opportunities life has presented me, particularly the opportunities to travel and to better understand different cultures. I hope my story gives you some insight into a country that you otherwise may be unfamiliar with, from a perspective I feel privileged and saddened to have experienced. I also hope you can appreciate the vulnerabilities and hardships the Palestinian people are facing in everyday life, which has been intensified by a pandemic. I challenge you to reflect upon this and find gratitude within your own life. Enjoy! Hols

The Palestine Marathon is an annual road running event, including the marathon, half marathon, 21 km, 10 km and 5 km distances. The event takes place on the streets of Bethlehem, Palestine. It was held for the first time on April 21, 2013, and has been held annually since.

OPPOSITE PAGE & ABOVE: Holly Telford running in the Palestine Marathon in 2019. RIGHT: Holly Telford. INSET: From left, Friends Sam Fish and Nicki Fish, Holly, Holly’s father Peter Telford.

walks in the world. This is my backyard. I would think about the Palestinians training for their run and how many laps of the same track by the cement walls they would be doing. I was lucky, and life in Palestine is unfair. In March 2019 we arrived back in Palestine. We bypassed going to Jerusalem wanting to spend as long as we could in Palestine where we found the people to be beyond welcoming of foreigners. After checking in to the Banksy hotel, we picked up our marathon packs, trying to learn the track. Maroubra to Bondi had not prepared me for this course. The city of Bethlehem seemed unusually quiet today with many restaurants closed and streets empty, compared to the previous year we were there. It is race day! We wake up at a ridiculous hour where the sun is hours from coming up. It is cold. The hotel staff kindly make us breakfast at this crazy hour, knowing myself and other hotel guests have a big day ahead of us. I am nervous. I am so nervous!! I had my headphones and smart watch charged and ready to fuel me with music. My pockets are full of energy lollies to give me a boost when I need it most. And then we are off and I’m running. The streets are empty, and before I know it I am nearing the back of the pack (not surprised). I am looking at everything as I am running; the graffiti protesting freedom, and locals out the front of homes cheering with support “Yalla, yalla” I hear all day. I run through a refugee camp - there are children on the street. I run through another refugee camp, this one bigger than the last - I take a wrong turn and get lost. The locals are yelling at me in Arabic pointing me back on track. There are chickens crossing the street - I run around them. I am at the 20 kilometer mark where I see half marathon runners completing their race, and I continue circling back and begin to complete the same track again. I run past Banksy’s hotel where this time around there is a protest; there are news crews, locals and political leaders. As intrigued as I am, I run on by. I go through the refugee camps, where children run alongside me. I am 25 kilometers in and I am alone; I consider walking, and skip a few music tracks on my watch. Hellooo yeezus! Energized, I am running again. I run past a water station and a young man hands me a banana. Kids on bikes ride beside me and talk to me asking my name and saying the only words they know in English. They laugh at my lack of communication and I laugh! This is encouraging, I am running for them! Most runners are ahead and there are few I can see; the last 10 kilometers have been solo! I catch up to the front runners and I think I am close! I am wrecked but I don’t stop. Up one last big hill and I make it to the finish line. As I cross the finish line the commentator says, “Number 9 is completing the marathon, out of all the places in the world to do a marathon, you chose Palestine - we thank you!” I feel proud, and my body aches. Bethlehem Square is flooded with people; there is pride and joy in the air and the sense of community is overwhelming. I get a medal and water and feel incredibly sore and grateful this was possible for me. The next day I can hardly walk, the blisters on my feet are enormous. Steps are painful, and my face grimaces. Dad convinces me to do a walking tour of the Aida refugee camp that I ran through as it is only 20 minutes from the hotel (I think to myself - walking tour after a marathon - insane!). The refugee camp is mind blowing. We saw a big demolition construction site, which our guide tells us was previously a school. It was destroyed last week by the Israeli Army, just a few days before the children were due to go back to school after a break. We saw memorials to the 231 children killed by the Israeli Army. We were told about one young boy who had been shot the week before, which is why the city was shut down for two days out of respect. We had been wondering why no restaurants were open the day before the marathon. We pack up our things and walk out of Palestine again so freely and sadly as we had done the year before. However this time having had the privilege of running amongst the Palestinian people in their fight for their human rights and freedom of movement. The human rights they are deprived of daily. Back in Australia a week later, I am still following the Palestine marathon Facebook page. Seeing my photos and links to my race time (took me five hours!), I see a post about a 17 year old, Sajid Mizher who had been shot, in the Dheisheh refugee camp, which I ran through. Sajid was volunteering on the day of the marathon at a water station handing out bananas. I passed that station twice and it may have been he who handed me my banana. I know everyone who was doing that job was speaking encouraging words and doing it with pride. Sajid was studying and working as a volunteer paramedic. I am studying to be a nurse. We are of similar age, living a different life in a different world. I have human rights, he did not. It was reported he was shot by Israeli soldiers while helping people. Living your life is a dangerous thing in Palestine. I feel sad to think how unfair this is and how many Palestinian lives are lost during normal daily activities. I reflect on this now during the Covid pandemic, where I am forced to isolate. By isolate I mean I am living in a modern apartment in the Eastern Suburbs by the beach. I still have the freedom to go to the shops, to the beach, to drive without being interrogated at a checkpoint. Also, to seek healthcare where necessary, to walk as far as I please, to sleep at night without the army waking and terrorising my family. Importantly, to be safe in my community, to not ever fear I may be shot or tear gassed for being outside my home. I have freedom and am not trapped inside eight meter walls. I have freedom and I have human rights. Palestine does not. The United Nations and Israel must work towards achieving a solution.