On the diplomatic team the ambassadors Lyndall Sachs of Australia, Frances Guy of Britain and Aud Lise Norheim of Norway together with their staff played as best as they could, but did not have the skill and talent of the mine victims team and eventually had to admit defeat.
The mine victims team is made up by disabled persons which has survived mines in Lebanon. The Survivors played very well and clearly showed that they were a team, something that cannot be said about the diplomatic team that played together for the first time.
The result 2-1 was fair – the mine victims’ team was just best!- but the two teams were equally eager and enthusiastic, and so was an energetic Insar Stadium on Saturday, as supporters, representatives of local authorities and media flocked around the two competing teams.
- I think it is a fantastic opportunity to at the same time have fun and create awareness of the serious consequences of the use of all kind of mines, Ambassador Norheim said in the opening ceremony.
The talks about organising a football match between the mine victims team and the embassies started just before the signing ceremony in Oslo on The Convention on Cluster Munition (CCM) 4th of December last year. On a visit to Tyre in November last year, the Landmine Survivors team challenged the ambassadors to a game.
The challenge was met with great enthusiasm in all the embassies.
The match was organized on the International Mine Awareness Day, and focuses on the disabled and their rights and abilities in Lebanon. Due to war, Lebanon has a high number of disabled people, but they are lacking rights.
- The mine victims against whom we are playing today, are also a proof of the strength, will and energy people have when hit by a tragedy or a disaster, Ambassador Norheim said.
Lebanon signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions as the third country during the ceremony in Oslo. This convention represents an important step in assuring the ban of production and use of cluster munitions. The next step will be to see Lebanon as a signatory to the Convention on landmines, Norheim said in her speech.
Involved in the planning and organising of the event was the NPA and LWAH, the Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped, which also partly funds the mine-victims team. The team doesn’t only defeat diplomats, they also play regular matches with other non-disabled teams.
The Embassy wishes to thank everyone involved in this eventful day, and also to remind everyone that the most important thing is not to win, but to participate and have fun!
Ambassador Norheim delivers a speech in the opening ceremony.
