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來源 https://reurl.cc/2b4LN6

Can basketball heal South Sudan?
Luol Deng, a star in America, has high hopes for the game
Jan 9th 2021
籃球救得了南蘇丹嗎?羅爾．丹恩寄與厚望

THE PEOPLE of South Sudan are among the tallest in the world. That helps
explain why several of them have had stellar careers playing basketball
abroad. One is Luol Deng, a former all-star in America’s National Basketball
Association (NBA). Mr Deng, who retired in 2019 after 15 seasons on the
hardwood for the Chicago Bulls and other teams in the NBA, took over as coach
of South Sudan’s national team in November. Now he is using the sport to try
to mend his war-torn motherland.


In December, for the first time in its history, South Sudan won enough games
to qualify for the African basketball championship, known as AfroBasket. That
is no small feat for a team that is relatively new to international
competition. For five of the ten years that South Sudan has existed as a
country, it has been beset by civil war. Of its 12-member squad, all but one
player grew up abroad.


The war has directly led to the deaths of almost 200,000 people, and perhaps
caused twice as many deaths indirectly through hunger and disease, according
to a study in 2018 by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine. Mr Deng, who also funds the national squad, hopes it will
help bring the country together and change its image abroad. “We’re doing
something that’s bigger than basketball,” he says. “There are people that
are depressed and hungry and struggling… That two-hour game gives them pride
to keep going.”


The young minister of youth and sports, Albino Bol Dhieu, is a believer. He
hopes that what has been “spoiled by politics can be fixed by sports”. He
plans to build a sports complex and at least one basketball court in each of
the country’s ten states and three administrative areas. Quite how he will
pay for this is not clear. The government’s budget set aside the equivalent
of just $5.3m, or less than 1% of spending, for his ministry. By contrast,
nearly $130m was allocated for security.

南蘇丹的青年及運動部長，就是頭號信徒。部長計畫在各州蓋運動場，然而錢從哪裡來
是個問題，政府預算不多，大部份都花在國防安全上

With its recent performance the national team has risen a remarkable nine
places (to 98th) in the rankings of the International Basketball Federation,
known as FIBA, the sport’s global governing body. Locals hope that when
AfroBasket tips off in August, it will provide more than just national pride.
They hope that the team’s success will inspire young men to put down their
guns and start shooting hoops. ■



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https://www.thenewslens.com/article/110095
20歲才從會計系學生轉進職業足球，他用一場球賽終結3年內戰

看到這個新聞想到同樣是非洲的象牙海岸因為傳奇球星德羅巴帶領象牙海岸打進足球的
世界盃，最後促成內戰中的國家停戰，雖然不知道南蘇丹能不能重現佳話，但至少以後
看到魯蛋會肅然起敬。

很想罵個髒話，發個文斷線三次

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→ realtw: 經濟學人?哈 原來加上這四個字 連人名都沒有的就變權威了 11/16 14:19
→ realtw: 知道啊 經濟學人是英國一個小報啊 就是故意留梗啊        11/16 14:42

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