Taking a swing at coexistence
British-based charity Cricket for Change bring at-risk Jewish, Bedouin youths together in bid to break down social, religious barriers
The London-based charity Cricket for Change visited Israel for the second time last week, continuing its mission to spread street cricket amongst young Israelis from both Arab and Jewish communities. Known colloquially as 'tape ball' or 'Street20,' street cricket is a new take on the traditional game.
Originally developed in Pakistan, it was created specifically with crowded urban environments in mind. This version of the game is played with plastic bats and tennis balls covered in tape in order to curb damages in limited city spaces.
Cricket for Change targets high-risk youth who face common urban problems such as inner city gang crime and racial conflict. Their mission is to engage kids who are more likely to fall into crime, and create a constructive environment for learning and playing.
Photo: Andy Sellins
In a recent interview with British daily The Guardian, project director George Schaeder said: "We went intentionally into poor areas where everyone told us we wouldn't succeed because there was no tradition of cricket. But the result was the opposite. One of my biggest dreams is to see one of the young Arab players become part of the Israeli team."
Over the last two years, Cricket for Change has run programs in Uganda, Cuba, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Jamaica, Barbados, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Next year will feature programs in Panama, Kenya, Ghana, and Israel
This month’s visit began with a 3-day training program to introduce the game at schools in Beersheba, and will be followed by a final competition. There is virtually no history of cricket in Israel, but this also means that there are no preconceptions or conflict surrounding it, making it an ideal 'clean-slate' game.
"If you can change three lives in 10, three lives in 100, that's got to be good, hasn't it?" renowned cricketer Ian Botham once said. "You will attract the younger generation and they might well prove tougher than the older generation. What we are trying to do is to look at the future and see what we can do to bring some stability back to people's lives."
