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Can basketball heal South Sudan?
Luol Deng, a star in America, has high hopes for the game
Jan 9th 2021
篮球救得了南苏丹吗?罗尔．丹恩寄与厚望
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.
南苏丹人的平均身高在全球是名前矛的，这说明了为什么他们相对容易在篮球上取
得亮眼成就。罗尔．丹恩就是其中之一，效力公牛队其间曾入选明星赛，在15年的
征战后，选择高挂球鞋。退休后接任南苏丹国家队教练，而他希望用篮球这个运动
来重建这个被战火蹂躏的家乡。
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.
很快地，南苏丹取得足够的战绩，并首度取得非洲篮球锦标赛的资格赛的门票，这
对刚挥军国际赛不久的南苏丹国家队而言是个得来不易的成就。过去十年间，就有
五次因为内战而未能成军，而如今，他们这只青年军不但成绩出色，12 位球员中，
更有11位是来自本土所训练出来的球员
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.”
南苏丹的内战造成20万人死亡，估计因内战带来的饥荒及疾病至少40万人死亡。而丹恩
先生出钱出力成立的国家队，希望这些成就而够带领南苏丹这个国家团结，让世人看到
我们的改变，他说:我们不仅仅是打篮球，国内的平民百姓饥饿受苦，生活充满绝望，
希望借由篮球带给国家希望，带给人们信心。
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.
南苏丹的青年及运动部长，就是头号信徒。部长计画在各州盖运动场，然而钱从哪里来
是个问题，政府预算不多，大部份都花在国防安全上
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. ■
凭借著近期的好表现，南苏丹的FIBA排名上升了9个名次来到98名，当地人希望今年8月
非洲锦标赛开打时，国家队的成功不仅为南苏丹带来荣耀与骄傲，他们更希望告诉战场
上的年青人，不要再打人了，来打球吧。