与喀布尔的滑板女孩相遇 [美国媒体]

Meet the Skate Girls of Kabul

与喀布尔的滑板女孩相遇

Mangesh Hattikudur

作者：Mangesh Hattikudur



IMAGE CREDIT: JESSICA FULFORD-DOBSON

相片归于Jessica Fulford-Dobson

When I first stumbled into Jessica Fulford-Dobson’s photos of these badass girls skating in Afghanistan I was completely enamored. Just the feel of it—young girls flying down ramps in traditional garb and proudly holding their decks! But the fact that the skateboards are actually giving girls confidence and getting them back into school is incredible. Here’s the story:

当我无意中看到Jessica Fulford-Dobson在阿富汗拍的这些无法无天的滑板女孩时，我完完全全被迷住了。感觉一下这种场景：打扮传统的小姑娘从斜坡上飞驰而下，然后颇为自豪地刹住她们的滑板！滑板确实给了姑娘们自信，还让她们重返学校，这一切真是了不起。下面我来讲讲这个故事：

When Australian skateboarder Oliver Percovich first visited Afghanistan in 2007, he knew he had to do something.  Wheeling through the streets of Kabul, he was struck by the number of kids working the roads, begging for money. As he saw it, the youth of Afghanistan had clearly been hit hard by the country’s 30 years of conflict. He was also stunned by how restricted the young girls were—they couldn’t play sports or ride bikes due to their prohibitive clothing.

当澳大利亚滑板选手Oliver Percovich在2007年第一次访问阿富汗的时候，他就清楚他必须做点什么。在坐车穿越喀布尔的大街小巷时，他被路边为数众多的小乞讨者和童工所触动。正如他所看到的，阿富汗的年轻人正被该国30年不断的冲突严重打击着。当看到这里的小姑娘们因为受到像防护罩一样的衣服的限制而不能从事体育运动，也不能骑自行车车的时候，他也很震惊。

But skateboarding, he realized, could provide a solution. So he and his friend took their three boards and started letting the kids play, teaching them to carve sidewalks and do kickflips. That’s how he started Skateistan, a non-profit that uses skateboarding as a hook for education and empowerment.

但是他意识到滑板运动可以解决衣服所带来的限制，因此他和朋友们拿来三个滑板并开始让这些孩子们玩。他们教孩子们如何在人行道上滑开一条路，并做脚尖翻这样的动作。这就是他开创滑板场时的样子。他不收钱，完全将滑板当作一种教育并给予孩子们力量的工具。



Courtesy Jessica Fulford-Dobson

谢谢Jessica Fulford-Dobson

It’s a wonderful program—Skateistan provides a safe space for low-income and displaced youth to play. 50% of the students are streetworkers, 40% are female. Kids who show interest are also shepherded into accelerated school programs to get them back into public schools. But the effort doesn’t stop there: Skateistan also monitors these kids for a few years to ensure that they don’t slip.

滑板场为低收入的、无家可归的青少年提供了一个玩的地方，因此这是一个很棒的计划。在那里学滑板的学生中有一半是街头拉客的雏妓，其中40%是女孩。对滑板表现出兴趣的孩子也被引导去学习速度加快了的学校课程。这样做是为了让他们有一天重返公立学校。但是这种努力不仅仅到此为止：这个滑板场还要花几年时间去监督这些孩子以确保他们没有开溜。

The most heart-warming example I found was from Fulford-Dobson’s first photo. She spotted this beautiful 7-year old determined to master the board gripped in her “tiny hennaed hands.”

我找到的最温暖人心的例子来自Fulford-Dobson的第一张照片。她指着的这个漂亮的7岁女孩，曾用她那染了红色指甲颜料的小手紧紧握住滑板，下决心要掌握那块板子



Courtesy Jessica Fulford-Dobson

谢谢Jessica Fulford-Dobson

But that ferocity resonated in other ways as well. One year after attending Skateistan’s Back to School program, she had not only advanced three grades—enough to enter public school with her peers—but was still coming back to ride in her free time. The story makes me so happy. Since Skateistan launched, skateboarding has become the #1 sport in Afghanistan with female youth. And just reading the quotes from other girls at the facility, like this one, should warm your heart:   

不过那种激烈的天性还用其它的方式发出了嘹亮的声音。在滑板场学了一年返校课程之后，她的学业不仅前进了三个年级（这足够让她和她的同龄人一起学习了），而且她还会在休息时间返回到这里继续练习滑板。这个故事让我很高兴。自从这家滑板场开办以来，滑板运动已经成为阿富汗年轻女性的首选运动。只要读一读下面这些来自其他滑板女孩的话，你的心就会感到温暖。比如这一条：

“When I’m up there, I feel free, like I’m flying. I like that feeling a lot.” – Hanifa, 14, Afghan Skater

当我在滑板上面滑的时候，我感到自由，好像我在飞。我非常喜欢那种感觉。” — Hanifa，14岁，阿富汗的滑板者



Courtesy Jessica Fulford-Dobson

谢谢Jessica Fulford-Dobson

If you’re in London, be sure to check out Jessica Fulford-Dobson’s incredible exhibit Skate Girls of Kabul at the Saatchi Gallery, April 15-28. Or do what I'm doing and pre-order her book here.

如果你在伦敦，你一定要去看看Jessica Fulford-Dobson那不可思议的“喀布尔滑板女孩”展。地点是萨奇美术馆。时间是四月15日到28日。或者你也可以和我一样在这里预订她的书。

And for more information on Skateistan, which now operates in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa, be sure to click here.

想知道有关那家阿富汗滑板场的更多信息（当然现如今滑板场已经开到了柬埔寨和南非），点击这里。




谢谢Jessica Fulford-Dobson




谢谢Jessica Fulford-Dobson



谢谢Jessica Fulford-Dobson