A group of single-legged young men, all victims of Sierra Leone's brutal civil war in which thousands lost arms, legs and other body parts, has come together for encouragement and hope. They are Sierra Leone's national amputees soccer team.
They play with just one foot each while balancing only on the crutches. But their skills are breathtaking all the same.
"We started playing (soccer) as a social game after we became envious of other boys with two legs," said Victor Musa, of the Sierra Leone Single Leg Amputees Sports Club.
PHOTO: AFP
"Now we don't feel that disabled anymore; we can play football too," said Musa.
Today they are a professional team, and last year they came in third at the World Cup single-leg soccer tournament in Brazil.
The sport has helped to spread a message of hope.
"We are happy that we can get together and encourage each other," said Mohamed Lappia, who stepped on a mine that shattered his leg.
Saidu Mansaray, 22, is the team's goalie. He has both his legs, but he catches the ball with one hand because the four non-thumb fingers of the other hand were chopped off with an axe.
The team struggles to find money for transportation to attend practice sessions, let alone pay for soccer shoes. Most play with threadbare sneakers, but that does not dampen their spirits.
As for Liberia's ex-president Charles Taylor, accused of sponsoring the war and facing a war crimes trial at a UN-backed court in Sierra Leone, team captain Fornah said, "If he is found guilty, he should spend the rest of his life in jail." (AFP)
這一群「獨腳」青年是獅子山共和國殘酷內戰下的受害者,這場內戰導致許多人失去手腳及身體其他部分,他們如今為彼此激勵和希望齊聚一堂。他們是「獅子山截肢者足球隊」。
他們只用一條腿踢球,以柺杖平衡身體,卻仍然技藝精湛。
獅子山單腿截肢者運動俱樂部的成員維克多*穆沙表示:「我們因為羨慕其他有兩條腿的男孩才開始踢足球。」
他說:「我們現在不覺得自己行動不便了,我們也能踢足球。」
他們如今是專業隊伍,去年在巴西舉行的世界盃單腳足球錦標賽名列第三。
這項運動有助於傳遞希望。
踩到地雷,腿被炸碎的莫翰*賴比亞說:「我們很高興可以在一起為彼此打氣。」
今年二十二歲的賽杜*曼沙瑞是隊上的守門員,他雙腿完好,卻用單手接球,因為另一隻手除了大拇指之外的指頭全被斧頭砍掉了。
這支隊伍連籌措參加練習的交通費都有困難,更別說買足球鞋,多數人穿著破舊的球鞋,士氣卻不受打擊。
至於被指控煽動戰爭,目前於獅子山聯合國戰犯法庭受審的賴比瑞亞前總統泰勒,隊長佛納表示:「如果他被判有罪,應該在監獄裡渡過餘生。」 (法新社/翻譯:鄭湘儀)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110