New Article by DAI Team on CommonDreams
Writing from his experience working with DAI’s team in Amman, Jordan, DAI’s David Smith-Ferri tells the story of a man who embodies many of the struggles and the hopes of the people we have met in this work.
AMMAN, Jordan – On the first Saturday in May, at Churchill Downs, the underdog, come-from-behind, runaway victory of Mine That Bird in the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby thrilled people across the world. Racehorse victories are attributed to team efforts: credit the jockey and the trainer for winning. And the trainer in this case – Bennie Woolley – was as much an underdog as Mine That Bird was a long shot, having never previously run a horse in a stakes race before Saturday.
If this appeals to something in you, if you are cheered and comforted and strengthened by examples of people overcoming adversity and succeeding against the odds, not on the basis of privilege, but on talent and determination, then come with me to the Middle East, where an Iraqi horse trainer named Balasem is fashioning a kind of comeback that is far more remarkable and instructive than the one Mine That Bird and his team produced last week.
The first thing I learned when I spoke with Balasem is that he loves and respects horses. Practically as a greeting, he said to me, “Never hit a horse. Treat him kindly, and he will remember you as a friend.” There isn’t anything he’d rather talk about.
