Parkour in Syria's city ruins

This is Ariha in Syria. These friends are doing parkour. Parkour runners are 'traceurs'. They run across the damaged buildings.

Parkour focuses your mind. It makes you strong. Parkour helps these traceurs to feel positive. Ahmed al-Sawas started the team.

Ahmed al-Sawas: "I put this team together two and a half years ago. We train in destroyed areas, areas where there has been strikes. Members of the team got in touch with me via social media. We put together a team and started training on buildings because we haven't got dedicated spaces for parkour in Syria."

Parkour started in Paris in the 1990s. It's a way of travelling across barriers in cities.

Hadi is 11 years old. He was born at the start of the war in Syria. He practises in the war-damaged city. He doesn't know any other life.

Hadi al-Sawas: "I've been practising this sport for six years, along with my brother. We go to destroyed areas and jump from building to building. We do parkour in these destroyed areas. Everything here is destroyed. We do soft moves."

The team likes doing parkour. It's a positive activity in a broken city. The traceurs can think about the future too.

In October 2022, the first parkour World Championship will happen. It'll be in Japan. Tokyo may be too far away for Mohammed Akash. But he loves the idea of adventure.

Mohammed Akash: "It's got adventure, and I love adventure. Yes, it can be dangerous and it comes with pain and injury, but thankfully I've reached a good level now. My dream is to be the best at parkour in Syria." Weniger anzeigen