VOA常速英语:奥运精神让昔日仇敌握手言和

Africa is facing no shortage of conflicts or challenges, either man-made or natural.
Volunteers at Sarajevo Airport welcomed the European Youth Olympic torch on Friday. The competition is set to open in Sarajevo on Sunday and closed a week later in East Sarajevo. The front line in the Bosnian War ran through the city. In a show of cooperation between the two former foes, both mayor’s say this is a new era of peace and reconciliation. Well the European Youth Olympics festival is an opportunity for us all to get together and build a better more positive future. I wish to see us all gather around this project in the coming days, and for us all to attend the opening ceremony at Kosovo and the closing event in Sarajevo.

Achieving that cooperation was not easy. Sarajevo belongs to the Bosnia Croat Federation, and East Sarajevo belongs to the Serb Republic which are two autonomous regions of Bosnia carved along ethnic lines during the three-year long war more than twenty years ago in which 100,000 people died. Today some say they are ready to move on.
One of the most important things about EYOF is that we will get to meet new friends from both Sarajevo and East Sarajevo. We should not divide people like that, but it is what it is, but it’s nice when we are together. Since the 84 Olympic, the Bobsled track of Trebek Mountain has been covered in Graffiti while towering ski jumps on Igman mountain have been left to go to ruin. Ice skating manager Jasenka Perovic has fond memories of 1984 Olympics.
My most beautiful memory today is during the Winter Olympics when I took part of the closing ceremony along with other little girls who were part of the ice skating ensemble. It’s wonderful that 35 years later, we get to host this event which is a lot like the Olympics, and which will give our city some of that Olympic spirit again. That spirit is echoed by many who danced and posed for pictures with Groodvy the Olympic Mascot only days before the long-awaited event.
Mariama Diallo, VOA News.