announcer: coming up on "21st century"... as the u.n. mission in liberia leaves, lasting peace stays on. and in lebanon, fostering the right to play for refugee children.

[woman speaking english] [man speaking english]

[gunfire]

[indistinct telephone conversation]

[indistinct chatter] [woman speaking indistinctly]

[jeanine cooper speaking] [james mulbah speaking] [jeanine cooper speaking]

[yacoub el hillo speaking] [timba ngulube speaking] [anu aro speaking] [ingrid maehre speaking]

[major dr. rabia imran] [indistinct communication] [napolean viban speaking]

[teta wilson speaking] [jean-pierre lacroix speaking] [reverend william tolbert iii]

[boy speaking arabic] [girl speaking arabic] tanya: so the palestiniadi is sort of a mini olympics for palestinian children. particularly we look for ildren n who come from particularly vulnerable backgrounds, and we try to make it very inclusive. [girls speaking english and arabic]

[boy speaking arabic] [kids chattering] [man and kids speaking arabic] [houzuzaifa ghanaimeh speakingg arabic] [indistinct chatter]]

[s[speaking english] [speaking arabic] rawan: my name is rawan. i play football and i live in saida. i'm in love with football.

my favorite player r is christio ronaldodo, that's for sure. inside thehe field, i'll be e le a monster.r. i crushsh everythig i sesee. i don''t carare if i'ma girl or i i'm aa boy. i tototal- i crush everything. [l[laughs] whenever i have a competition, i don't sleep at all. i always think what i'm going to do tomorrow, how am i going to win the competition. i practice at night in my mind, like i imagine how am i going to play, how am i goining to win. and i imagine hw i'm goingng to get up and get te trophy from ththe coaches. it feels really great for me. houzaifa: i'm with my brother and my friends. my good friends, you.

rawan: rana is my football friend. she plays as our goalkeeperer. she's really like active, and she knows how to play football. shehe's rreally passionate. when she's on the goal, i'm there in the field, she screams my name and she says, "do that" and "do that," "good, good." she motivates me a lot, and that's a really g god thing about her that she makes me feel likike--like i owown the field. she really helps me. [speaking g arabic]

[rana speaking ararabic] [rawan speaking arabicic] [rana speaking] [both speaking] [coach speaking in arabic]

[girls speaking arabic] ghazi al omari: actually, mueen was one of the most active focal popoints. he was very y support, very cooperative, uh, he was there always when we need something. his death was like-- it was a tragedy, a heartbroken story, because, like, he was preparing for palestiniadi each day by day. we thought about postponing the event, , but we know it's not his wish. he wanted very mumuch this event to hahappen, his students to

participate. he did a lot for this event, so we wanted to make itspecial eevent, mueen el-jeishi editition of palestiniadi. [drums bebeating, cheheering, chanting] ananya: the p palestiniadi is st of a mini olympics for palestinian children. particularly we look for children who come from particularly vulnerable backgrounds, and we try to make it very inclusive, and we bring palestinian children to the events, but we also bring children from lebanese backgrounds to the event, too, so that there's interaction between the two.

[engines revving] claudio cordone: because as much as possible we would like people to lead a normal life. yes, they're refugees. yes, many of them have to live in camps, and there's a lot of poverty. they arere facing v violence e like e last t few weeks.s. but it isis important that as kids, as young people, they also do things that others elsewhere in the world are able to do, and that they do that with others from the communities that surround them. [music, singing, chanting]

ghazi: those students compete in 6 differerent games, which arere rrunning, chess,, table tennis, basketball, volleyball, and football. [team cheering] ghazi: and this year we also inintroduced an innovation room. [drums beatating] [indistinct chatter] [shouting and cheering] rawan: we crushed them. [laughs] [drums beating, ululating] rawan: i didn't know that i wass gogoing to score, but when i di, all my friends s were like, "aa" we did what we promised our coach. [i[indistinct]t] [speakining english] [speaking arabic]

[inindistinct]] it is only a contest. [cheeringng, chanting] tanya: i t think to ststart off, bacacktrack onene step. i mean,e playay is actualally a right. 's not even--we're not here to do

it as a "n"nice to havave." it's actuallyly we're here to reinfoe the right to play. so the right to play is essential in a child's life. it's part of our whole development, too. and so as we were mentioning, you know, as we think back of our childhood and the right to play and j just the good momoments that t we have to being able to be outsiside to mt frieiends, to lelearn teamwoworo learn how to cooperate, to learn how to lose, how to shake other children's hands, and how to move forward. these are all some of the essential skills that we learn while we play, but it's not just because the skilllls ae transmitteded. it's just, i it'a ffundamental right. [cheering] girl: because we're happy! we're happy! we're going to the finals! [cheering] [cheering] [chanting] rawan: altlthough everyone was screaming g that we're gonnana e or they s should break me or

whatever, but we won with dignity. [houzazaifa speakiking arabic]c] [cheeringng] ghazi: i hope that those palestinian children and lebanese children participating in palestiniadi to get this opportunity to work on themselves, to improve their skilllls, to looook for thhe fu,

to t try to look at the bright side of their lilives, to get rd of the pressure, t the harsh lie they are l living, and try to overcomeme all the struggl,, all the chananges facing them, and try to have a better life. i wish h them to be champions inin the games they are e playig and to be successful members of the community. [cheering] rawan: i'm really proud of my teammates s that we got to this point, to the finals. i think that we mamade a good work heree togetether. we really did it wih our coach. [applause] i think we're closer b because we'veve been ththrough this totogether. and also, itit's really..... [laughing] ghazi: looooking at ththeir facs and see ththe smiles, this is the key message of palestiniadi. that's why palestiniadi is created. ñç

♪ michelle: hello, and welcome to "fokus on europe." i'm michelle henery. here on the continent, as spring enters into full bloom, it seems the french spirit for striking does as well. the french national rail service is the focus of president emmanuel macron's proposed next reform. he wants to cut their pay and reduce their benefits. but the rail unions are threatening to put the brakes on his plans. he did, after all, come storming into power last year on the back of promises to modernize france's flagging economy.