The 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup
Submitted by Mike.
on 2010-07-27 05:18 PM.
The 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup is now a proud part of South Africa’s sporting and, much more important, a proud part of its national history. It was an extraordinary experience of the power of human energy to create magic for millions of people inside South Africa, and for hundreds of millions around the globe.
Shari Cohen, an international development worker in the public health sector, writing in the Huffington Post, was so typical of so many people who got it all wrong – and now have it all right.
An extract from her first blog on June 11th 2010:
That a child of ten years of age is living alone in a run down mud hut with barely a roof and no food, and is expected to care for his/her younger siblings because the parent are either dead or so ill they cannot care for the children anymore, all while a nation celebrates an excessive and obscenely expensive global sporting event is almost too much to really contemplate.
When I think about the media opportunities that a World Cup stage provides, to say it’s already a missed opportunity is a gross understatement. It is a crime. Shame on FIFA for not supporting the host country in at least shining a light on urgent social issues. And shame on the South African government for not pushing FIFA to do so.
On June 15th 2010 she wrote:
I went on a rant the other day regarding the cost of the 2010 World Cup versus all the critical needs South Africa is facing and whether or not the most vulnerable of this country would gain anything from having the World Cup hosted in their country.
To say that I was blown away at the hospitality South Africa has shown the rest of the world would be an understatement.
To me, Ubuntu is the acceptance of others as parts of the sum total of each of us.And that is exactly what I have experienced during the lead up to, and the initial days of this World Cup. There is nary a South African citizen that I’ve met on the street, or in shops or restaurants or hotels, that hasn’t gone out of their way to greet me and make me feel like I am home. And I don’t mean that in the trivial, “Oh, aren’t they nice, homely people here…” sort of way. I mean real, genuine interest and questions. People seriously want to know where I come from. What it’s like where I live. How does it compare to where I am now. What do I think of South Africa. Oh yes, and what do I think of Bafana Bafana… The questions and conversations are in earnest. They are honest. And they are had with enthusiasm and thirst to know more. South Africans are drinking deeply from the cup of humanity that has been brought to their doorstep.
I have been truly humbled on this trip. And while I have my gripes regarding development here, I cannot say one negative thing about how South Africa has handled its duties as host and hostess to the world. If I could say one thing to sum up being here during this once-in-a-lifetime experience, it would be that I’ve learned the value of Ubuntu, and that when found and offered in abundance, the world is indeed a better place to live in.
I am a cynic, no doubt about that. And yet I have to admit, I’m a little teary just writing this because I leave for home next weekend and I will be leaving a little piece of myself here in South Africa. I just hope I have learned enough to bring back a little piece of Ubuntu to my homeland, where perhaps with a little caring and a little water, it will take root as naturally as it does here, in the cradle of civilization.
As the 2010 Cup slogan goes, “Feel it. It is here.” Well, I have felt it, because I am here. Thank you South Africa, for giving me this unexpected gift. I am humbled.
On the 6th July 2010, she wrote:
I can see now that South Africa can accomplish anything it sets its collective mind to. I can see now that I was wrong so many trips ago, thinking that South Africa could never change, that it was a hopeless situation. I am almost embarrassed now at how little faith I had in this country. I see the potential where before I saw none. I see the hopefulness, where before I saw only despair. I know social change takes time, even generations, to actually see its results. But I hope – truly, sincerely – that the South Africa I now know is here to stay for a very long time. I can see now that she, as a unified country, can accomplish anything when she sets her mind to it.
I will be blowing my Vuvuzela here in the USA (much to my neighbour’s disdain), each time I hear of a successful achievement in South Africa. I don’t mean this in a patronizing way at all, I mean it in the spirit of Ubuntu, because I see now that you are all my brothers and sisters, and your successes are my successes. I wish you well South Africa, on your journey post-World Cup.
Shari displays a lovely honesty. What a challenge for us all to keep the spirit of Ubuntu alive and not allow the extraordinary levels of energy to subside.
