On Iraq and Afghan participation in Olympics, I wrote earlier...
Freedom of nations and sports —Iqbal Latif
The English took cricket to its colonies for entertainment and to instil the gentlemanly values of fair play while handing out a sound thrashing to the natives. These days the former colonies are beating England regularly
Afghanistan is to play in the ACC Trophy, and Iraq has recently qualified for the upcoming Olympics in Athens. This is all good news. But while Afghanistan and Iraq are turning into nations where sport is seeing a boom, the global media is still bent on reporting downbeat stories from there. Can we, for a change, concentrate on the few encouraging signs of recovery coming out of these war-torn nations?
The world of cricket is a world of fair play and honour. In the days of the British Empire, the English took cricket to its colonies for entertainment and as a means of instilling the gentlemanly values of fair play while handing out a sound thrashing to the natives. These days the roles have been reversed and the former colonies such as Australia, the West Indies and India are beating England regularly.
Afghanistan — a country that was never a colony but has been ruled by medieval clerics and is marred by land mines and limbless youth — is the new addition to the world of cricket as a result of the post 9/11 doctrine of proactive engagement with constructive forces. But we should not forget how brutal the Taliban were to their own people, turning the Kabul football stadium into a killing ground by carrying out executions and hanging people from the goalposts. We should also not forget the royal treatment meted out by the Taliban to Pakistani footballers for the ‘crime’ of wearing shorts. The arbitrary punishment was based on indictment that the Pakistani team incited the ‘carnal desires’ of Kandahar’s ‘ashna prone’ maliks.
What a change a couple of years can make! From a policy of castigation for playing sports, Afghanistan is now thinking of actually playing first class cricket in a few years! Many countries dissipate under pressure of war and yet here we have two examples of a new phenomenon of reconstruction. Sports and Olympic medals in the old days of communism were signs of success for the closed communist economies. Nadia Comaneci of Romania was heralded as one such success of the doomed system. Today, by that standard, the leftists and liberals should admit that the recent success of Afghanistan and Iraq in re-establishing their sports teams is a sign of great advancement.
In a few months from now, Iraq will be a proud member of the sports world. The Iraqi football team has already qualified for the Olympics. They were the only Arab team to qualify, beating Saudi Arabia 3-1. If the rejuvenation of sports is a sign of nations re-entering the world scene and building hope for the future, Iraq is a good example. It is a far cry from the days of the draconian regime of Saddam Hussein and his sons.
“It was a qualifying match in Jordan, and at full time Iraq were drawing three-all against the United Arab Emirates. Arab League rules called for a penalty shoot-out. Abbas Rahim Zair walked up to the penalty spot with a prayer on his lips and his heart in his boots. Any player knows the pain of missing a penalty, but for a member of the national team, it carried the certainty of ritual humiliation, imprisonment, and torture. Only three Iraqis dared to take penalties, and Zair was one of them. Many of the footballers refused to even touch the ball, but then we realised that if no one accepted we would all be punished,” the midfielder said. He missed. Two days after the team returned to Baghdad, Zair was summoned to the headquarters of the country’s Olympic committee, the lair of Uday Hussein, Saddam eldest son and chairman of the Iraqi football federation.
He was blindfolded, and taken away to a prison camp for three weeks. He shrugged: “End of story”. The sporting life, as described to the Guardian by four past and present Iraqi players, was one where motivational lectures from Uday included threats to cut off players’ legs and throw them to ravenous dogs. Missing practice sessions, even to attend to a sick child or funeral, meant prison. A loss or a draw meant flogging with electric cable, or a bath in raw sewage. And always at the back of the players’ minds was the knowledge that Uday was watching. Although the torture of footballers was common knowledge in sporting circles, it evaded international scrutiny. The players described elaborate preparations to dupe Fifa investigators visiting Iraq, with officials hiding those players still carrying scars from recent beatings.
Maybe these signs of hope and success are not important enough for the world to take notice. Maybe destruction and hopelessness sell far better and garner the best price. Sensationalism has its commercial benefits. But the smaller stories coming from the reconstruction of these nations may surprise many people.
Iqbal Latif is an international businessman |
