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Strategies & Market Trends : Africa and its Issues- Why Have We Ignored Africa? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Elmer Flugum who wrote (851)	10/18/2007 3:07:32 PM
From: sea_urchin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1267

Len > She marvels at post-apartheid life Gordimer must be living in a senile reverie. This is written by an African and it reflects the way people feel now. thetimes.co.za >>SA waits for a political hero by Justice Malala We need a hero. We should’ve listened to Govan Mbeki about his son. We are a country in desperate need of signs, of symbols, that our dreams have not shattered around us the way so many post-colonial African countries did. We need a respite from the madness that daily emanates from our rulers at the Union Buildings. We need a hero because we have reached a point where we have to acknowledge that the elders were right and we were wrong. President Nelson Mandela preferred to have Cyril Ramaphosa as his successor rather than Thabo Mbeki. Billy Masetlha, the spymaster acrimoniously sacked by Mbeki, described recently how Govan Mbeki — our president’s father — was not convinced about his son’s readiness for office. Masetlha said: “We wanted Tata Govan Mbeki’s support ahead of the conference. uTata said: ‘Are you sure this boy has grown enough to be president? Do you know what it takes to be the president of the ANC? No, akakavuthwa kakuhle lomfana [this young man is not yet ready].’” The elders were right. We should have listened to them. That is why we need a hero. We need someone to give us a sign that amid this depression, this sadness of a dream imploding, we are still capable of making right what is wrong with our country. We need the signs — whether borne by a leader or an event — that led US presidential contender Barack Obama to coin the phrase “the audacity of hope”. We need a sign to make us believe, again, in the audacity of hope. I have been reading about the extraordinary events of July 29 this year when the Iraqi national football team faced Saudi Arabia in the Asian Cup. The Iraqi team, despite the daily spiral of death and mayhem in the country, was drawn from all religions and factions and coached by a Brazilian. As the team progressed through the tournament, 60 Iraqis were killed by terrorist bombs detonated to stop people showing the unity that the team was garnering. However, these bombs failed. This is how Time magazine described that feat: “Emptied of people, the streets were given over to stray cats and dogs. The score was 0-0 at halftime, but fans were optimistic as Iraq controlled the action. “After the goal by striker Younis Mahmoud, the eventual game-winner, a few rounds of Kalashnikov fire popped off around Baghdad. And then when the win came, the sustained artillery fire.” “But perhaps in deference to pre- game government warnings that celebratory gunfire would not be tolerated, the shooting subsided much sooner than it did after the big semifinal victory over South Korea. There were other ways to celebrate. Fans clapped and sang and danced in the streets. Some set off fireworks. “Iraq’s triumph ... signals a soccer programme rising from the ashes, even as the country descends deeper into civil conflict ... A powerhouse in the 60s and 70s, the team faded in the 1980s as Iraq’s young men were killed and maimed by the hundreds of thousands in Saddam’s war with Iran. “Says Abu Ahmad: ‘I can’t express my feelings. We are so happy, those 25 men brought happiness and hope to 25-million Iraqis, the thing our politicians couldn’t do.’” The thing our politicians couldn’t do. Those words are like a stab in the heart for those of us who believe in politics. As I wrote this, t he newspapers and the news bulletins were full of commentary about the Springboks’ clash with Argentina . Even those of us who do not normally give a toss what the difference between a ruck and a scrum is have been following the Boks’ trajectory through the tournament. A lot of people have spoken about the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. They have spoken about the strength of the Boks as they all “did it for Mandela”. I have not thought about rugby in 10 years, but the name Joel Stransky falls to my lips without hesitation. It was on that day that I felt it was possible for South Africans to feel as one. Is there such a sign out there? Is there a leader who can emerge from their silence and bring us all together again? For now we can only hope for a Bok win to bring us hope. Perhaps the Boks can be our heroes for now. In the meantime, we wait for a political hero.<<