Rush Hour

As you all know, the World Cup is being played in Africa for the first time in history, and rightly so, in South Africa, given their recent history. Now, I am not won to dwell too much on the past and I certainly don’t believe that modern-day Holland is connected to apartheid however, one cannot avoid considering the history between the mainly Dutch-Afrikaner rule in South Africa and their role in slavery and apartheid in that country. Yes, of course, this is sports and the Dutch in Holland (and elsewhere) are as nice as anybody else nonetheless, the history of what their ancestors did to the black people of South Africa….I mean, I just can’t seem to be happy about their soccer victories. It’d be like supporting the Germans in the World Cup on Israel soil 20 years after the Holocaust. You know what I mean? And even though one of Holland’s players is on the Italian team I support (Wesley Sneijder), I can’t help but have mixed feelings about all of those ‘orange supporters’ roaring their happiness through the streets of South Africa. Many South Africans have gone beyond the past, however for many, the wounds are still fresh. On a brighter side, this could help create a more positive and stronger bond between the two countries, which would only enhance South Africa’s economy. In any case….

…tonight, it’s Spain against Germany. I am supporting Spain; my husband is Spanish and I worked in Madrid for four wonderful years. ¡Vamos a por ellos! However, should the final be Germany – Holland, the young, multi-racial, and exciting German team gets my total support. It is what it is.

Lilian Thurum was one of the greatest soccer players in recent history. (He was part of the French bleus team that won the World Cup in 1998 in France…can you imagine the Champs Elysée that night?)  Since leaving the ‘football’ world, he has dedicated himself to his family, to fighting racism through education, and he has now published an interesting book about important black personalities and stars, ‘Mes Etoiles Noirs’, which touches delicate subjects like racism. Lilian played soccer in Italy for  many years and even though he was considered an icon, he was a serious and dedicated player, never in the gossip columns, always doing his job, he still was victim a racism. I am sorry to say, if you are a foreigner living in Italy, it is impossible to avoid racism,no matter what the color of your skin. (If you are a woman, it is even worse, but let’s leave that for another post). (more…)