In the Wake of the World Cup – Violence Starts Again
But once SA was granted the World Cup, suddenly billions were pumped into roads improvement, airports, and much else. And when the event was actually held, the country was literally awash in policemen, leaving South Africans gasping at the sheer, seeming omnipotence of the upholders of law and order. They were everywhere, and they were not there just for window dressing. They took action. The bottom line is that the ANC was taking no chances. It knew that any major incident during the World Cup would destroy its image abroad.
As we wrote in our previous article before the soccer event began: “Of course, for all we know the World Cup will go off without any incident. For all we know, not a single foreign tourist will be harmed. And if all goes well the world will be even more convinced that South Africa is a safe, secure country for all. But it will be an illusion. If the World Cup goes off without a hitch, it will be because of the massive security presence, not only of South Africa’s police force and private security companies but also of the security forces of other countries being present as well. But when the foreigners all return home, South Africa will be worse off than before.” [1]
Again, the World Cup was an artificial moment in time. It was not reality, day to day. And therefore it is plain foolishness for people to return to their home countries after a few successful and safe weeks in SA as instant “experts”, telling everyone that all is well with SA. All is not well. This is a deeply troubled, polarised, violent society. Naive sport-mad citizens and visitors with stars in their eyes can harp on all they like about “sport uniting the country” – it is all hogwash. Any unity there may have been was solely for the duration of the World Cup, created by the ridiculous emotion of the event itself. Once it was all over, the “love” and “unity” began to evaporate like morning mist.
Those foreigners who took back glowing reports of the “Rainbow Nation” do not have to live here on a day to day basis. They do not have to live with the fear. They do not have to live with a police force that simply cannot be as visible as it was during the soccer event. They do not have to deal with the reality of living in a country where violent crime is a way of life. Another quote from our previous article: “The massive security presence for the event may just be enough to keep the foreign visitors safe. But South African citizens have to live with the threat of violent crime every single day of their lives. And when the World Cup is over, this country’s crime rate will continue as before. If there is no violent incident during the event and tourists are safe, remember that SA citizens have not been safe for many years before it, and they will not be safe afterwards.”
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