Here’s an excerpt from Achille Mbembe’s “2010 Soccer World Cup: Where is the Moral Argument?” Mbembe wrote this in 2006 but with 30 days to go until kick-off, it’s still worth a read.
“That Bafana Bafana (the national football team) will not win this competition is a public secret. Now, if we cannot win on the soccer field and if our victory won’t be economic and financial, then we better start thinking hard about changing the very terms of what it means to win at all. Our victory can only be a cultural and moral victory. We will win the 2010 Soccer World Cup if we organize it in such a way that it powerfully contributes to changing the terms of Africa’s recognition in the world. If the 2010 World Cup succeeds in fundamentally altering the ways in which Africa’s voice is expressed and heard and Africa’s face is seen in the world, then this – and this alone – will morally justify the colossal amounts of public money spent on this very postcolonial and megalomaniac venture.”
For Mbembe’s sake, I hope Waka Waka isn’t a sign of things to come.
Are we so desperate, so pathologically desirous of the world’s good opinion that we are willing to spend billions that we can hardly afford to gain it? Obviously we are. And what do we get for those billions? The chance to demonstrate that we good at emulating the west? Look at us daddy – we can build grand stadiums, organize large events efficiently, just like you! Do you respect us now? Can we respect ourselves now that you respect us?
@ekapa: i’m actually been mulling over these questions myself a lot lately, and i hope to write a longer post addressing this soon. but, in short, i tend to agree with Mbembe. the cost, both social and economic, of the world cup has indeed been massive, but for me it’s not about emulating the west, it’s more about seizing the opportunity to tell our own stories while the whole world is watching. we’ll see what happens.
@sonja: If that’s the case then this an excessively expensive and poorly conceived advertising campaign: What stories are we telling? To whom? And why? If we tell those stories, whatever they are, and the world hears them, then what? What’s so urgent, so compelling about these stories and the telling of them to some amorphous audience that it’s worth spending billions on an airport rail link to already overprivileged Sandton and on stadiums that will become white elephants as soon as the world cup is over? What, exactly, are we paying for?
no matter what good impression we want to make to the west, I’m afraid it will not change anything. We as a people have fundamental problems we need to solve starting with struggling at our expense to make impressions on people who are not sincerely interested in us.
Ebuka you have a point, except for the fact that you are terribly wrong when you say they are not interested in us. They have no choice but to recognize “us”, we’ve always had what “they” want. Don’t forget that there is a reason why the African image was carefully and skillfully tarnished. If they are not interested, we wouldn’t be so so rich yet so POOR, thanks to “them” !
Just as good as your last post. To be honest I am not sure I can agree with you.
What an interesting exchange of ideas. We all human races are bound to be interested in one another, because we are all interdependent to one another. We have some natural resources that attract Westerners and Asians while they have the capitals and technological know-how that we would like to have. That makes it hard to ignore any other race wherver we loike it or not.
Now, when it comes to the validation of our being or our competences or our behavioural patterns, of course we may require the opinion or the judgement of others depending on our set goals for whatever we intend to achieve ourselves.
In conclusion this boils down to our own affirmation and dignity as long as we want to remain free spiritually, psychologically, culturally, materially, financially in this global market and village.