South Africa the Great!

Lynne Thackeray's "Adderley Street" during the FIFA World Cup in in South Africa, 2010

It has been the wierdest thing being in Sydney while South Africa shows off her true colours. I just love what people have seen - I love what has happened there. Far from the predicted massacres of international tourists, thousands upon thousands of people have been bouyed by the joyousness of a country with a miraculous history and, more importantly, a wonderful future. And the World Cup has been an integral part of the South African story, showing that it is indeed possible for South Africa to take a break from the daily grind of  constant and violent crime. Well, as far as we hear. 

John Carlin, writing in Yes, South Africa can, says:

The society is great, and it is the reason why (never mind the safari parks and the fairest Cape) so many of us foreigners who've spent time here find this country more beguiling than any other on Earth. Ordinary people have so much more wisdom, grit, resilience, invention, courage and generosity than you find in most countries.

Shame on the television stations in Australia prior to the games - shame on their coverage of South Africa. Shame on the journalists who showed us only the back streets of brothel-laden areas, the police who were unable to deal with crime, the drug-dealing on the street. Shame on them for casting fear into the hearts of anyone who would have thought of visiting South Africa. Shame on them for not showing people dancing and singing and living the way South Africans do - with great angst, but with even greater joy. Shame on them for not showing the incredible diversity of life in South Africa - including the incredible highs of being in such a vibrant society - and expressing at least some optimism.

Yes, South African has some deep traumas, not least the poverty and high levels of HIV AIDS. And gender violence. But it is a country with grit and guts and resilience, as John Carlin says. And long may that continue.

Pictures below: 
At the Stadium, by Bev Cohen. 
The Oranje Bus, by Nicky Thompson. Staff at Dementia South Africa, by Lynne Thackeray.  

Jacque Marais' amazing Vuvusela photo, from Facebook. For great World Cup pictures, go to Jacque Marais's photos here

Viva, South Africa, Viva. Viva the World Cup 2010, Viva!

Photo in Hermanus, South Africa. Francis and Jethro in the run-up to the World Cup 2010

Tonight I am truly proud to be South African. Almost as proud as I was the day Nelson Mandela was released from prison, or the day he was sworn in as the first President of the new Democratic South Africa. Or the day I got to meet him.

Tonight I am truly proud to be South African because all the things I value in South Africa are on show to the world. The innovation, the resourcefulness, the Can-Do attitude, the music and dance and the exuberance. Tonight I, like millions of others around the world, will be watching the opening of the Fifa World Cup 2010 in Johannesburg. I expect huge excitement in the crowd. I expect huge nervousness about possible criminal moments. I expect a huge police presence. I expect absolute elation from the people who are actually there at this historic moment. But most of all I expect South Africa to pull it off. South Africans have a way of just doing that.

No thanks, I might add, to the current President who was a disastrous choice, in my opinion, and who continues to fluff it at every opportunity. But, true to reputation, South African has managed the enormous task of preparation for the World Cup "in spite of". In spite of huge challenges, and in spite of a dearth of strong leadership.

When we were in South Africa a few weeks ago we were astounded by the construction taking place - not only the incredible six stadiums that had been built, but the huge changes to roads and infrastructure. Some of the key roads in Cape Town were having a complete revamp, and yet the planners had managed to keep traffic flowing throughout the course of the changes.

I have said it before, and I'll say it again. I miss Cape Town in the same way as I would miss a very dear ex-lover. It has been said that "we never stop silently loving those we once loved out loud" (Oriah Mountain Dreamer). How true for me of Cape Town. That mountain, those seas, those people, that energy. But I am here, now, in Sydney and not far from obtaining my Aussie Citizenship. And so a new chapter is starting for me - being proud to be a Sydneysider - almost as proud as I was to be a South African. And to represent that I will hold dual citizenship. With pride, and with deep gratefulness.

And in all that, I will continue to love my three cities at 34 degress south: Buenos Aires (City of Tango and the Paris of the South), my adopted city of Sydney (the Serotonin city) and my city of origin, Cape Town (the Mother City). How better  to celebrate my love of all three cities than to be in Sydney this night and share an extraordinary Utube clip a woman I have been lucky to spend time with some years ago, dancing Tango, with a Soccer Ball.

Viva Buenos Aires! Viva Sydney! And specially tonight, Viva Cape Town and South Africa. Long Live!




[Mother City photo taken by Rosemary Shapiro-Liu in 2003. But it could have been taken on my 2010 visit to Cape Town. While much has changed, there is much that has stayed the same. Photos on this blog are copyright.]