The South African government is understandably perturbed at the prospect of thousands of World Cup soccer fans arriving wearing anti-slash vests under their supporter kit. After all, as the saying goes, don’t bring a knife to a gunfight.
News that a British company was gleefully exploiting visceral European fears of the Dark Continent to sell the vest, which protects against knife attack but not bullets, highlight government’s conundrum. On the one hand it wants fans to take reasonable precautions; on the other hand, it doesn’t want to scare them witless.
Government knows that it is statistically probable that 99,9% of the soccer tourists will leave unharmed. It also knows that it would only take a couple of murderous encounters for the international media to go berserk, ruining the soccer spectacle and effectively killing SA’s prospects of bidding for an Olympics — a long-term although unstated ambition behind the billions spent on showpiece stadiums.
There are many reasons for the overseas media’s palpitations, bordering on hysteria, about the supposed dangers of travelling to SA. Interwoven are aspects of parochialism, ignorance and racism.
Nevertheless, anywhere in the world the death of a foreign tourist is always going to evoke a strong response from their home country. The SA government is in the international spotlight and for the first time cannot just shrug off violent crime as a racist perception.
This belated realisation lies behind an invitation to cops who had resigned — mostly squeezed out to meet demographic targets limiting whites — to reapply. This is also a sign, perhaps, of President Jacob Zuma’s promised pragmatic and more reconciliatory approach.
One can only hope the move survives beyond the exigency of more cops for the World Cup. Just imagine the benefits flowing from the re-employment of thousands of well-qualified, experienced, non-black teachers, engineers, technicians and civil servants, who despite commitment to a democratic SA, bit the dust after 1994 because of their skin colour.
But while the government can’t afford to fail the World Cup test, neither should it over-react. Its response to an e.tv interview with two hoods who disclosed supposed plans to rob tourists and kill any cops in their way, has been as knee-jerk as some of the coverage of SA’s hosting of the tournament.
The cops are resorting to an old apartheid-regime law to force the e.tv journalists to reveal their sources, apparently so that the criminals can be arrested for “public intimidation”. Of course, if the police were going charge with intimidation everyone who threatened to kill someone, the entire executive of the ANC Youth League would be sitting in the chookie.
The e.tv interview was, however, every bit as “gratuitously sensationalist” as Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa described it. Its airing was ill-considered, not because it was “unpatriotic”, given the effect it could have on prevaricating would-be visitors or the encouragement it offered would-be thugs, but because it smells disquietingly of hit-and-run journalism.
Two unidentified black men threatening to rob and kill are given extensive publicity, feeding every negative cliché there is about SA. Yet e.tv doesn’t even know who the identities of the men and has zero evidence that they are criminals. It believes them to be criminals, it would appear, entirely on the say so of the two men, the middle-man, and the reporter.
e.tv argues that since they did not pay the “criminals” nor the intermediary, who has since committed suicide, why would the men agree to appear on television, incognito, unless they were indeed criminals? Well, half a dozen reasons spring to mind.
e.tv shouldn’t give into police bullying by giving up its sources but it does need to convince us it took every precaution to assure itself of of the report’s journalistic soundness and that has to go beyond blind trust of its reporter. If it cannot, it should buy those responsible some anti-slash jackets and set the hounds loose.
god, i’m so sick of hearing that a south african city should hold the olympics. the transit situation will barely be sufficient for the world cup [i'm being extremely polite here] — since world war 2, only one summer olympics have been held in a city without significant transportation infrastructure: los angeles, 1984. fortunately they had an adequate freeway network [something lacking in south africa] to circumvent this.
i honestly don’t think the olympic committee will overlook transit in the same way that it was overlooked by fifa; olympic events are far more time-sensitive than football matches. arrive five minutes later than the advertised time and you miss a medal performance.
which means that we’re basically left with algiers and tunis. ha. ha. ha. keep dreaming, south african olympic committee….
[i'm purposefully omitting cairo, btw. and algiers and tunis won't work, realistically, either. an olympics without adequate mass transit? god, if you think that south africa is giong to be a net loser of money in this world cup, it will be a drop in the bucket compared to the losses from the olympics.]
Stuff the Brits, I want one
Excellent article in my view.
PS. Why I like the article is that it takes a sobering look at the good old fashioned principles of good journalism like it used to be taught to students at places like the former Pretoria Technikon Journalism faculty and drummed into the heads of reporters by former editors like Jim Jones; CROSS-CHECK YOUR SOURCES!
It is utterly shameful to continue to propagate this HOAX of vests that prevent stab wounds by an imaginary UK company to further your attempts to sabotage the biggest international event in our history. An event that could potentially yield hundreds of thousands of jobs over time with increased tourism.
” mostly squeezed out to meet demographic targets limiting whites — to reapply”
Like the racist DA, you try to push your anti-AA agenda as the reason for crime, not realizing the main reason for whites moving away from police jobs is their realization that police work is HARD WORK in a real democracy as opposed to the despicable apartheid regime where the police had cushy jobs since they were primarily concerned with protecting their own, the white minority.
“cops are resorting to an old apartheid-regime law to force the e.tv journalists to reveal their sources”
What you actually mean is that etv is resorting to participating in the the old apartheid style dirty tricks campaign “swart gevaar” to plant the seeds of fear into a local and international audience.
” e.tv shouldn’t give into police bullying”
Seems to me like etv is now implicated in a death of an “intermediary” that was presumably involved in their concocted interviews designed to sabotage the 2010 WC. One look at who owns and controls etv should tell you who the real culprits behind this HOAX are.
As many as 20 000 SA citizens are murdered by criminals every year, more than those killed at any time in Iraq while they were at war.
Is this a bullshit statement?
If not, then let us not forget this reality while debating this article here.
I agree with Mundundu. BTW, what happened to your blog? As an occasional visitor I enjoyed your point of view. You post here far too seldom.
Please keep an Olympics far from our shores. We need a few years to catch up with basic maintenance here in Durban. A bus service would also be nice. No wonder WC ticket holders must walk 2km to and from the stadium here; our municipality has no bus service! Now how basic a service is that?
Drommedaries please !
You say “There are many reasons for the overseas media’s palpitations, bordering on hysteria, about the supposed dangers of travelling to SA. Interwoven are aspects of parochialism, ignorance and racism”
William you cannot seriously believe that the overseas media are saying what they do becuse of the above.
Consider that they base their opinion on the far better access to the happening is SA than the censored pieces of Poppycock we get fed every day.
Exactly what is wrong in using the opportunity to make sales. Bottled water and Carbon filter producers use the same tactics in selling their product.
Are we to say they are wrong in doing so or do you drink bottled water in case the locally produced tap water is polluted and could make you ill?
Look at our crime stats and start to worry (even the ‘modified’ stats are bad enough)! Criminals will and always have preferred ‘soft’ targets and these softies are due to arrive (if they arrive) in their masses to witness the World Cup.
The ANC has been soft on crime for 15 years and now pay day is coming and trying to undo the mess that is our police force and so called ‘justice system’ cannot be done in a few months.
Perhaps many of the visitors will themselves be criminals coming for the spree that is available to all. Crime pays in South Africa so come and enjoy both the World Cup and the very real prospects of unpunished and easy crime.
“..it is statistically probable that 99,9% of the soccer tourists will leave unharmed.”
Honestly, which planet are you living on? Do you really think that all the criminals in this country are going to take a holiday over the world cup period out of sheer goodwill? A love of soccer perhaps? Maybe those two who were interviewed were the only criminals in South Africa, so locking them up would solve the problem completely.. Criminals will be the second-biggest profiteers from the world cup, the biggest being companies that have “won” related tenders, especially those that our politicians have their fingers in.. The ordinary people will be left with the profits on cooldrink cans and bead necklaces (if FIFA doesn’t stop them from selling those too), and the leftover scraps of the huge monies raked in by the government after they’ve made their way through the system and everyone in power has siphoned their share..
The media has a RESPONSIBILITY to alert South Africans and foreigners alike to the potential dangers of crime, not as an attempt at sabotage, but to expose these issue that the government would prefer to bury so that they can be addressed preemptively, to make the event a success.. Obviously the principles of sound journalism should be adhered to, but so should common sense.. even if these two ARE fake, they certainly PORTRAY the views of a large number of criminals, many of whom will not be as “merciful”..
Harris, police work is EASY work that stupid people can do in SA. How hard is it to waddle around scoffing donuts all day? So, what else do these bozos do? Lose dockets? Taint evidence? Issue case numbers to people wanting to lodge insurance claims?
Dave Harris, you are a classis case of being part of the problem and never part of the solution. So all whites make bad policeman, what crap in my many dealings with the police over the past 10 years this has not been the case so suppose i am just lucky????
What e tv has forced us all (especially Govt) to do is debate crime, not racism (Dave Harris excluded) and in case anyone missed it of the +-18000 killed per year by crime the overwhelming number are Blacks. Surely this should concentrate the authorities minds as well as their crawling/fawning supporters.
May the successful world cup also breed success in eliminating crime in our wonderful country.
Brent
@ Hugh Robinson
Yes, I am saying that the overwhelmingly negative reporting of especially the UK and Australian media regarding SA, is rooted in more than sound journalism. Many thousands of Brits have been in SA in the past couple of years following rugby and cricket, with 99,9% returning unscathed, except for petty crime.
And you misread me regarding the marketing of the anti-slash vests. They could not do so were it not for the fact that perceptions in the UK are already very negative. Nevertheless, one can understand why government bridles.
@ shailendra sham
Statistically, it is likely — given the experience of the rugby and cricket followers — that 99,9% of the tourists will be unscathed by violent crime. But it only takes a blip to blow the statistics to hell, and with it the World Cup. That is why government faces such a desperately difficult situation.
@Harris: What the hell are you smoking?
Poor tormented ‘cut-and-paste’ Dave Harris is the best (or is it the worst?) example of exactly that which he needs to see in others. Racist DA? Racist Dave Harris. His rantings are as comical and as irrelevant as those of an ET. He should read the above piece a good number of times, carefully, and take time to digest it; and then try to come up with something coherent.
Is Dave Harris some sort of clown? The DA ISN’T racist. It’s the only party that preaches an open opportunity society FOR ALL. where the DA governs services improve for everybody. the DA does the country a favour by existing – it holds government to account and keeps democracy alive in South Africa. the DA believes in coupling affirmative action with merit. and the fact that the DA attacks corruption in SA and corruption is primarily within the ANC that is majority black doesn’t make the DA racist. we’re trying to bring ALL south africans of every colour, socio-economic and cultural background over to our side to build a better, unified, non-racial south africa that WORKS. where the ANC governs their municipalities are babkrupt – where the DA governs things work. it’s as simple as that and it’s people like dave harris that are standing in the way of a brighter south africa. the DA is not racist – we stand for all south africans. i can send you DA philosophy and policy and we stand for a truly non-racial society based on fundamental human rights and dignity. who could possibly say NO to that?