Drivers in the township usually quip about how township children are unfazed by a fast oncoming car than a slow walking cow.
This crossed my mind when I heard that the Blue Bulls and the Stormers would have their encounter in Soweto. I imagined the hysteria and the pandemonium a herd of bulls accompanied by a storm would cause to a township child. It’s worse if the bulls are blue.
It must have been a scary combination for the children!
But what was scarier was the dishonesty South Africans displayed during this period. Instead of highlighting the real reason why these two teams played in Soweto, people decided to engage in some unnecessary public relations exercise. Was it perhaps because the eyes of the world were upon us then? Still, that did not justify the disingenuousness we displayed.
The two teams came to Soweto because they were stranded. Period. Loftus Versveld the Blue Bulls home ground was off limits to them thanks to Fifa rules. The Blue Bulls therefore had no option but to host the visitors in Soweto’s Orlando Stadium. It boggles the mind why rugby administrators failed to see the strategic value of taking rugby to Soweto for all these years. After all Soweto is SA’s internationally acclaimed township, which lies less than 100km from Johannesburg, the economic hub of Africa and arguably one of the biggest cities in the world.
I must have been the only South African who was not chuffed by that circumstantial decision. The SA media bombarded us with headlines that hailed this as an act of nobility that would foster unity and nation building. I wondered how one or two matches could do that when we have failed to achieve that in the past sixteen years. But skeptical as I was about these claims, I still gave them the benefit of the doubt.
Glossing over the real problem that exists within SA rugby does not change the fact that rugby is still untransformed. The evidence played itself out on the pitch when one could hardly count ten players of colour on that pitch. Like racism South Africans do not need a PR exercise to tackle it and its attendant inequalities, but a genuine approach to eradicate it completely.
Rugby is still seen as a white sport confined within the former white areas. That is why its coming to Soweto made such big headlines. It was something unusual. Sixteen years into our democracy, Soweto hosted the first big rugby match in June 2010. We owe our sincere gratitude to Fifa, which made history for us.
The Soweto encounter presented an opportunity to all of us to constructively criticize the slow pace of transformation in rugby. It also presented an opportunity to some white South Africans in particular who had been to Soweto for the first time to see the level of deprivation blacks still lived under, including the absence of rugby as a sport of choice to the children of Soweto.
It was therefore not just an opportunity to pose for cameras just to say, I was there too. These pretentious camera moments in front of shacks and modest shebeens ironically created an us and them impression. They exposed how distant the previously advantaged still are from the previously disadvantaged. Judging from some of the pictures taken on the day, it looked as if it was a visit of the superior to the inferior and the hosts had to be thankful for their ‘state visit.’ Their actions were downright patronizing and condescending to say the least.
This should have instead been an opportunity for SA Rugby administrators to respond to the proverbial alter call, and say we wronged you, we repent from our sins. We repent from the sin of stalling transformation in rugby. Those who have been to the alter will tell you that it is a very humbling experience that lives one in tears and a desire to undo their sinful past. And clearly you’d wish to hide from cameras when you’re in such a state.
Responding to the question: “When will there be justice in Athens”? One Greek philosopher said, “There will be justice in Athens when those who do not suffer are as angry as those who do.” Transformation in rugby in particular and other areas can only be truly realized when the previously advantaged are as angry as those who were previously disadvantage. South Africans, black and white need to equally condemn a lack of transformation in rugby, in the workplace and other spheres of our lives without fear or favour.
Transformation is therefore a project that should unite all South Africans. It is a project that we all need to tackle to make sure it succeeds. That way we can be sure that we are truly a rainbow nation destined for success.
Transformation in rugby should be accompanied by development, resources and relevant structures to ensure its success. Those who are charged with the task of effecting it should not only strive to meet quotas without the above. Transformation is therefore not a mere replacement of white players with black players. That is abdication not transformation.
If rugby SA is serious about nation building and breaking racial prejudices in the sport, they need to seriously consider townships as alternative and appropriate venues for the game. They need to fast track development to be consistent with the demands on the ground. Blacks are in the majority and the fact that rugby, cricket and golf for instance were the reserve of whites should indicate the urgency to change this perception.
Rugby is still untransformed and this is the truth we should have all exposed once again then. But we sadly missed out on an opportunity to put pressure to bring change to the sport.
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Interesting post - may I add a different prespective?.
ReplyDeleteOne cannot judge the emotional issues of transformation in sport without looking at underlying cultural differences. Soccer is not, and will never be, part of Afrikaner culture. Most support from this group for Bafana during the world cup was based more on being patriotic and proudly South African than "the love of the game". If the Springboks were to field an all white world cup team with only one black player on the bench, there would be a huge outcry about lack of transformation and tokenism. This did not happen with Bafana, although the circumstances were virtually the same. The reason? Afrikaners don't expect Afrikaner players to be represented in Bafana, because its not part of their culture.
The question therefore needs to be asked if rugby is part of black culture (bar some Xhosa exceptions!) I expect that the average black sports fanatic knows just as much about the rules of rugby, as the average white sports fanatic knows about soccer!
At the end of the day its not only about transformation, but also mutual appreciation and respect of our diverse cultures. There will never be a transformed, representative South African jukskei team!
As far as transformation in the wider sense is concerned, I fully agree than equal opportunity is far more important than quotas. True equal opportunity respects the talents of all on an equal basis, does not cast a shadow of doubt on those PDI's who do achieve and does not discriminate against PAI's on racist grounds such as skin colour.
Lastly, I applaud the opportunity for both Bulls and Stormers supporters to visit Soweto. This was actually a South African moment not unlike the Bafana moment you described in your June post. I move in circles ranging from concervative white Afrikaners to staunch black ANC supporters. The unfortunate fact is that both groups are still more conditioned by misguided preconceptions from the past than the factual reality of the present. In simple language - we still don't know each other. I firmly believe that in getting to know each other better, a lot of mistrust and wrong preceptions will be eradicated, and we will all move further towards a unified South African nationhood. Any occasion, like Orlando Stadium, that leads to greater mutual exposure and understanding, should be seeked and promoted.
May we continue the struggle towards a society where all are (evetually) truly equal with no forms of discrimination based on colour!
Interesting post indeed --- I guess if you want to step on a South African’s toes, one needs to touch on issues of transformation and race, and you defintely would have touched a nerve. May I first be the one to raise my hand and say that I attended both the semi-finals and the finals of the Super 14 at Orlando stadium. My reasons had very little to do with race or the sport, it had everything to do with the love that I have for this country, and the fact that I am an eternal optimist, and when history happens, I want to be able to say that “I was there” and I was part of it. That is largely the reason for my response.
ReplyDeleteTo say that there will NEVER be a truly representative South African is tantamount to the people who said South Africa will never have a peaceful election, a black president, etc. The two pictures above represent the French National Soccer team. One in 1959, and another in 2008. A sharp contrast and a complete one hundred and eighty degree turn. Yet, it is a reality, in our lifetime, and as oom Schalk Lourens would say, a leapard can change it’s spots. Culture is dynamic, more so when people realise that separist development is not constructive, they move aggresively towards change and embrace it. Sport on the other hand is something that has the magic of unifying nations, countries and people, rather than dividing them, and that is the nature of humanity. The reason why there was not outcry when a predominatly black team stood to sing the national anthem on June 11th 2010 was because it was not an orchestrated human invention lawed by a few individuals at the expense of another. It was natural and harmonius. Compare that with the current bill of the Protection of Information Act. The entire nation rallies behind that because it threatens the very core of our consittution, whether you are Zulu or Xhosa, English or Afrikaner, it will have a bearing on your life as a citizen. The people of this country, and the majority love this country, and they will cheer whenever a team is fielded that wears green and gold because it is their team. The children at primary schools who play rugby are the make up the future national rugby team, and they are the one who will sing the national in 20-30 years from now. I can tell you that what they stand for is not Afrikaner or Xhosa, they are South Afriicans. Their identity document will not carry a language or a race, it will say that they represent South Africa, and during that time, their culture will not be of a particular nationality, it will be a South African culture, devoid of a particular grouping. There is a brand of South Africa that is gradually hitting the shelves, it defies culture of any kind, whether it be Zulu or Xhosa or Afrikaans. It embraces that which is unifying. It cares about the environment, justice, fairness and hates boundaries. It loves technology, because that knows no bounds, and contrary to what you say "There will never be a transformed, representative South African jukskei team!" - I believe that we will have a team that will represent this country one day, it will be a South African team, and like the French soccer team of 1959 and the French soccer team of 2008, it will have a stark difference to the one that we have ---remember that before isolation soccer was represented by a lilly white team