By Bareng-Batho Kortjaas 11/01/2010I was disgusted when I read today that some people in England were saying the tragedy in Angola raises questions about what might happen to visiting teams and supporters during the World Cup in South Africa.
That is utter rubbish and the people who are talking like that, including Hull boss Phil Brown, are numbskulls.
Why are they comparing our security situation with Angola's? Do they know anything about African politics or geography at all? How deep is their ignorance?
I am travelling to Angola for the Africa Cup of Nations later this week and I am confident the awful events that befell the Togo squad will not be repeated.
We all have to move forward and present an image of Africa that is positive.
We all remain steadfast in our refusal to submit to the image of Africa put forward in the West as an Africa of despair and an Africa that cannot do anything without the help of the developed world.
In South Africa, it bewilders us when people keep saying it is not going to be safe for visitors during the World Cup.
For a start, there is no comparison between us and Angola in terms of security.
We are relatively stable politically and we live under the rule of law.
There are no rebel fighters in our country. We are not a country that has a record of terrorism. We have staged many major sporting events without incident and England fans are here in large numbers for the Test matches against South Africa at the moment. There have been no problems.
Of course, we have issues regarding crime but we are confident those will be contained during the World Cup.
We are continuously convincing the world that we are more than capable of staging these events without incident. There will continue to be Doubting Thomases - but we will prove them wrong.
source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/rugby/2010/01/11/attack-in-angola-was-a-one-off-tragedy-with-no-bearing-on-sport-in-our-country-115875-21957809/
