South Africa

In yet another angle on the Zimbabwe crisis and the relationship between Zim and South Africa, The Mail & Guardian reports that skilled and semi-skilled construction workers are flooding from Zimbabwe to work on jobs building facilities for the 2010 World Cup. The deluge seems less problematic for South Africa, as despite its own unemployment problems skilled workers are always a rare commodity, than for Zimbabwe, which is hemmhoraging yet another segment of the economy that it can ill afford to lose but cannot afford to keep.

It has been a good weekend for South African sport. The Springboks took on England and after a slow first half — they actually trailed 17-19 at the break — came on strong in the second and pounded England again, 55-22. Bryan Habana and Pierre Spies, both stars for the Northern Bulls, scored two tries on their home pitch at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, and fullback Percy Montgomery finished with 18 points. New Zealand pummelled this year’s World Cup hosts, France, 42-11 yesterday, indicating that the Southern hemisphere’s rugby teams are set to assert their dominance in Europe later this year, although in 1999 New Zealand famously hammered Fance in a test match only to have France come back at that year’s World Cup and hand New Zealand a loss in one of world rugby’s epic games.

Pierre Spies:

Bryan Habana:

Meanwhile on the soccer pitch South Africa throttled Chad in an African Nations Cup qualifier in Durban.  Sibusiso Zuma scored twice for Bafana Bafana, which has fallen on hard times in recent years but is looking forward to returning to its mid-to-late 90s glory as South Africa prepares to host the World Cup in 2010.

Sibusiso Zuma:

Just some quick updates on stories I have reported in recent days:

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has heard the voices of conscience in his country and across the globe and he has announced the cancellation of the Aussie cricket team’s tour of Zimbabwe that was scheduled for September. Australia’s governing body for the sport, Cricket Australia, is seeking an alternative neutral venue to hold the matches, likely in South Africa. 

Meanwhile outside fury continues to fester in the wake of the announcement that Zimbabwe will lead the United Nations’ Commission on Sustainable Economic Development. What is most peculiar is that even as alarm over the crisis is clearly growing among African nations, it seems evident that the support for Zimbabwe represents growing dissatisfaction of the developing world toward the west. The sentiment and frustration is understandable; the means of expression is pretty much unjustifiable. 

Finally, Thabo Mbeki has recently made efforts to assuage a possibly shaky world, including the leadership of FIFA, the international governing body of soccer/football that South Africa is prepared successfully to stage the 2010 World Cup. Morocco, which was once seen as South Africa’s chief competition for the 2010 bid, has thrown its support behind Mbeki and the South African effort. 

The Boston Globe has a powerful story about a soccer field in Rwanda. Here are the first two paragraphs, but read the whole thing:

In Kingston on Boston’s South Shore, the Jonathan Rizzo Soccer Field with its bright lights and bleachers is a fitting memorial to the young man who loved the game and played on his hometown teams. In a barren refugee camp in Rwanda, seven time zones away, there’s another Jonathan Rizzo Soccer Field. There are no lights or bleachers, but there’s a clear space carved out of a mountain ridge, plus equipment and uniforms for the children, many of whom don’t own a pair of shoes.
The field in Kingston was built by contractors with a grant from a foundation in Jonathan’s name. The field in Rwanda was built by Nick Rizzo, who picked the spot and helped clear the land as a tribute to his older brother, who was murdered in July 2001. Nick recently spent six months working in the dirt-poor country, leaving Harvard University for a clogged refugee camp.

This is a touching tribute to love and redemption. If you have a brother and you are reading this at work you might have to tell your coworkers that it has gotten a bit dusty in your office or that your allergies are acting up.

Happy birthday, Marcus.

(Crossposted at dcat and at Ephblog.)